Greece · cars
Car rentals in Athens
Rent a car at Athens's airports and city pick-up points. Expedia Cars compares rates across every major rental company. Full insurance options at the counter.
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What first-timers get wrong in Athens
The 1.20 euro ticket covers ninety minutes with unlimited transfers but is explicitly not valid to the airport, which needs a separate 9 euro metro ticket. Daily spend caps at 4.10. Validate on entry every time. Touts near the Acropolis sell queue-skipping that does not exist for an entry you can book yourself. Rounding up five to ten percent is the tipping norm.
What's actually worth your time in Athens
The Acropolis costs 30 euro in the April to October season and the old multi-site combination ticket was discontinued in 2025, so each ancient site is now bought separately. The Ancient Agora is the better value: the Temple of Hephaestus is the most complete Doric temple in Greece and draws a fraction of the crowd. The Panathenaic Stadium is all marble. Hadrian's Library takes fifteen minutes.
What things cost in Athens
Ninety minutes of transport is 1.20 euro, a day pass 4.10, five days 8.10, and a three-day tourist ticket with an airport return 20. The airport metro alone is 9 euro, or 4.50 reduced. The Acropolis is 30 in high season. A gyros in pita stays around four to five euro, and a freddo espresso under three.
Athens with kids, realistically
Go to the Acropolis at the eight o'clock opening: there is no shade on the rock and the marble is worn slick. The changing of the guard at Syntagma happens on the hour and the full ceremonial version on Sunday morning. The Hellenic Children's Museum and the Eugenides planetarium are indoor fallbacks. Metro stations are modern and lift-equipped; the Stavros Niarchos park runs free family programming.
When the weather turns in Athens
The Acropolis genuinely closes in heavy rain because the polished marble becomes dangerous, so hold the Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum in reserve rather than as afterthoughts. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation library and the covered Varvakios market both work. Athenian rain tends to be short and violent, and the streets around Omonia flood at the kerbs before draining within the hour.
When to go to Athens
| Best months for cars-in | Avg daily high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| October | 24°C / 75°F | 3 days |
| May | 25°C / 77°F | 5 days |
| September | 29°C / 84°F | 3 days |
The month to avoid is July — around 34°C (93°F) with roughly 1 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: October is the sweet spot, July the month most people skip.
Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.