How do I get around Athens?

Athens Metro has 3 lines, and they cover the territory a first-timer needs. Line 1 (green) runs Piraeus to Kifissia. Line 2 (red) connects Anthoupoli to Elliniko. Line 3 (blue) runs from the airport at Eleftherios Venizelos to Nikaia. A single ticket costs €1.20 and stays valid for 90 minutes across metro, buses, trams, and trolleybuses. The 5-day tourist ticket at €8.20 covers unlimited rides on everything except the airport line. Buy an anonymous Ath.ena card from the machines at any station for €2.50, load it, and tap through. Trains run from about 5:30 AM to midnight. Friday and Saturday nights, Lines 2 and 3 tend to run to about 2 AM. The stations on Lines 2 and 3 are air-conditioned and double as small archaeology displays. Syntagma station has Attic graves behind glass on the mezzanine level. Line 1 is the oldest, opened in 1869, and the carriages feel their age. The seats are warm vinyl, the ventilation is marginal in July, and the crowds between Omonia and Monastiraki at rush hour will press you closer to strangers than you'd prefer.

Central Athens is compact in a way that surprises most visitors. The walk from Syntagma Square to the Acropolis entrance takes 15 minutes along Dionysiou Areopagitou, a wide pedestrian street shaded by mulberry trees. Monastiraki to Psyrri is 5 minutes. Plaka to Anafiotika, the whitewashed Cycladic-style neighborhood on the Acropolis's north slope, is 10 minutes of steep stone steps. You can reach the Panathenaic Stadium (built 328 BC, rebuilt in marble for the 1896 Olympics), the National Garden, Syntagma, Plaka, Monastiraki, and the Acropolis itself in a single morning on foot. Heat is the catch from June through September. The sidewalks radiate stored warmth well past 7 PM, and the air sits heavy and still between the apartment blocks of Koukaki. A 500ml bottle from any periptero kiosk costs €0.50. The marble-paved pedestrian streets around Thissio get slippery when wet, and the uneven flagstones in Plaka will punish sandals. Save the flip-flops for Vouliagmeni beach.

Bolt and Uber both work in Athens and have mostly replaced the need for yellow-cab negotiation. A Bolt from Syntagma to Piraeus port runs about €12-15. Syntagma to the beaches at Vouliagmeni is €18-22. Traditional yellow taxis have a €1.29 flagfall and charge €0.74 per kilometer on Tariff 1 (daytime). Tariff 2 kicks in from midnight to 5 AM and outside city limits, roughly doubling the per-km rate. The airport taxi is a flat €40 to the center. That rate goes to €55 between midnight and 5 AM. The Greek government sets both prices. Insist on the €40 flat rate before you get in. Mind you, some Athens taxi drivers still 'forget' to start the meter for in-city trips. They'll quote €15 for what Bolt prices at €6. Download Bolt before you land.

The tram leaves Syntagma and heads south to the coast. It splits at Neo Faliro into two branches, one toward SEF and one toward Voula. The 40-minute ride to Glyfada beach sounds fine until you realize the same trip takes 20 minutes by Bolt for €10. Skip the tram unless you're staying south of Palaio Faliro. Athens buses cover the suburbs and fill gaps the metro misses, but the routes confuse even locals and the stop signage is minimal. The OASA Telematics app tracks buses in real time, though it tends to lag by 3-5 minutes. For a first visit, the one bus worth knowing is the X95 airport express to Syntagma at €5.50. It runs 24 hours. The ride takes 60-90 minutes, shorter at night when Attiki Odos is clear. The airport metro (Line 3) costs €9 but takes a fixed 40 minutes with no traffic variable. For a first arrival at Eleftherios Venizelos, Line 3 is the right call.