Athens runs one integrated ticketing system across the metro, tram, bus and trolleybus network, operated under OASA, but the range of ticket types, passes and payment methods can look more complicated than it needs to be. Here's how the pieces actually fit together.
The basic ticket types
According to OASA's official fare page, the core tickets for city travel are:
| Ticket | Full price | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| 90-minute single ticket | €1.20 | 90 minutes from first validation, unlimited transfers within that window |
| 24-hour (daily) ticket | €4.10 | 24 hours from first validation |
| 5-day ticket | €8.20 | 5 x 24 hours from first validation |
| 3-day tourist ticket | €20.00 | 3 x 24 hours, and includes a 2-way airport connection |
All of these cover OASA's buses, trolleybuses, trams and metro lines 1, 2 and 3 (as far as Koropi station), plus the relevant section of the Suburban Railway between Magoula, Piraeus's ferry port and Koropi. Crucially, OASA's page is explicit that the 90-minute, daily and 5-day tickets do not cover the Airport Express bus lines or the metro segment from Koropi to the airport — only the 3-day tourist ticket bundles airport travel in with general city transport.
Discounted fares (roughly 40% off full price on most products) apply to eligible groups, but discount tickets can only be loaded onto a personalized ATH.ENA Card, not bought as loose paper tickets or used anonymously.
Multi-day and long-term passes
For longer stays, OASA sells 30, 90, 180 and 365-day passes in two tiers. The standard tier (from €27 for 30 days, full price) covers the same city network as the short tickets above and explicitly excludes Airport Express and X80 buses. A second tier, priced higher (€45 for 30 days, full price), adds the Airport Express bus lines and the metro route to the airport into the same pass — useful if you expect to make more than one airport trip during an extended stay, since paying for airport tickets individually each time would likely cost more.
Airport-specific tickets
Airport journeys are priced and ticketed separately from city travel. OASA lists an Airport EXPRESS bus ticket at €5.50 full fare (one-way only, from or to the airport), and a Metro Airport Ticket at €9.00 one-way full fare or €16.00 for a two-way ticket valid 30 days. The Metro Airport Ticket, once validated, is also usable on the wider OASA network (bus, trolleybus, tram) for 90 minutes, similar to the standard single ticket — but again, it excludes the Airport Express and X80 lines specifically. See VoyageWindow's separate guide to the airport transfer itself for how these tickets fit into the trip from the terminal.
The ATH.ENA Card and ATH.ENA Ticket
OASA's current fare media come in two main physical forms, described on OASA's products page:
- ATH.ENA Ticket — described as a "multiple ticket," essentially a paper or card ticket that can carry a small bundle of rides.
- ATH.ENA Card — described as a "reloadable plastic pass," meant to be topped up repeatedly with tickets, passes or travel credit rather than replaced each time.
The ATH.ENA Card comes in personalized and anonymous versions. A personalized card is tied to your identity and is required if you want access to discounted fares, long-term passes, or the ticket-pack pricing (buying tickets in bundles of 2, 5 or 10+1 at a reduced per-ticket rate) — anonymous cards and loose paper tickets are restricted to full-price products only. For a short visit, an anonymous ATH.ENA Card or simply using contactless bank card payment will cover most needs without the paperwork a personalized card requires.
Contactless bank card and phone payment
OASA has also rolled out direct contactless payment at validators across the network, letting you tap a physical or virtual (NFC-based, such as a smartphone or smartwatch wallet) bank card directly instead of buying a ticket first. Per OASA's page, this covers full-fare products only:
- 90-minute ticket: €1.20
- 24-hour ticket: €4.10
- Airport Express bus: €5.50
- Metro (airport route): €9.00
This is the simplest option for a short visit if you're not eligible for a discount and don't expect to need a multi-day pass: tap in with the same card at every gate or validator, and you're charged the relevant full fare each time, with no separate card purchase or top-up needed.
Validating your ticket
Whichever ticket, card or contactless method you use, you must tap or validate at a blue reader before travelling — at the metro station gate, or on board buses, trolleybuses and trams. A ticket bought but not validated does not start its validity window, and travelling without a validated ticket is treated as fare evasion, with in-person spot checks carried out on the network.
Where to buy and reload
OASA's site lists multiple points of sale and reload options, including staffed ticket offices, vending machines at metro stations, and the ATH.ENA Card mobile app for reloading a card or buying tickets from your phone. If you're arriving without a ticket already, a vending machine at the airport metro station or a staffed kiosk is the most straightforward starting point.
What this guide does not cover
This guide covers city and airport fare products; it does not cover the Suburban Railway's own separate long-distance fares beyond the Magoula-Piraeus-Koropi section, or ticketing on regional KTEL buses, which operate outside the OASA system entirely and are priced and sold separately.