How do I get to Athens?

Athens International Airport, officially Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH), sits 33 km east of Syntagma Square in the municipality of Spata. It opened in March 2001 and replaced the old Hellenikon airport closer to the coast. ATH is the only commercial airport serving the city, so there's no secondary budget terminal to sort out. From the US East Coast, Delta flies nonstop from JFK (10 hours) and United from Newark (10.5 hours), both seasonal from late May through early October. Year-round connections run through Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, Frankfurt on Lufthansa, or Dubai on Emirates. From London, you have 3.5-hour direct options on British Airways from Heathrow, Aegean Airlines from Heathrow, easyJet from Gatwick, and Ryanair from Stansted. Aegean is the Greek flag carrier and tends to be the most comfortable European option, with real legroom and a warm bread roll that smells like it came from a proper bakery. From Paris, Air France and Aegean both fly direct in 3 hours. Berlin to Athens takes 2.5 hours on Lufthansa or Aegean.

Round-trip fares from New York run $650-1,200 on the nonstop carriers. They drop to $500-800 if you route through Istanbul or a Gulf hub and tolerate a 4-hour layover. From London, expect £100-180 on Ryanair or easyJet and £180-280 on BA or Aegean. Low season is November through March. The exceptions are the Christmas window (December 20 to January 5) and Greek Orthodox Easter, which shifts yearly but usually falls in April or May. July and August fares peak hard when northern Europe flies south. Book by February for summer travel. That said, Athens is also a major ferry hub. Piraeus port, 12 km southwest of Syntagma, sends high-speed ferries to Mykonos (2.5 hours, €55-70), Santorini (5 hours, €60-80), and Crete (9 hours overnight, €35-45). If your trip includes the islands, a cheaper flight into Athens and a ferry onward can save €100-200 over a direct flight to a small island airport on Sky Express or Aegean's regional routes.

Overland options exist but tend to be slow. Thessaloniki to Athens runs about 4 hours on Hellenic Train intercity service for €25-45. The route crosses the Thessaly plain, and on a clear day Mount Olympus fills the window on the east side of the carriage. Bus connections from Sofia take 6 hours (€25-35 via KTEL), and Istanbul is a 12-hour haul at €40-60. The Patras ferry from Italy, either Bari or Ancona, takes 15-18 hours and costs €60-90 for a deck-class recliner on Superfast Ferries or Anek Lines. You'll smell diesel and salt water from the moment you board, and the engines hum through the steel floor of the lounge all night. The reclining seats stop being comfortable around hour 8. Mind you, the sunrise over the Peloponnese coast almost makes up for the stiff neck. For the airport-to-city transfer itself, Metro Line 3 runs from ATH to Syntagma in 40 minutes for €9. Taxis cost a flat €40 to the center, day or night, posted on a sign at the rank outside arrivals.