Travel to and around Athens

Getting to Athens

The best way to arrive to Athens is by air, but there are, or course, the alternative routes by train, car or ferry boats which leave from various  ports of Italy like Venice, Ancona, Bari, Brindisi and Otranto as well as the train journey through the Balkan Peninsula.

Visitors to Athens and Greece in general from the European Union countries and Schengen countries do not need a visa and they can travel with their ID's. 

There are offices of the Greek National tourism Organisation in many European cities who can provide useful information and brochures about Greece.

For US citizens, you can visit the Greek Embassy website for additional information.

Read more information on visa and invitation letter.

Getting to Athens by airplane

The new airport of Athens Eleftherios Venizelos located in Sparta is one of the best airports in Europe.

The airport serves flights to Greece from several international airlines from all over the world.

The metro and the Proastiakos Suburban rail, as well as taxis and buses to and from Athens, are located in front of the main exit of  the airport.

There is also a bus service and a metro from the airport to the city centre, the journey takes between 40 and 45 minutes. 

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Travel to Athens by car

If you are driving to Greece coming from the European continent and you prefer to take the ferry from an Italian port, you need to head towards Italy and the Italian ports of either Ancona, Venice Bari or Brindisi, those ports have daily connections to Corfu Igoumenitsa and Patras. Patras is about 207 km away from Athens.