Last Updated on 12 June 2026 by Colette
This post features a hosted stay
The Metro in Athens is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to get around the city. With a well-connected network that links key historical sites, neighbourhoods, and even the airport, it’s a super convenient option for visitors to the city.
Much like the London Underground, the Metro in Athens can feel a little overwhelming at first and I wished I’d read up on it a bit before our trip so I’m sharing everything I think you need to know using the Metro in Athens so you can feel a bit more prepared!
How much does it cost to use the Metro in Athens?
The Metro is a great way to get about in Athens and super cheap. A 90 minute ticket costs €1.20 which covers you for hopping on and off the Metro and buses as much as you like within 90 minutes or you can buy a 24 hour pass for €4. You can buy your ticket from the machines which are translated into English and take coins or card (we found this a great way to use up spare change!)
Getting the Metro from Athens Airport
We chose to get the Metro from Athens Airport to Evangelismos Station (for our stay at The Modernist Athens) rather than booking a transfer. Taking the Metro from the airport costs a flat rate of €9 – considerably cheaper than the €70 we’d been quoted for transfers – in fact we spent less money on transport across the entire weekend than we would have done on airport transfers so we would definitely recommend just hopping on the Metro if you’re staying in central Athens! The Metro runs every 36 minutes from Athens Airport from 5.30am to 12.20am daily.
I should say, we didn’t find the Metro station immediately obvious from baggage collection but a really lovely member of staff directed us across the road, up the stairs and over the bridge – it was just a few minutes walk.
Using the Metro to get around central Athens
The Metro in Athens is really easy to navigate with only three lines which are all colour coded – the Blue Line runs from Athens airport right out to Dimotiko Theatro (this is the line you would get to and from Evangelismos if you’re staying at The Modernist). The Red Line (which you connect to at Syntagma) will take you to Acropoli which is where you want to get off for The Acropolis. We found Monastiraki to be the best stop for heading back into town for food on an evening.
If you’re lucky you’ll get a train that has a lit up map to show you where you are on the line but it’s also worth counting stops to make sure you get off at the right place – the station names aren’t always easy to see when you’re stood up (and you almost definitely will be).
Most of of the signage at the stations is colour coded according to which line you want and will also say the final destination of that line so you know which direction the trains are going in – there are also signs at the top of the stairs showing the route, much like the London Underground.
The Metro in Athens is always busy
The Metro is always busy – mostly “nose in someone else’s armpit busy” and almost always at least “not getting a seat busy”. I think we sat down once across the whole weekend and that was only because we had gone beyond central Athens. Other passengers on the Metro can be really rude – pushing past to get on or off without giving you chance to move and get off yourself. It feels a bit every man for themselves at times and it’s easy to get swept up in the rush of it all but you do sort of get used to it.
It’s worth knowing that it isn’t unusual to see people (including young children) coming through the trains begging.
Is there anything else I need to know about getting the Metro in Athens?
There’s a lot of escalators to navigate and these can be very busy too – think London underground and you get the picture. That said, the actual platforms are much more spacious than we are used to in London and there isn’t that same heat so it doesn’t feel claustrophobic in the same way. We also noticed that the floor of the train is almost always level to the platform with no gap so it feels easier to get on and off – we didn’t really see many people using the metro with wheelchairs or pushchairs, I think this could be really tricky just because of how busy it is.
Each Metro station usually has multiple exists for example when you get off at Evangelismos you can exit to the right or the left – this is just to either side of a busy main road. It’s worth taking a second to work out which is the best exit for where you want to be – though sometimes you just cant tell and have to take a punt!
Have a read of these posts next:
- Our flights and accommodation for this trip were covered by Jet2CityBreaks
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