Athens
Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece.
A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica region and is the southernmost capital on the European mainland. With its urban area's population numbering over 3.6 million, it is the eighth-largest urban area in the European Union (EU). The Municipality of Athens, which constitutes a small administrative unit of the entire urban area, had a population of 643,452 in 2021, within its official limits, and a land area of 38.96 square kilometres. Athens joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016.
Getting to Athens
- 01Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport
- 02Liosion KTEL Station
- 03Kifissos KTEL Station
Bus routes X93 (Athens International Airport), 051 (Athens center), 052 (Elaionas Metro station), 420 (Piraeus port).
- 04Athens Central Railway Station
Worth seeing
At first glance, Athens seems entirely to be composed of unremarkable, four- to six-story concrete buildings, lacking character and badly in need of a paint job. But if you look beyond that, you will find little gems tucked in among the grey.
Things to do
If you're lucky enough to be in Athens for the Easter Weekend, you'll see the spectacular sight of hundreds of people making their candlelit way down the hill on Holy Saturday night as part of the Easter Vigil procession. If the weather is good, head to the beaches in south Athens. Take buses A2, B2 or E22 from metro station Sygrou, or the tram from Syntagma. Just get off wherever the sea takes your fancy.
Where to eat
The districts Kolonaki and Plaka are especially good areas for dining out. For a quick, decent and low-budget meal, try a souvlaki (σουβλάκι, soo-VLAH-kee), meat (usually pork or chicken) grilled on a skewer. They are typically served with tomato, onion and tzatziki (τζατζίκι, tzah-TZEE-khee), yogurt enriched with garlic and cucumber, wrapped inside a pita (πίτα, PEE-tah), a thin pan bread.
Getting around Athens the local way
- Get inGenerally, pedestrian ferry users will be closer than cruise passengers to the Metro station providing access to central Athens; walking distances can vary considerably.
- Go nextPiraeus - the harbour of Athens, and Rafina (on the east coast of Attica) are the departure points for a large number of ferry services to the Greek Islands and other destinations in the eastern Mediterranean, including ports in Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Israel and Cyprus.
- Go nextThe closest islands, suitable for a day trip from Piraeus, are in the Argosaronic (or Saronic) gulf: Hydra Aegina Poros Spetses Kea (also pronounced Tzia) is a very nearby destination, too, less than two hours from the port of Lavrio.
- Go nextFrom here you can continue to Kymi and take the ferry to Skyros island or choose to explore the islands hidden gems.
- Go nextDay trips to the Corinth Canal, the ancient theatre at Epidaurus and to the ancient sites of Olympia, Delphi and Mycenae are easy with a rental car.
From Wikivoyage: Athens, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de (CC BY-SA 3.0 de), Wikimedia Commons.
