Basic info : : : Business essentials : : : Economy : : : Getting there : : : Where to stay : : : Where to eat : : : What to see : : : What to do : : : Embassies

By Air

Main Airport

Olympic Air (OA) (www.olympicair.com) and
Aegean Airlines (A3) (www.aegeanair.com)

Athens (ATH) (Elfetherios Veniselos) (website: www.aia.gr) is located 33km (23 miles) northeast of the city. To/from the airport: There is a six-lane motorway linking the city and the airport, and regular airport buses run 24 hours from the centre and the port of Piraeus. In addition, metro line 3 has been extended so that some trains run between Monastiraki in the city centre and the airport. Facilities: Duty-free shops, car hire, banks, ATMs, bureaux de change, bar and restaurant facilities, post office, business centre and hotel.

Departure Tax - €12

Other airports:

Thessaloniki (SKG) (Macedonia) is 16km (10 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Regular coach and taxi services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shops, restaurants, bars, banks/bureaux de change, car hire and a post office.

Corfu (CFU) (Kerkira) is 3km (2 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Regular coach, taxi and local bus services are available.Facilities: Duty-free shop, cafe, bar and car hire.

Rhodes (RHO) (Paradisi) is 16km (10 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Coach, taxi and local bus services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, bank, bureau de change, cafe and bar.

Heraklion (HER) (N. Kazantzakis) is 3km (2 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Taxi and local bus services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, bank, bureau de change and bar.

Other airlines flying to Athens

Air France Air Transat British Airways
Delta Air Lines KLM SAS
Aeroflot Alitalia Tarom
Emirates Gulfair Spanair
Lufthansa Malev Austria Airlines
Singapore Airlines Sterling European Germanwings

By bus

There are routes from Athens via Thessaloniki to cities in Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Information and bookings are available from the Hellenic Railways Organisation Ltd (OSE) (website: www.ose.gr; tel: 1110), which operates international coach services.

By Train

The national railway company is Hellenic Railways Organisation Ltd (OSE) (website: www.ose.gr; tel: 1110). A good way to travel from the UK is to take the Eurostar through the channel tunnel, from London to either Brussels or Paris, both of which have onward connections to Greece. For further information and reservations, contact Eurostar (tel: 0870 518 6186, within the UK or +44 1233 617 575, outside the UK; website: www.eurostar.com) or Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, within the UK; website: www.raileurope.co.uk).

Rail Passes
InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The Global Pass is available in durations of one month and 22 days for those looking to travel continuously; otherwise there are passes that allow for 5 days of travel to be used over a ten-day period or a ten-day pass to be used over a period of 22 days. Each pass is valid across all countries.

The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days to be taken in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064; website: www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Eurailpass: the global Eurail pass offers unlimited train travel in 20 European countries. Select, regional (Greece is grouped with Italy) and one-country Eurail passes are also available. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. The passes cannot be sold to residents of Europe, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, or the Russian Federation. Available from The Eurail Group (website: www.eurail.com).

By car

It is possible to ferry cars and caravans across to one of the major ports of entry. Points of overland entry are from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia via Evzoni, and Niki; from Bulgaria via Promahonas or Kastanies and Kipi. From Serbia, the route is via Italy (Trieste), Austria (Graz) and Belgrade. The journey from northern France to Athens is over 3,200km (2,000 miles). For car ferry information, see Getting There By Water.

By Sea

Main ports: Corfu, Heraklion, Igoumenitsa, Patras, Piraeus (Athens)and Rhodes.

International car ferry lines link Patras and Igoumentisa with Ancona, Bari, Brindisi and Venice in Italy year round, and there are also summer services from Corfu to these ports. There is also a service between Rhodes and Marmaris in Turkey.

Major ferry operators covering the international routes are Superfast (tel: 210 891 9000; website: www.superfast.com), Minoan (tel: 210 920 0020; website: www.minoan.gr) and ANEK (tel: 210 323 3481; website: www.anek.gr).

Greek ports (notably Piraeus, Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes and Heraklion) are used by a number of cruise lines.

Mileage

From Athens to.... Town Distance (in Kms)
Ag. Nikolaos 365
Alexandroupoli 857
Amfissa 200
Arta 362
Chania 307
Chios 281
Corfu 407
Drama 668
Edessa 570
Florina 585
Grevena 422
Halkida 78
Heraklion 334
Igoumenitsa 560
Ioannina 438
Kalamata 279
Karditsa 309
Karpenisi 294
Kastoria 593
Katerini 440
Kavala 680
Kefalonia 335
Kilkis 565
Komotini 792
Korinthos 86
Kozani 502
Lamia 212
Larissa 324
Lefkada 378
Livadia 130
Mesologi 248
Mytilini 357
Nafplio 146
Patra 215
Pirgos 315
Polygiros 584
Preveza 370
Rethymno 302
Rhodes 490
Samos 333
Serres 600
Sparta 250
Syros 153
Thessaloniki 515
Trikala 331
Tripoli 189
Veria 520
Volos 324
Xanthi 736
Zakynthos 324

Business Visa

This visa is issued for up to 90 days and allows the holder to conduct business activities in Greece (such as attendance of business meetings, the creation of business contacts, and attendance of business seminars). U.S. citizens, nationals of Canada, nationals of European Union countries, Argentina , Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Brunei, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Holly See, Honduras, South Korea, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, Singapore, Switzerland, Serbia, Montenegro, Uruguay, Venezuela, Croatia and FYROM do not need a visa if their stay does not exceed 90 days. This is a single and multiple entry visas.

Citizens of all other countries are required to have a visa.
Visa requirements:
Passport should be valid 3 months after the date you exit the Schengen States
Completed signed visa application form
1-passport type photographs
An official invitation from the host company in Greece
Valid alien resident card or visa to the US
Bank and credit card statements for the last 3 months
Official Itinerary with closed dates of travel (flight reservation)
Visas of countries you will visit after you exit the Schengen State (if applicable)
The W-2 Forms for the last two years
Reference letter from employer stating position and monthly or annual salary

Customs

Import:

Tobacco products
200 cigarettes or
100 cigarillos or
50 cigars or
250 grams of tobacco

Alcohol:
1 liter of spirits over 22 % vol. or
2 liters of fortified wine or sparkling wine
2 liters of still wine

Perfume: 50 Grams
Eau de toilette: 250 ml
Other goods: Up to a value of 175 Euro

Restricted Imports:

Products of animal origin:
Apart from some exceptions the Community rules do not allow the importation of meat, meat products, milk and milk products by travellers.

Prohibitions and restrictions in the following areas are covered by national legislation
-Drugs
-Medicines
-Weapons
-Explosive Material
-Pornographic Materials

Essential contacts

Country code +30
Ambulance 166
Fire Department 119
Police 100
A single country number for all emergency situations
112
Road Assistance 10400
General information 11880

The information on this site was gathered through our journalists and various source(s) of information including the national tourism organization,
the ministry of finance, the ministry of foreign affairs, CIA World Factbook, and US State Department.