First time in Athens? What to know before you go

These are the stops that carry a first trip. Each one is walkable from the next in the centre, so you can chain two or three in a morning without a taxi.

Book the Acropolis for the first slot of the day or the last two hours before closing. Midday in summer is a queue in full sun with little shade on the rock. The Acropolis Museum next door is the natural pairing and is air-conditioned, which makes it the best rain or heat fallback in the city.

Athens is cheaper than most western European capitals for food and transport, and the big cost is ancient-site tickets. A single Acropolis ticket and a combined ticket covering several sites are both sold; the combined version pays off from about three sites. Prices change yearly, so treat every figure here as a 2026 estimate and confirm at the gate or online.

Museum and site hours stretch in summer and shrink in winter, and several close or shorten on public holidays. Check the day before you go, especially around Easter, 1 May and national holidays. Many shops close on Sundays, while museums generally stay open.

Athens International Airport is about 30 km east of the centre. Metro Line 3 runs to Syntagma and Monastiraki, and the X95 bus runs to Syntagma around the clock. Both take roughly 40–60 minutes depending on traffic; the metro avoids it. Taxis and ride-hailing are available, with a fixed-ish airport fare band that you should confirm before you get in (check).

Piraeus is the main ferry port for the Cyclades and Crete, reached by metro Line 1 from Monastiraki or Thiseio. Rafina, northeast of the city, handles some Cyclades routes and Evia. Allow a buffer of an hour or more between a ferry and a flight, and more in July–August when roads and ports are busy.

In the centre, most of the sights sit within a 30-minute walk of each other. The metro, tram and buses use one ticket type with time-based validity; validate before you board and keep the ticket until you exit (check).

Walk early and late in summer. The Acropolis rock, the Agora and the stadium have little shade, and the marble gets hot and slick. A hat, water and shoes with grip matter more here than in most cities. Midday is for museums, lunch and a siesta; the city comes back to life in the evening.

The centre is busy with pickpockets on the metro and around Monastiraki and Omonia. Keep bags zipped and in front, and ignore the usual bar and taxi overcharge tricks. Athens is generally safe to walk at night in the tourist core; use normal city sense elsewhere.

Learn a few Greek words and order at the bar for cheaper coffee. Sunday closures and the August holiday period change what is open, so plan the big sites for weekdays when you can.

April to June and September to November are the sweet spots: warm days, open ferries and manageable crowds. May and October are the best single months for a first trip that combines Athens with islands. Spring brings wildflowers and Easter crowds; autumn brings warm sea and calmer streets.

July and August are hot, crowded and expensive, with afternoon temperatures often above 35 °C. If you come then, start at 07:00–08:00, rest indoors at midday and go out again after 18:00. Winter is mild and cheap, with shorter site hours and some island ferries reduced; Athens itself stays fully open and is pleasant for museum-heavy days.