Athens Transport e-Tickets and e-Cards

31/10, UPDATED INFO VIA: Athens Transport – Μέσα Μαζικής Μεταφοράς της Αθήνας

* The old (paper) tickets will be valid until the 6th of November
* From the 6th of November you will also be able to buy one way tickets (1,40 euros), valid for 90′ minutes
* The Monthly Card holders of October will be able to use them until the 10th of November.
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Text & photos via: www.athenstransport.com

 

 

Athens Transport e-Tickets and e-Cards

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  • During 2017 the Athens transport ticket system transitions from paper tickets to modern electronic tickets.
  • With the new system, the paper tickets which were in use until today are being replaced by paper and  plastic smartcards (similar to London’s Oyster cards). Riders of the metro system have to go through turnstiles which have been installed in all stations.
  • This page was updated with information about the new system in October 2017. In the following weeks there will be extra information and improvement of the content.

 

1. What are the different types of tickets and card for Athens public transport?

From 2017 a new electronic ticketing system is being introduced for the Athens public transport network, replacing the older paper tickets and cards.

Fare prices will remain the same for now, however, the way you pay and use the tickets changes.

There are 3 new types of Athens Transport tickets:

  • The Ath.ena Ticket
  • The personalized Ath.ena Card
  • The anonymous Ath.ena Card

 

The Ath.ena Ticket at a glance:

  • Paper rechargeable ticket that can be used again and again as long as it remains in good condition.
  • Ath.ena Ticket can be charged and recharged with products varying from “One 90-minute ticket for all modes” to 5-day tickets.
  • Airport transfer tickets and 3-day tourist tickets are available as well.
  • When a new Ath.ena Ticket is bought, it has to be charged with a bundle of five 90-minute tickets for all modes, or any other ticket product costing at least €4.5.
  • Ath.ena Ticket can be bought from and recharged at all Athens transport ticket offices as well as automatic ticket issuing machines.
  • Half-priced Ath.ena Tickets are available but only from Athens transport ticket offices.

 

The anonymous Ath.ena Card at a glance:

Plastic rechargeable card that can be used again and again.
The anonymous Ath.ena Card can be charged and recharged with products varying from “One 90-minute ticket for all modes to 5-day tickets.
Airport transfer tickets and 3-day tourist tickets available as well.
When a new anonymous Ath.ena Card is bought, it has to be charged with a bundle of five 90-minute tickets for all modes, or any other ticket product costing at least €4.5.
The anonymous Ath.ena Card can be bought only from Athens Transport ticket offices. It can be recharged at the Athens Transport Ticket offices as well as the automatic ticket issuing machines.
There are no half-priced ticket products available through the anonymous Ath.ena Card.

 

All of the above types of tickets:

  • Can be bought regardless of when they are going to be used. Any ticket product is valid with the first “touch in” of the card.
  • Ticket products that aren’t used remain indefinitely inside the Ath.ena Card or Ath.ena Ticketand can be used in the future as long as the ticket or card remains in a good condition.
  • All types of tickets can’t be bought online at the moment. However, personalized Ath.ena Cardscan be charged and recharged online.

 

Read More about:…

2.  What ticket products can I charge my Ath.ena Ticket or Ath.ena Card with?

short term & long term tickets/excluding/including the Athens airport

3. What kind of ticket do I need to travel from/to the Athens airport?

4. I’m flying to Athens for a few days. Any advice on which ticket I should use?

5. Who can use a Reduced Ticket or travel Free of Charge?

6.  How and where can I buy and recharge an Ath.ena Ticket?

7.  How and where can I buy an anonymous Ath.ena Card?

8.  How and where can I buy a personalized Ath.ena Card?

9.  How do I use an Ath.ena Ticket or Ath.ena Card?

10. How about Athens Suburban Railway and other Railway tickets?

 

and a lot more at: https://www.athenstransport.com/english/tickets/

 

Clean Monday: the tradition, the food, the wine pairing

by Ted Lelekas

source: http://www.ilovegreekwine.com

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This coming Monday is – yet another – special day in Greece. You may know it (or have heard of it) as Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or Green Monday. We Greeks call it Clean Monday or “Kathará Deftéra”. It’s the celebration that marks the beginning of Lent, according to the Orthodox Church, it’s a moveable feast that’s always celebrated 48 days before Easter Sunday and it’s a public holiday across the country.

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Kathara_Deutera-2Clean Monday is so called because people are meant to cleanse their souls and bodies before Lent. And whereas soul-cleansing is done through prayer, going to mass etc, the cleansing of the body is taken care of through fasting. As such, Clean Monday is a “meatless” day, so the food on the table on that day (essentially the family lunch, since it’s a holiday) consists of “nistissima”, ie foods suitable for Lent fasting.

Nistissima is anything but meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. Everything else is allowed, including seafood and shellfish, vegetables (roast, fried or pickled), salads, rice or pasta dishes (usually with tomato sauce and seafood), as well as dips such as taramosalata and eggplant salad (melitzanosalata). Also very typical is the azyme bread that’s only made – and consumed – on Clean Monday, called “lagána”…

… So how do you “dress” the Clean Monday table with suitable wine? Well, it’s easier than you’d think… read more @ http://www.ilovegreekwine.com/clean-monday-tradition-food-wine-pairing/

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KATHARIDEFTERA1web

Athens Transport Tickets and Cards

All info via: athenstransport.com. A very helpful and informative website not only for residents but for visitors and tourists

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Photo source: discovergreece.com

From Monday, February 1st, 2016, new Athens transport ticket prices take effect.

  • Holders of old tickets will be able to use them until April 3oth, 2016.

Questions answered in this page:

  • What are the different types of tickets for Athens public transport and how much do they cost?
  • For what modes of transport and for how long is each ticket valid?
  • What kind of ticket do I need to travel from/to the Athens airport?
  • Who can use a reduced ticket?
  • Where can I buy Athens transportation tickets? How do I use a ticket?
  • How can I get a monthly card?
  • What kind of ticket do I need for the suburban railway (proastiakos)?
  • What are the different types of tickets for Athens public transport?
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Type of ticket Ticket Price Reduced Ticket Price
Intergrated ticket for all modes (Valid for 90 mins) € 1.40  € 0.60
24-hour ticket for all modes € 4,5  No reduced ticket
5-day ticket for all modes € 9  No reduced ticket 
3-day tourist ticket € 22 No reduced ticket
Express Bus ticket for the airport € 6 € 3
Metro ticket for the airport
(also valid for Suburban Railway and all other modes)
€ 10,
ticket for 2 persons € 18,
ticket for 3 persons € 24
€ 5
No reduced tickets
for 2 or 3 persons
Return Metro ticket for the airport (for 2 journeys in under 7 days) € 18 No reduced ticket

 

Integrated tickets are valid for 90 minutes after their validation for transportation and transfers on: city Buses (excluding Airport express buses and X80 line), Trolley-Buses, Tram, Metro (all stations except Airport), Suburban Railway (only sections Piraeus – SKA and Magoula – Koropi).

 

Tourist tickets are valid for: 1 round trip from/to Athens International airport by Metro or Express Bus and unlimited travel on all other modes for 3 days, including line X80 (for example from 10am on Friday till 10am on Monday). As of 2016, they are available at Athens Airport metro and bus station and Omonoia, Syntagma, Thiseio, Monastiraki, Akropoli and Piraeus metro stations.

 

24-hour and 5-day tickets are valid for transportation and tranfers on: city buses (excluding Airport lines) (the 24-hour ticket but not the 5-day ticket is valid for X80 line), trolley-buses, tram, metro (all stations except Airport), Suburban Railway (only sections Pireus – SKA and Magoula – Koropi, not for Airport). They are valid for 24 hours and 5×24 hours after the first validation. For example, from 1pm on Monday till 1pm on Tuesday for the the 24-hour ticket, and from 1pm on Wednesday till 1pm the following Monday for the 5-day ticket.

 

Metro tickets for the airport are vald for 90 minutes after their validation for transportation and transfers on the same modes as the integrated tickets, plus a transfer from/to the airport with the metro. They are NOT valid for rides on Airport express buses. Same conditions apply for return metro tickets to the airport, and 2 and 3 persons tickets for the airport. Return tickets for the airport can be used for a return within 7 days.

 

Express bus tickets for the airport are valid only for a ride on an airport express bus, and no other means of transport.

 

READ MORE ABOUT :

  • What kind of ticket do I need to travel from/to the Athens airport?
  • Who can use a Reduced Ticket?
  • Where can I buy a ticket? 
  • How do I use an Athens transport ticket?
  • How can I get a monthly or a 3-month card (travelcard)?
  • Cards for all modes excluding airport
  • Cards for all modes including airport
  • How about Athens Suburban Railway and other Railway tickets?

SOURCE/READ MORE: athenstransport.gr


‘New to Greece’ and now what to do?

By Katerina Tsitsipi

At last, you have unpacked, put the furniture into place, the kids started school, and….”WHAT AM I
DOING HERE?”, you probably think.

Well, you can do EVERYTHING here, provided that you ask the right people, meet people from your country and others, and set your mind into the task of making it and settling down, while trying to adapt in the new country.
After many years of working with expats, we have gathered some advice and experience from the side of the newcomer and the local people. 

First of all, join Newcomers! For obvious reasons! 

Don’t hesitate to ask anyone in the street for help, info, or advice. Greeks are generally quite friendly and helpful towards foreigners. If you are beginning to learn Greek, even if you know only 3 words, don’t be shy, USE THEM! Nobody will make fun of you or laugh at you. One thing I tell my students is that learning Greek opens a window in your life! Hard to believe? You think it’s an IMPOSSIBLE language to learn? 

That’s what we think, too. It’s hard. That’s why whenever we see a foreigner trying to learn it, we respect him/her, no matter what. 

About shopping: one of the best things we have in Athens, in my opinion, is the “laiki” (pronounced lie-ee-kee), the street market. If you consider that we eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables every day (frozen meals are not popular at all), you can understand why the laikis are always so crowded. The salesman will give you a bag to pick your own produce so that you can choose by yourself the quantity you like. They will let you taste their produce, and they might even offer you some as a present.

Tip: if you get to know the people there, you will be able to do your shopping very fast since they will choose for you. I always “threaten” jokingly that if they don’t give me super good quality, I’ll shout next time I come!

Greece is the ideal country for socializing.

Both yours and your children’s social life will be extremely rich – your diary will be full! There are zillions of things to do in Athens for adults, children, families etc. provided that you are open to all that. Don’t be afraid of staying out till late. A very popular Saturday evening activity is cinema first, eating out afterwards (you might have noticed by now that everything here is followed by food). Don’t stay within the limits of your area, go to the centre of town, venture south, go everywhere! Try to adapt your schedule to ours occasionally – within limits, sometimes we are TOO MUCH! 

On the weekends, discover our parks, playgrounds, mountains, museums, concert halls and the weekly events. Sygrou Park in Marousi, Parnitha Mountain, Poulaki Park in Filothei, are just a few places you can visit for a nice walk.

If you allow it to be, Greece can be a dream country, There are negative aspects to living here, but if you get to know the culture, the people and the language, you just may fall in love with Greece… many people do!

via: Newcomers Newsletter October 2013

you can visit: http://www.newcomersinathens.com/

and http://newcomersinathens.blogspot.gr/

 

athenstransport.com (en)

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Athens! With an urban population of more than 4 million people, Athens is the capital of Greece and the 4th most populous capital in the E.U. with a large, modern mass transit system to serve the needs of residents and visitors. It consists of:

  • City buses
  • Electric trolley-buses
  • Athens Metro
  • Athens Tram, and
  • Athens Suburban railway.

Athens is connected to even the remotest destinations through the Athens International Airport, ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio, national railway network operated by TRAINOSE and, long-distance bus network KTEL.

source/read more: http://athenstransport.com/english/