Athens airport to the city centre: metro line 3 for €9, the €5.50 X95 bus, the hourly suburban railway and the €50 fixed taxi fare by day

💡 The Short Version: Metro line 3 takes about 40 minutes to Syntagma and the ticket is €9 (or €16 return, valid 30 days). The suburban railway takes the same ticket but runs hourly. The X95 express bus is €5.50, runs 24 hours and goes to Syntagma Square in about 60 minutes. A taxi is a fixed €50 by day and €65 at night. The €1.20 ticket does not cover the airport. Metro airport trains run every 36 minutes, last from Syntagma at 23:18. Or pre-book: Athens Airport & Athens City: Private Door-to-Door Transferad is from €33 for 45 minutes (GetYourGuide).

The airport to the centre, compared

Athens International Airport is Eleftherios Venizelos, 45 km from the centre. The fares below are the transport authority’s, OASA’s, and the taxi fare is the Government Gazette’s.

The terminal buildings and control tower at Athens International Airport. Photo: Manfred Werner (Tsui), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Metro line 3

€9 · about 40 minutes to Syntagma · every 36 minutes

The airport ticket is valid for 90 minutes from first validation on all OASA transport except the airport express buses and the X80, so you can change at Syntagma or Monastiraki for lines 1 and 2. Reduced is €4.50 and the two-way ticket is €16, valid 30 days. The last train from Syntagma to the airport is 23:18, and the last from the airport is 23:34, reaching Syntagma at 00:13. The Saturday 24-hour service on lines 2 and 3 excludes the airport trains.

A line 3 metro train at Athens International Airport station. Photo: Bahnfrend, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Evening engineering works on line 3 on Sunday to Thursday nights, 11 to 15 and 18 to 22 October 2026, close six stations (Panormou, Katechaki, Ethniki Amyna, Cholargos, Nomismatokopio and Agia Paraskevi) at 21:40. Airport trains then run between Chalandri and the airport only, with a temporary X20 bus between Ampelokipoi and Chalandri. Check STASY’s notices for the night you travel.

Suburban railway

€9 · hourly · Larissis Station in 45 minutes, Piraeus in 65

Hellenic Train’s suburban railway shares the €9 ticket. Trains leave the airport at 32 minutes past each hour, from 05:32 to 23:32. It is the line to take for Larissis Station, the Athens rail terminal and the stop for Meteora and the north; change at Doukissis Plakentias for the metro.

X95 express bus

€5.50 · 24 hours · Syntagma in about 60 minutes

The X95, X93, X96 and X97 are one-way express buses: no getting off on the way to the airport and no boarding on the way from it. The fare is €5.50, or €2.70 reduced, and a contactless card is accepted at the same fare. The 90-minute, 24-hour and 5-day tickets are not valid; the 3-day tourist ticket is. Bus tickets are sold from the booth outside Arrivals between Exits 4 and 5. The X97 goes to Elliniko metro in about 45 minutes.

Taxis

€50 by day · €65 at night · fixed to the centre

The fixed fare under the ministerial decision in Government Gazette B 5674 of 18 September 2026 is €50 by day and €65 at night; many websites still print the earlier €40 and €55. Use the rank outside Exit 3. Licensed taxis are yellow, have a meter and must accept cards. Free Now hails the same yellow taxis, and Uber in Athens also calls a yellow taxi rather than a private car. Insist on the fixed fare or the meter before you set off.

Piraeus port

Piraeus is the main port, about 10 km south-west of the centre and 45 km from the airport.

A ferry alongside the quay at Piraeus port. Photo: Jan M, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ferry gates at Piraeus are the E gates, and your ticket names yours. Saronic Ferries says its gate is a 5-minute walk from Piraeus metro station. Taxis hired at a port, rail or intercity bus station add a €1.07 surcharge. Hydra, Poros and Aegina by ferry or cruise has the Saronic routes. Private transfers to and from Piraeus start at €22.50 for the Piraeus Port Transfer to/from Athens Center or Airportad on GetYourGuide.

Pre-booked transfers

The listings below are private transfers. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult.

Which to take

• After 23:34: the X95 bus or a taxi; the metro airport trains stop.
• Syntagma and the Acropolis area: metro line 3 or the X95.
• Larissis Station, or Meteora and the north: the suburban railway.
• Piraeus for a ferry: the X96, or the suburban railway.
• Three or four people, or late at night: the fixed-fare taxi.
• Three days in the city: the 3-day tourist ticket at €20 includes one ride each way to the airport.

What to book before you go to Athens lists the sights that need tickets, and where to stay in Athens compares the areas, with hotels near the Acropolis listed by distance. Athens public transport covers the tickets, the contactless fare cap and the fines, and the day trips from Athens leave from Larissis Station, the Liosion bus terminal and Piraeus. Athens in one or two days shows what to do with the first afternoon. For the other end of a Mediterranean trip, see Rome Fiumicino airport to the city and Istanbul airport to the city.