An Athens city pass is one digital ticket that bundles entry to the Acropolis and other sites and museums of Athens, with the hop-on hop-off bus and public transport on selected passes, valid for a set number of days. Tours across the rest of the country are listed on Greece Tours.
The sections below cover the passes you can book, what each includes, Acropolis entry, the museums, the bus, transport, the state combined ticket, the number of days, activation, free entry, the months and booking, with links into the Athens pages. The passes shown are checked on GetYourGuide.
What is an Athens city pass?
An Athens city pass is one digital ticket for a set of Athens sights. It covers the Acropolis, museums and archaeological sites. Versions add a hop-on hop-off bus or public transport. You get it by email and show it on your phone.
No printed ticket is needed. An Athens city pass stores your entry tickets and attraction details on your smartphone. Staff at each sight scan its QR code, a square barcode on the screen.
On the 1-5 day pass and the Choose 2-7 pass, each included sight admits you once. You visit the sights in any order, within their opening hours. To plan the days around an Athens city pass, follow this Athens itinerary for first-timers.
Which Athens city pass can you book?
You can book three Athens city pass listings on GetYourGuide. The first covers a fixed list for 1 to 5 days. The second lets you choose 2 to 7 attractions. The third runs for 7 days in four levels.
“Athens: City Pass with Acropolis, Museums, HoHo & Transport” pairs pre-booked Acropolis entry with 15+ attractions and a 48-hour hop-on hop-off bus. Public transport and a one-day island cruise are optional extras.
“Athens Attractions Pass: Choose 2–7 Top Attractions” is sold as the Athens Flex Pass. You choose 2 to 7 experiences from a menu of sites, museums, tours and transport. The pass stays valid for 30 days after your first visit.
“Athens Pass: Acropolis, Top Attractions, Unlimited Transport” comes from Key Tours. It runs for 7 days in a row from first use. Basic, Classic, Premium and Deluxe levels set your extra sights and your transport.
What does the Athens city pass with the Acropolis, museums and hop-on hop-off include?
This Athens city pass includes a pre-booked Acropolis and slopes ticket with an audio guide. It adds the Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum and 8 more museum tickets. A 48-hour hop-on hop-off bus ticket covers the Athens and Piraeus route.
Beyond the two big museums, this Athens city pass lists the museum tickets and extras below. You can read about each collection in the Athens museums guide.
- Athens Olympic Museum and Hellenic Motor Museum
- Herakleidon Museum and Museum of Illusions
- Kotsanas Museum shows on ancient technology and ancient games
- Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum and Athens War Museum
- City sightseeing audio tour and a free 1GB eSIM data offer
The transport add-on to this Athens city pass does not cover airport trips. The optional cruise visits Hydra, Poros and Aegina, with hotel transfer and lunch. Compare it with other Athens cruise and boat tours.
How does the Athens city pass that lets you choose 2 to 7 attractions work?
With this Athens city pass, you book a number of attractions, from 2 to 7. You pick the actual sights later in the digital pass. It activates at your first visit and stays valid for 30 days.
After booking, the provider emails you a link to your digital Flex Pass. You open it online and select sights, up to the number you booked. At purchase, you also set a day of first use.
Each pick on this Athens city pass admits you once. A chosen sight cannot be swapped later. The Acropolis runs on timed entry, so book its slot early.
The menu mixes sites, museums, day trips and transport. Only the sights you select in the digital pass are included. In a group, each holder picks their own sights.
- Ancient sites: the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, the Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, the Olympieion and Aristotle’s Lyceum
- Museums: the New Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum and six more
- Day trips: Delphi, Ancient Corinth with the canal, and Mycenae with Epidaurus and Nafplio
- Getting around: a 48-hour hop-on hop-off bus or a public transport pick
- Evening: an Athens city tour by night on an open-top bus
What does the Athens city pass with unlimited transport include?
This Athens city pass from Key Tours runs for 7 days in a row from first use. Every level includes Acropolis entry with an audio guide. The level you book then adds metro tickets or a hop-on hop-off bus, plus extra sights.
The Acropolis ticket and its time slot arrive right after booking. You book every other sight and tour in the Smartvisit app. The listing sells a regular adult ticket only, for ages 18 to 99.
The title promises unlimited transport, but only two levels carry metro tickets. The other two carry the hop-on hop-off bus instead. Here is what each Athens city pass level holds:
- Basic: the Acropolis, a 1-day metro ticket and one extra attraction
- Classic: the Acropolis, a hop-on hop-off bus ticket and one extra attraction
- Premium: the Acropolis, a 5-day metro ticket and two extra attractions
- Deluxe: the Acropolis, a hop-on hop-off bus ticket and three extra attractions
Extra attractions include the Acropolis Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art and the Panathenaic Stadium. Premium and Deluxe add Delphi and Ancient Corinth day tours, plus an optional Saronic island cruise.
How does Acropolis entry work with an Athens city pass?
An Athens city pass gives timed entry to the Acropolis, with a set time slot. Two passes include the Acropolis by default. The Choose 2-7 pass lists it as one option. Each pass books your slot in its own way.
On the 1-5 day Athens City Pass, the pass operator books your Acropolis time for you. The slot falls on the first day of the pass, between 4 pm and 7 pm. Your final time shows in the digital pass on your phone.
On the 7-day Athens Pass, you pick the Acropolis slot when you book. The ticket arrives straight away, with audio guide instructions. Every Acropolis ticket allows one entry, so leaving the site ends your visit.
On the Choose 2-7 pass, you reserve the Acropolis slot yourself in the digital pass. Slots sell out ahead, so the listing asks buyers to book early. Single-ticket rules sit in the Acropolis tickets guide.
Which museums and sites can an Athens city pass cover?
An Athens city pass covers a mix of museums and archaeological sites. Each pass has its own list. The Acropolis Museum appears on all three passes. The National Archaeological Museum appears on the 1-5 day City Pass and the Choose 2-7 pass.
- Acropolis Museum: on all three passes, with an audio guide on the 1-5 day City Pass.
- National Archaeological Museum: on the 1-5 day City Pass and the Choose 2-7 pass.
- Ancient Agora: on the Choose 2-7 pass and the 7-day Athens Pass.
- Roman Agora and Aristotle’s Lyceum: on the Choose 2-7 pass and the 7-day Athens Pass.
- Hadrian’s Library and the Olympieion: on the Choose 2-7 pass only.
- Museum of Cycladic Art, Benaki Museum of Greek Culture and Panathenaic Stadium: on the 7-day Athens Pass only.
Smaller private museums fill out each list, from the Athens War Museum to the Museum of Illusions. The Athens War Museum appears on all three passes.
The Choose 2-7 pass also adds the Museum of Modern Greek Culture and the Archaeological Museum of Delphi.
How does the hop-on hop-off bus work with an Athens city pass?
An Athens city pass with the bus adds a 48-hour hop-on hop-off ticket. The 1-5 day Athens City Pass includes it with an audio guide. The Choose 2-7 pass offers it as one pick. Two 7-day Athens Pass options include a bus ticket too.
The bus ticket sits in the same digital pass as your museum entries, so you carry no paper.
Stops and routes are on the Athens hop-on hop-off bus page.
Does an Athens city pass include public transport and the airport?
An Athens city pass can include public transport, but the airport rules differ. The 1-5 day City Pass sells transport as an option without airport trips. The 7-day Athens Pass lists a one-way metro ticket with the airport line as one pick.
- 1-5 day Athens City Pass: a public transport ticket if you book that option, with no airport trips.
- Choose 2-7 pass: 5 days of unlimited public transport as one of your picks.
- 7-day Athens Pass, all options: a one-way metro ticket with the airport line as one pick.
The airport ticket on the 7-day Athens Pass runs one way only. It counts as one of your attraction picks, so it uses up a place on your list.
The Choose 2-7 listing does not name the airport line for its transport pick. Fares and ticket types for the metro, bus and tram are on the Athens public transport tickets page.
How does an Athens city pass compare with the official combined archaeological ticket?
An Athens city pass mixes sites, museums, buses and transport. The official combined ticket from the Ministry of Culture covered seven archaeological sites only, for five days. The Ministry withdrew that ticket under its new price list.
The combined ticket covered the Acropolis and its Slopes plus six more sites in central Athens. It stayed valid for five days, so one ticket served a short city stay.
- Ancient Agora
- Roman Agora
- Hadrian’s Library
- Kerameikos
- Olympieion, the Temple of Olympian Zeus
- Aristotle’s Lyceum
Since the change, each of these sites needs its own ticket. Hellenic Heritage, the Ministry’s official ticket service, books the Acropolis by visit slot. You can change the slot up to 2 hours ahead, twice per ticket.
The Choose 2-7 Athens city pass lists five of those six sites as options, leaving out Kerameikos. The 7-day Athens Pass lists three of them. The Acropolis combo tickets page covers the multi-site options in full.
How long does your Athens city pass need to run?
The main Athens city pass runs for 1 to 5 days, as its listing states. A 2-day pass lines up with the 48-hour hop-on hop-off ticket inside it. A 5-day pass leaves room for the optional island cruise.
Pass days run as calendar days in a row, not as 24-hour blocks. A 3-day pass first scanned at 10am on Monday ends at 11:59pm on Wednesday.
One or two days fit the Acropolis, its museum and the bus loop. Four or five days add the National Archaeological Museum and a sea trip. The 3-day Athens itinerary spreads the main sights over three days.
How do you activate and use an Athens city pass?
Your Athens city pass arrives by email as a digital pass. You download it to your phone and show its QR code at each gate. The pass starts counting days when the first attraction scans it.
Carry a valid photo ID with your phone. Staff check the ID and the voucher together at the starting point. A charged battery matters, because the pass has no paper version.
The Choose 2-7 Athens city pass works through an app. You reserve the Acropolis date and time inside it first. That reservation already counts as activation, the moment the pass starts running.
Who gets free entry, and does an Athens city pass suit children and students?
Greek state sites admit EU citizens up to age 25 and non-EU children up to 18 for free. For them, an Athens city pass adds value mainly through the bus and private museums. Paying adults gain more.
Free entry needs an ID card or passport that shows age and country of origin. Visitors over 65 from Greece or the EU get a reduced ticket. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture lists these free-entry groups:
- EU citizens up to age 25
- Non-EU children up to age 18
- Non-EU students on school or university study visits
- Visitors with a disability of 67% or more, plus one escort
Two of the passes sell child tickets for ages 6 to 17. Children aged 5 and under book as infants. The Athens with kids page covers family days in the city.
Which months suit an Athens city pass?
An Athens city pass suits April to October, when sites keep long hours. From April to August, the Acropolis opens 08:00 to 20:00. In winter, state sites go free on set Sundays, so a pass matters less then.
Closing time moves earlier through September and October. From 1 November to 31 March, the site opens 08:00 to 17:00. Exact times sit on the Acropolis opening hours page.
Summer brings the longest queues at the Acropolis gates. The page on avoiding crowds at the Acropolis covers the quieter hours. State sites admit every visitor free on these dates:
- 6 March, in memory of Melina Mercouri
- 18 April, International Day for Monuments and Sites
- International Museum Day, in late spring
- The last weekend of September, for European Heritage Days
- 28 October, a national holiday
- The first and third Sunday of each month, November to March
How do you book and cancel an Athens city pass?
You book an Athens city pass online and pick the days and travellers. The digital pass then arrives by email. The main pass and the choose 2 to 7 pass both list free cancellation.
Free cancellation gives a full refund up to 24 hours before the pass starts. Once the pass is active, refunds stop. The Athens city pass with unlimited transport lists no free cancellation. It needs booking at least 10 hours ahead.
Arriving by plane first? The page on Athens airport to the city centre covers the ride into town. Since the pass starts at the first scan, an arrival day uses no pass day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you enter the same site twice with an Athens city pass?
No. The Athens city pass allows one entry at each included attraction. A second visit to the same site needs a separate ticket. The Acropolis entry also covers the slopes below the rock. Walk both parts in one visit before you leave.
Does an Athens city pass include a tour guide?
No live guide comes with the main Athens city pass. Visitors walk each site at their own pace. Licensed tourist guides in Greece enter state sites for free. Guided day trips to Delphi and Cape Sounion appear among the choose 2 to 7 options.
On which days is the Acropolis closed?
The Acropolis closes on 1 January, 25 March, Greek Easter, 25 December and 26 December. It also closes on Labour Day in late spring. Pass days still run on these dates. An Athens city pass that spans one of them loses that day at the Acropolis.
What happens to Acropolis entry during a heatwave?
On heatwave days, the Ministry of Culture has closed the Acropolis from 12:00 to 17:00. Visitors with tickets for those hours entered later the same day. The site reopened at 17:00 and stayed open until 20:00. An Athens city pass holder with a midday entry time follows the same rule.
Does the Acropolis Museum follow the state free-entry days?
No. The Acropolis Museum sets its own free days, apart from the Ministry list. Entry there is free on 6 March, 25 March, International Museum Day in late spring and 28 October. The winter free Sundays do not apply to this museum.
Can a group share one Athens city pass?
No. Each traveller in a group needs a separate Athens city pass. The booking counts every adult, child and infant on their own. On the choose 2 to 7 pass, each holder activates attractions separately. Group members can then follow different plans on one trip.