How to get to the city from Athens International Airport (ATH) by public transit

There are 2 ways to get to the center of Athens from the airport by public transportation (that means no taxi)

1. Bus (route X95) - costs 6 euros and takes ~50 minutes
2. Pros of bus: only tourists so relatively safe, cheap
3. Cons: not connected with the metro system. You'll need to enter the metro system at Syntagma Square and buy metro ticket there
4. Metro - blue line - costs 10 euros and also takes ~50 minutes
5. Pros of metro: convenience. It's part of the Athens metro system so you can connect to any metro station in the city without having to pay again
6. Cons: it becomes pretty packed after 3-4 stations from the airport, and I've been warned by locals that there are thieves targeting tourists on these trains

• Personally I used both metro and bus: I took the metro into the city and took the bus out of the city

How to take bus route X95:

• When you exit baggage claim, turn right and go to the very end of the terminal building
• Exit the terminal building and the bus stop is right there. Buses have "X95" displayed on the back so make sure you check the signage on the bus
• Buy the €6 ticket from the booth there with cash
• The bus drops you off at the Syntagma Square in about 45-50 minutes with normal traffic. From there it's is a 15-minute walk to the Acropolis, or you can transfer to the metro system at the Syntagma station
• To take X95 from the city to the airport, board the bus at the south east corner of the Syntagma Square, right here:

How to take the metro:

• After exiting the baggage claim area, follow signs for trains. It will direct you to exit the terminal building, cross the street, go up a level, and cross this bridge:
• After you cross this bridge, it's the train ticketing area. Buy your ticket (I recommend buying it from the booth rather than machine) with cash or credit card
• Tap the paper ticket on the machine to go in. Hang on to your ticket as you need to tap out at your destination
• Go down a level to the trains. Make sure to board the train marked as "Metro", NOT "Suburban Train":
• This is Blue line. You can transfer to Red and Green line in the city at Syntagma and Panepistimio Monastiraki stations, respectively
• To get to the Acropolis from the airport, take the airport line (Blue line) to Syntagma, then transfer to the Red line towards Elliniko for one stop to get off at Acropoli station. The entrance to the Acropolis is just 2-minute walk away from the exit of the Acropoli station
• Here's the current metro map (linked to the current Wikipedia map, from this Wikipedia page):
• Station names are announced every stop. Also, the displays in the train as well as the stations all have latin alphabet signage, so very easy to know when you should get off
• Be careful of thieves. No fewer than 3 locals warned me of thieves on this train. I didn't encounter any, but don't show valuables and stay vigilant
• The train starts out pretty empty when it departs from the airport, like this:But after 3-4 stations it starts to fill up. By the time it gets close to Syntagma it's packed.