Greece
A trip to Athens: what to budget
Plan €1765 for 7 nights in Athens, return flight from London included, or €484 travelling cheap. On the ground that works out at €245 per person per day in comfort, €63 travelling cheap.
- From
- €63/day
- vs. London
- 97%
- Best month
- Sep
Your trip to Athens
Set the length, the number of travellers and the comfort level: the figures recompute here.
€1,765
per person, flight included
- on the ground
- €1,715
- flight from London
- €50
- per person per day, on the ground
- €245
In short, where the money goes
- The heaviest line
- Accommodation47 % of the trip
- The strongest lever
- Accommodation€707 less travelling cheap
- Seven nights on the ground
- €1715excluding flights
Accommodation
€812
Food
€525
Transport
€126
Activities
€126
Extras
€126
Over seven nights, accommodation accounts for 47 % of what you spend. The line where travelling cheap changes the bill most is accommodation, a €707 gap. The others are worth discussing, that one decides.
Basis: 24 hotel addresses surveyed for a 15 October 2026 arrival, 7 of twelve months of airfares, surveyed on 23 September 2026. The total excludes flights, insurance, personal shopping and any lodging split between several people.
InstantTripCost estimate
Full 7-night budget breakdown
Per-person estimate including flights from London, split across the six expense categories.
per person · Comfort
| Category | Budget | Comfort | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | €43 | €50 | €75 |
| Hotel | €105 | €812 | €1323 |
| Food | €231 | €525 | €1176 |
| Transport | €56 | €126 | €315 |
| Activities | €28 | €126 | €378 |
| Misc | €21 | €126 | €385 |
| 7-night total | €484 | €1765 | €3652 |
Flight from London (annual median).
Unit prices
comfort
Enough to check the total yourself, line by line, at the comfort level you picked.
- €11
- Breakfast
- €21
- Lunch
- €43
- Dinner
- €6
- City ride
- €18
- Site admission
- €245
- A full day
Orders of magnitude derived from our measured ranges, not surveyed venue by venue. Prices vary by neighbourhood and season.
The three tiers
What a budget traveller, a comfort traveller and a premium traveller typically spend.
Budget
€63
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €15
- Food / day
- €33
- Transit / day
- €8
- Sights / day
- €4
- Extras / day
- €3
Comfort
€245
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €116
- Food / day
- €75
- Transit / day
- €18
- Sights / day
- €18
- Extras / day
- €18
Luxury
€511
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €189
- Food / day
- €168
- Transit / day
- €45
- Sights / day
- €54
- Extras / day
- €55
When to go, and what the month changes
Average temperatures and conditions by month in Athens.
Mildest monthSeptember
Where to sleep in Athens
Choosing a district
The archaeological centre is compact, and nearly everything you come to see fits inside a two-kilometre circle. The neighbourhood decides less about travel time than about the mood of the evening.
Plaka
The old quarter at the foot of the Acropolis, pedestrian lanes and low houses. Busy by day, quiet at night.
Monastiraki
The market, the rooftop bars and the station serving both airport and port. Noisy, central, alive late.
Koukaki
A residential quarter south of the Acropolis, neighbourhood cafés rather than tourist terraces.
Syntagma
Parliament square and the metro hub. Chain hotels, shops, wide pavements.
Exarcheia
The student and political quarter, bookshops and cheap bars. Twenty minutes' walk from the Acropolis.
The hotels we measured
Accommodation picks by price range.
Pella Inn Hostel
Hotel, decent (7.9/10) from 3,879 reviews.
Zeus Hostel
Hostel, decent (7.3/10) from 2,287 reviews.
Hotel @Syngrou Fix
Hotel, very well rated (8.6/10) from 1,755 reviews.
FALIREON HOTEL
Hotel, well rated (8.4/10) from 1,240 reviews.
Chic Hotel
Hotel, well rated (8.3/10) from 679 reviews.
Hellenic Vibes Smart Hotel
5-star, rated excellent (9.2/10) from 2,288 reviews.
Luwian Athens Boutique Hotel
Hotel, rated excellent (9/10) from 3,452 reviews.
Regal Hotel Mitropoleos
Hotel, very well rated (8.8/10) from 4,135 reviews.
All observed hotels in Athens
24 of 24 surveyed properties shown, the cheapest in each tier. Nightly rate for a 2-night stay arriving 15 October 2026.
| Hotel | Category | Rating | From / night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparta Team Hotel | Budget | ★ 5.4 | €10 |
| Zeus Hostel | Budget | ★ 7.3 | €11 |
| Pella Inn Hostel | Budget | ★ 7.9 | €12 |
| White Bunk Bed in dorm 5' from metro | Budget | ★ 4.3 | €13 |
| Kefi Hub | Budget | ★ 8.2 | €13 |
| Κρεβάτια σε κοιτώνα 5' from metro | Budget | ★ 6.1 | €14 |
| Wooden bunk bed in a dorm 5' from metro | Budget | ★ 8.2 | €14 |
| Bunk bed in dorm 5' from metro | Budget | ★ 2.5 | €14 |
| Galaxy Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 6.8 | €63 |
| Dunlin Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 8.1 | €66 |
| Nikis 20 Suites | Luxury | ★ 8.3 | €67 |
| Green Oasis II in the center of Athens | Luxury | ★ 0 | €70 |
| Chic Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 8.3 | €72 |
| Dorian Inn - Sure Hotel Collection by Best Western | Mid-range | ★ 8.2 | €82 |
| Luwian Athens Boutique Hotel | Luxury | ★ 9 | €82 |
| Hotel London | Mid-range | ★ 8 | €84 |
| Omiros Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 7.7 | €88 |
| Regal Hotel Mitropoleos | Luxury | ★ 8.8 | €96 |
| Hotel @Syngrou Fix | Mid-range | ★ 8.6 | €101 |
| FALIREON HOTEL | Mid-range | ★ 8.4 | €105 |
| Hellenic Vibes Smart Hotel | Luxury | ★ 9.2 | €118 |
| Anasa Hotel Athens | Luxury | ★ 8.8 | €118 |
| Athens Cypria Hotel | Luxury | ★ 8.6 | €128 |
| Astor Hotel Athens | Luxury | ★ 8.5 | €138 |
What food costs in Athens
Concrete benchmarks to set your meal budget, from the morning coffee to dinner.
Food is the second line of the trip, behind lodging. Over seven nights at mid comfort it takes a little under a third of what you spend on the ground.
The gap between the three regimes is tighter here than in most capitals. A souvlaki or a plate of gyros at a counter stays at a level few European cities match, and the difference with a sit-down meal in a neighbourhood taverna is not a factor of three. It is when you move up to the restaurants with a view of the Acropolis, in Plaka and on the Monastiraki rooftops, that the bill breaks away: the view costs more there than the plate does.
So the lever fits in one sentence: the same Greek cooking costs markedly less two streets back from the view. Koukaki and Exarcheia serve at neighbourhood prices, twenty minutes' walk from the same sites.
Two local habits work in your favour. Cover and bread are often charged but stay small, and the tip remains a rounding-up rather than an expected percentage. The central market and the bakeries let you assemble lunch for a fraction of a sit-down meal, which is the simplest way to pull the food line down without changing anything else.
What getting around costs in Athens
Transit, distances and the smart moves so you don't pay the tourist tax.
This is one of the smallest lines of the trip, level with sightseeing and extras, and a long way behind lodging. The reason is the same as for sightseeing: the archaeological centre is compact and covered on foot.
The metro runs three lines and serves most of what you come to see. A single ticket is modest, and a day pass pays for itself from the third ride. Buses and the tram extend the network towards the coast, but a visitor on a week's stay uses them little.
The airport link deserves a mention, because it is the one journey where the choice really moves the bill. The metro runs there directly, at a specific fare above the ordinary city ticket but bearing no comparison with a taxi. The express bus takes longer and costs less than the metro: it is the option for night arrivals, when the metro is not running.
A car is of no use inside Athens. The centre is partly pedestrian, parking is difficult, and the sites are closer to one another than the parking spaces are. It is only worth it for a day trip to Cape Sounion or Delphi, and is then rented by the day.
What sightseeing costs in Athens
Recommended activities and tours.
Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens (Ancient Greek: ἡ Ἀκρόπολις τῶν Ἀθηνῶν, romanized: hē Akropolis tōn Athēnōn; Modern Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών, romanized: Akrópoli Athinón) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word Acropolis is from Greek ἄκρον (akron) 'highest point, extremity' and πόλις (polis) 'city'.
Tourist attraction
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
The National Archaeological Museum (Greek: Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο, romanized: Ethnikó Archaiologikó Mouseío) in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world and contains the richest collection of Greek Antiquity artifacts worldwide.
National museum
Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum (Greek: Μουσείο Ακρόπολης, Mouseio Akropolis) is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece.
Museum
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; Ancient Greek: Παρθενών, romanised: Parthenōn [par.tʰe.nɔ̌ːn]; Greek: Παρθενώνας, romanised: Parthenónas [parθeˈnonas]) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of classical Greek art, and the Parthenon is considered an enduring symbol of ancient Greece, Western civilisation, and democracy.
Tourist attraction
Platonic Academy
The Academy (Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδημία, romanized: Akadēmia) was founded by Plato in ca. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years (367 BC - 347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum.
Archaeological site
Erechtheion
The Erechtheion (, latinized as Erechtheum ; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Modern Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple, on the north side of the Acropolis, Athens, that was primarily dedicated to the goddess Athena. The iconic Ionic building, which housed the statue of Athena Polias, has in modern scholarship been called the Erechtheion (the sanctuary of Erechtheus or Poseidon), in the belief that it encompassed two buildings mentioned by the Greek-Roman geographer Pausanias: the Temple of Athena Polias; and the Erechtheion.
Archaeological site
Panathenaic Stadium
The Panathenaic Stadium (Greek: Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο, romanized: Panathinaïkó Stádio, [panaθinai̯ˈko ˈstaðio]) or Kallimarmaro (Καλλιμάρμαρο [kaliˈmaɾmaɾo], lit. 'beautiful marble') is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. One of the main historic attractions of Athens, it is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble.
Tourist attraction
Lyceum
The Lyceum (, Ancient Greek: Λύκειον, romanized: Lykeion /lý.keː.on/) was a temple in Athens dedicated to Apollo Lyceus (). It was best known for the Peripatetic school of philosophy founded there by Aristotle in 334 BC.
Archaeological site
Benaki Museum
The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the modern times, an extensive collection of Asian art, hosts periodic exhibitions and maintains a state-of-the-art restoration and conservation workshop.
Art museum
Syntagma Square
Syntagma Square (Greek: Πλατεία Συντάγματος, pronounced [plaˈtia sinˈdaɣmatos], "Constitution Square") is the central square of Athens, Greece. The square is named after the Constitution that Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant after a popular and military uprising on 3 September 1843.
Square
Places referenced on Wikidata. Admission prices vary by season - check each venue's official site.
Paying less in Athens
What moves the needle
What each decision takes off the €1783 total, strongest lever first.
- − €1274
Travel cheap rather than mid-range
Hostel or entry-level hotel, local canteens, public transport. Accommodation is where the gap opens up.
- − €490
Stay five nights instead of seven
Two fewer nights also removes two days of meals, transport and sightseeing.
- − €406
Travel as a pair
The room is shared, nothing else is. Travellers themselves name this as the strongest lever.
Differences computed from our own measurements, for a 7-night mid-range stay, excluding flights.
8 tips on the ground
- Do not start with the flight. It comes to a few per cent of the trip, where lodging takes close to half and concentrates most of the difference between a cheap formula and a comfortable one.
- Between the last dorm bed and the first private room the survey finds nothing, and the step is more than threefold. There is no middle ground to look for: the decision is binary, and it sets the budget.
- Unlike many cities, the premium here is audible in the reviews. The rating weighted by review count rises clearly at every tier. If you move up, you get something measurable for it.
- Be wary of isolated ratings. Several entry-tier places have fewer than twenty reviews, and one shows a very low score on two reviews alone. Our averages are weighted by review count; not every average you meet elsewhere is.
- The Acropolis view is charged to your plate. The same cooking costs markedly less two streets away, in Koukaki or Exarcheia, for twenty minutes of walking.
- September is the month our survey points to, averaging 23 °C. July and August run above 27 °C, and the ancient sites offer no shade at midday.
- The metro links the airport to the centre for a fraction of a taxi. The express bus costs less again and runs at night, when the metro stops.
- Over a week the sightseeing line stays level with transport. The major sites are neighbours and done on foot: it is the one budget in this city that calls for no trade-off.
FAQ
FAQ - Athens
- How much does a week in Athens cost?
- Reckon on around €1,715 on the ground for seven nights at mid comfort, excluding the flight, or about €245 per person per day. The fare is on top and is observed between €31 and €79 across the months surveyed, which stays small against the rest of the trip.
- Is it worth hunting for a cheap flight to Athens?
- It is the smallest lever of the trip. Over seven nights the flight comes to a few per cent of the total, where lodging takes close to half. The same time spent choosing between a dorm and a room moves the bill far more.
- Can you sleep in Athens for under twenty euros?
- Yes, the entry tier is observed at €15, but that is a dorm bed. The first private room in our survey costs more than three times as much, and nothing sits in between. Mid-range is observed at €116.
- Is it worth paying more for a hotel in Athens?
- Here, yes, and it is measurable. The rating weighted by review count rises clearly from the entry tier to mid-range, then from mid to upmarket, observed at €189. Both gaps sit well above the threshold below which we refuse to conclude. That is not true in every city we survey.
- What is the best month to visit Athens?
- September, averaging 23 °C in our climate survey. July peaks at 28 °C and August at 27 °C, and the ancient sites offer no shade in the middle of the day. The annual range reaches twenty degrees, from 8 °C in January to 28 °C in July.
- How much should you budget for sightseeing?
- Over a week the sightseeing line stays level with local transport and extras, a long way behind lodging. The reason is geographic: the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Theatre of Dionysus and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus are on the same hill, and the Agora, Hadrian's Library and the Temple of Olympian Zeus are within walking distance.
- How do you get to the centre from the airport?
- The metro runs there directly, at a fare specific to that line, above the ordinary city ticket but bearing no comparison with a taxi. The express bus takes longer, costs less than the metro, and runs at night when the metro has stopped.
- Where do you eat without paying tourist prices?
- Two streets back from the view. The terraces of Plaka and the Monastiraki rooftops charge for the panorama more than for the plate; the same cooking costs markedly less in Koukaki or Exarcheia, twenty minutes' walk from the same sites. The central market and the bakeries let you put lunch together for a fraction of a sit-down meal.
- Do you need a car in Athens?
- Not for the city. The centre is partly pedestrian, parking is difficult, and the sites are closer to one another than the parking spaces are. The metro covers the essentials, and local transport stays one of the smallest lines of the trip. A car is only worth it for a day trip to Cape Sounion or Delphi.
- Is Athens a cheap capital?
- Its index comes in at 97 %. But the average hides the structure: lodging concentrates close to half of what you spend on the ground, and it is the only line where the choice really moves the bill. Food, transport and sightseeing stay moderate and compare well with most capitals in the Union.
At a glance
Wikidata, Wikipedia and Open-Meteo data
- Population
- 643k
- Area
- 39 km²
- Elevation
- 74 m
- Language
- Modern Greek, Demotic Greek, Greek
- Currency
- €
- Time zone
- Eastern European Time
- Founded
- -7000
- Avg. July temp.
- 28°
- Avg. Jan. temp.
- 8°
- Rainy days / year
- 58
inhabitants
Euro
22° - 33°
5° - 12°
About
Athens in brief
Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica region and is the southernmost capital on the European mainland. With its urban area's population numbering over 3.6 million, it is the eighth-largest urban area in the European Union (EU). The Municipality of Athens, which constitutes a small administrative unit of the entire urban area, had a population of 643,452 in 2021, within its official limits, and a land area of 38.96 square kilometres.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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