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METRO

METRO –  The Athens Metro has 3 lines. Line 1 (the Green line) started operation in 1869, making it the second oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground. Lines 2 and 3 opened in 2000 and increased the Metro’s popularity due to its speed, cleanliness and security. Today’s Athens” underground connects important landmarks of the Greek capital, such as the Acropolis, Athens Airport, Port of Piraeus, Central Railway Station and Olympic Stadium, in addition to connecting downtown Athens with the suburbs. Archeological exhibits found during Metro’s construction and modern works of art are exhibited in many stations. All stations are fully accessible to disabled persons with elevators in every level and platform and most of the trains are air-conditioned.METRO –  The Athens Metro has 3 lines. Line 1 (the Green line) started operation in 1869, making it the second oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground. Lines 2 and 3 opened in 2000 and increased the Metro’s popularity due to its speed, cleanliness and security. Today’s Athens” underground connects important landmarks of the Greek capital, such as the Acropolis, Athens Airport, Port of Piraeus, Central Railway Station and Olympic Stadium, in addition to connecting downtown Athens with the suburbs. Archeological exhibits found during Metro’s construction and modern works of art are exhibited in many stations. All stations are fully accessible to disabled persons with elevators in every level and platform and most of the trains are air-conditioned.• Line 1 (green line): Kifisia – Piraeus• Line 2 (red line):   Anthoupoli – Eliniko• Line 3 (blue line):  Airport – Douk. Plakentias – Aghia MarinaAll trains stop at all stations all the time, except of the section Airport – Douk. Plakentias of line 3 where trains run every 30 minutes.Operating hours are 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., and every Friday and Saturday night, lines 2 & 3 stay open until 2:30 a.m.  You can find information about Athens metro, including timetables, maps, parking and safety information on this website.  www.stasy.gr
Type of ticket Ticket Price Reduced Ticket PriceIntegrated ticket for all modes of public transportationMetro, buses, tram, trolley-buses (excluding airportexpress buses) (Valid for 70 mins) € 1.20 € 0.6024-hour ticket for all modes € 4 No reduced ticket5-day ticket for all modes € 10 No reduced ticket 3-day tourist ticket€ 20 No reduced ticket7-day Airport ticket € 50 No reduced ticketExpress Bus ticket for the airport € 5 € 2.50Metro ticket for the airport(also valid for Suburban Railway and all other modes) € 8,ticket for 2 persons € 14,ticket for 3 persons € 20 € 4Return Metro ticket for the airport (for 2 journeys in under 7 days) € 14 Not available

Note:  Reduced (half-price) tickets for Athens public transport are available for:
1. Children aged 7-12 (regardless of nationality),2. Teenagers aged 13-18  (regardless of nationality) after showing their passport or ID card,3. Seniors over the age of 65 (regardless of nationality) after showing their passport or ID card,4. Students at public Greek universities and TEI (regardless of nationality, ERASMUS students included) up to the age of 25 with an academic ID card issued online,5. IEK (state-run or private) students up to the age of 22, with a student pass6. Students who study at universities outside Greece up to the age of 25 (regardless of nationality), after showing a Student Card – University ID card and passport or ID card.7. Members of Greek families with 4 children or more, with a special pass.
Also, children under the age of 6 (including those aged 6) and disabled persons can travel free of charge. If you are disabled, confirm this with station personnel/drivers. Where can one buy a ticket?Tickets for Athens public transport can be purchased at any time, regardless of when you are going to travel, from:1. Automatic ticket issuing machines at all Metro, Tram, and Suburban Railway stations2. Ticket offices at many Metro, Tram and Suburban railway stations3. Blue/yellow ticket booths next to many central bus stations4. Many newsstands/kiosks
Ferries to Greek Islands — Greek ferries are of a high standard. A great many shipping companies offer their services with a modern and luxurious fleet. All Greek islands are linked to the mainland, and there is a regular service between them too, so one can enjoy a delightful and diverse island-hopping holiday.
The Greek fleet, consisting of all types of vessels (passengers ships, ferry boats, hydrofoils, etc) operating on domestic and international routes, has undergone major refurbishment, thus ensuring travelers speedy, reliable and enjoyable travel.Aegean and Argosarosikos islands and Crete are linked mainly with Piraeus and Rafinas port.  Ionian Islands are linked with Patras, Killinis, Igoumenitsas and Astakos port.  Visitors can go to the following website to check schedules of various Greek ferry lines, and type in departure & destination to find the ferry line that runs between those points:  www.gtp.gr/RoutesForm.asp
Here are websites for some of the major Greek ferry lines:
Blue Star Ferries:   www.bluestarferries.com
Hellenic Seaways:   www.hellenicseaways.gr
Minoan Lines:  www.minoan.gr
NEL-Lesvos Maritime:  www.nel.gr
Superfast:  www.superfast.com

BUS / TROLLEYS

BUS / TROLLEYS – City buses and electrical trolley-buses serve Athens and its suburbs. Most vehicles are modern and air-conditioned. Special schedules apply during summer months of July-September. Operating hours vary according to line/day/season, but generally they run between 5:00 a.m. – midnight. There are also five 24-hour lines, 4 airport lines (see above section), and 8 Express lines. You can find routes and maps for every line on this website:

http://www.oasa.gr/routes.php?id=lines_name_1&lang=en

Bus fares listed below (in the Metro section). You can also get additional information by calling 11185 from a Greek phone.

TRAM – during the 2004 Athens Olympics, three tram lines began service (connecting the city center with the southern coast. Here are the lines:

Line 1: Syntagma – SEF (linking downtown Athens to the Peace and Friendship Stadium)

Line 2: Syntagma – Voula (linking downtown Athens to the southern suburb of Voula)

Line 3: Voula – SEF (this line runs along the coastal zone).

In summer, many Athenians choose tram to visit nearby beaches, seaside cafes and clubs.

Operating hours are 5:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays it operates approximately from 5:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Information on the Athens Tram, including timetables, can be found on this website:

http://www.stasy.gr/index.php?id=33&no_cache=1&L=1

Tram fares listed below (in the Metro section).

TAXI

TAXI – starting fares for taxis in Athens is €1.19. The rate per km. within the city limits is €0.68 (and €1.19 per km. outside the city limits).

Tourists taking a taxi from the airport to Athens city pay a flat rate of €35 (daytime),
€50 at night (midnight to 5:00 am).

For those who want to arrange a taxi in advance, here are a few taxi companies that operate in Athens:

Athens 1 Intertaxi: +30 (210 921 2800
Ermis Taxi Service: +30 (210) 411 5200
Parthenon Radio Taxi: +30 (210) 532 3300
Radio Taxi Hellas: +30 (210) 645 7000

Temple of Poseidon

Temple of Poseidon (Cape Sounion) – located 69 km southeast of Athens (at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula), this temple (built on top of a sheer cliff facing the Aegean Sea) was dedicated to Poseidon – the ancient Greek god of the sea. The high status afforded this temple and Poseidon himself is no surprise, since the Greeks (even during its ancient times) were always a seafaring people. Its strategic location was a reference point to ancient Greek sailors that they were approaching Athens. Hours: 9:00 am – 8:00 pm (Summer), 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (Winter). Admission: €4 (regular), €2 (reduced: seniors, non-EU students). Free admission for EU students and children under 18 years of age.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Temple of Olympian Zeus (Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, Athens) – located southeast of the Acropolis, in the center of the Greek capital, is this temple that was dedicated to Zeus (king of the Olympian gods). Peisistratus the Young initiated the construction of a monumental temple in 515 BC, but failed to complete his project because of the fall of tyranny. The temple remained unfinished for approximately 400 years, until Antiochus IV Epiphanes resumed its construction in 174 BC. It was completed in AD 124/125 by Emperor Hadrian, who associated himself with Zeus and adopted the title of Olympios. A large temple dedicated to Apollo Delphinios was also built on the site around 450 BC. It was abandoned in the third century AD. Hours: 8:00 am – 3:00 pm (daily). Admission: €2 (regular), free admission for seniors, students and children (under the age of 18 years)

Temple of Hephaestus

Philopappos Monument – during the Roman era, a consul and member of its Senate, Gaius Julius Antiochus Philopappos (who was originally a prince of Commagene – a small Hellenic kingdom in Syria), spent many of exile his years in Athens and acted as a benefactor to the city (sponsoring a number of theater plays). Between A.D.114-116 he built his own funeral monument, in a very privileged position facing the Akropolis, which dominated the area and gave his name to the hill. The monument, built from Pentelic marble, is 12 meters height and consists of a large apse-shaped wall on a pedestal of porous limestone. It is adorned with sculptures of Philopappos and some of his ancestors, along with inscriptions giving their titles and names. The Monument of Philoppapos, intact up to the 15th century, gradually fell victim to vandalism and natural phenomena. The monument was partly restored in 1904. Open 24 hours. No charge.

Panathenaic Stadium

Panathenaic Stadium (Vasileos Konstantinou Avenue – opposite the statue of Myron Discobolus, Athens) – this is a classical cultural and touristic monument of Greece and one of the most significant monuments not only for Athens, but for the whole Greece. It is one of that city’s most popular touristic attractions and one of Athens’ landmarks.

The Panathenaic Stadium is located on the site of an ancient stadium and for many centuries hosted games in which male athletes competed (gymnikoi agones) in track events, athletics championships as we would call them today. The games, which since antiquity had been held in an area far from the city, were included in the program of the Panathenaia festival celebrations in 566/565 BC.

Throughout the 20th century the Panathenaic Stadium hosted diverse events, among them pan-Hellenic and international games. In the Athens 2004 Olympic Games it experienced moments of suspense and emotion during the archery contests and as the finishing line of the Marathon race. A creation of the Athenians, as its name proudly proclaims, the Panathenaic Stadium has been the venue for noble competition and fair play, of mind and of body, since Antiquity. Hours: 8:00 am – 7:00 pm (March – October), 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (November – February). Admission: €3 (regular), €1.50 (reduced: seniors/students). Free for students (in groups accompanied by a teacher), and children under 6 years.

Numismatic Museum of Athens

Numismatic Museum of Athens (12 Panepistimiou Avenue, Athens 10671) — The Numismatic Museum of Athens, with a history going back to 1829, is one of the few of its kind in the world and the only such museum in the Balkans. It provides continuous educational support for Hellenism in terms of numismatics, history and art history. The strength of the collection lies in approximately 6,000 coins covering the ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods, as well as Medieval and modern times. Hours: 8:30 am – 4:00 pm (Tuesday – Sunday)(closed on Monday). Admission: €3 (regular), €2 (reduced).

National Museum of Contemporary Art

National Museum of Contemporary Art (17-19 Vas. Georgiou B and Riggillis Streets, Athens 10675) – began operating in 2000. It is the only state museum in Athens focusing on contemporary Greek and international visual arts. This museum’s aim is to develop an important nucleus of art works by Greek and international artists that, despite its selective rather than comprehensive nature, will highlight pioneering trends and critical pursuits of the artistic present as well as its historical depth dating to the second half of the 20th century. The collections, which were started from the ground up, now feature more than 700 works, paintings, drawings, sculpture, installations, video installations, sound and internet works. Hours: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm (Tues.-Wed., Fri. – Sun.); 11:00 am – 10:00 pm (Thurs.), closed on Mondays. Admission: €3 (regular), €1.50 (reduced/student).

National Archaeological Museum

National Archaeological Museum (15 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Athens) – is the largest museum in Greece and one of the world’s great museums. Although its original purpose was to secure all the finds from the 19th century excavations in and around Athens, it gradually became the central National Archaeological Museum and was enriched with finds from all over Greece. Its abundant collections, with more than 20,000 exhibits, provide a panorama of Greek civilization from the beginnings of Prehistory to Late Antiquity.

The vast exhibition space – numerous galleries on each floor accounting for a total of 8,000 square meters – house five large permanent collections: The Prehistoric Collection, which includes works of the great civilizations that developed in the Aegean from the sixth millennium BC to 1050 BC (Neolithic, Cycladic, Mycenaean), and finds from the prehistoric settlement at Thera. The Sculptures Collection, which shows the development of ancient Greek sculpture from the seventh to the fifth centuries BC with unique masterpieces. The Vase and Minor Objects Collection, which contains representative works of ancient Greek pottery from the eleventh century BC to the Roman period and includes the Stathatos Collection, a corpus of minor objects of all periods. The Metallurgy Collection, with many fundamental statues, figurines and minor objects. And, finally, the only Egyptian and Near Eastern Antiquities Collection in Greece, with works dating from the pre-dynastic period (5000 BC) to the Roman conquest.

Hours: 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm (Monday), 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (Tuesday – Sunday). Admission: €7 (regular), €3 (reduced: seniors, non-EU university students). Free for children (under 18 years) and EU university students.