It depends: 6 out of 10. The bus is frequent, every 15 minutes, and nine of our ten sights are within a 7 minute walk of a stop, but the cheapest ticket is €20 for two days against €4.10 for 24 hours of metro, tram and bus.
The numbers behind the verdict
The centre is also small.
The National Archaeological Museum and the Panathenaic Stadium, the two farthest points, are 2.3 km apart.
You arrive by cruise ship: the Blue Line runs from the Piraeus terminals to the Acropolis stop and is in the same €20 ticket.
You want a beach afternoon in Glyfada or at Vouliagmeni Lake on day two without working out the tram and bus 122.
You are travelling with children aged 4 to 12, who pay €6 for two days.
You want the Panathenaic Stadium and the National Archaeological Museum in one day. Neither is close to the Acropolis and the loop links them.
Skip it if
You are staying in Plaka, Monastiraki or near Syntagma. Everything from the Acropolis Museum to the Ancient Agora is within 1.5 km on foot.
You have one day only. There is no one-day price, so you pay €20 for two days and use half of it.
You are happy on the metro. Line 2 joins Akropoli, Syntagma, Panepistimio and Omonia, and a full day costs €4.10.
You plan to be out in the evening. The last bus leaves stop A1 at 18:00, while the metro runs past midnight.
Athens sightseeing bus: the fact sheet
Routes and timetable
Route
Stops
Frequency
Full loop
First / last bus
Athens Line (Orange)
15
15 min
90 min
08:30 / 18:00
Athens Line (Orange)
The city loop: 15 stops from the Old Parliament by Syntagma through Plaka, the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus, the Panathenaic Stadium, the Archaeological Museum, Omonia and Monastiraki, in 1 hour 30 minutes.
Buses leave stop A1 every 15 minutes from 08:30 to 18:00 on the operator's summer timetable for 2025-26, the one in force in October, and the stop at Parliament is called at twice.
The same ticket covers three more lines that all start from the Acropolis stop: the Blue Line to the Piraeus cruise terminals (six departures a day, 09:30 to 16:15) and the Yellow and Green beach lines to Glyfada and Vouliagmeni (six departures, 10:00 to 16:40).
They are not listed stop by stop on this page.
Audio guide in 16 languages. Wheelchair access: yes, according to the operator.
Ticket prices
Ticket
Adult
Child
24 hours
not sold
48 hours1 Day Plus 1 Day Free 4 Lines Combo Ticket
€20
€6
72 hours3 Days 4 Lines Combo Ticket
€20
€10
Sights of Athens sells no one-day ticket.
The cheapest is the two-day ticket at €20 for an adult and €6 for a child aged 4 to 12, which the operator describes as one day plus one day free.
The three-day ticket is listed at €28 (child €10) and was on sale online for €20 on 5 October 2026.
Both cover all four lines: Athens, Piraeus, Glyfada and Vouliagmeni, with recorded commentary in 16 languages and wifi on board.
A family ticket for 2 adults and up to 3 children costs €48 for two days and €58 for three.
Entry to the Acropolis and the museums is not included, and combined tickets with Acropolis entry are sold separately.
Child fare: ages 4 to 12.
The same day by public transport
OASA (Athens Urban Transport Organisation)
Adult
Single ride
€1.20
One day, unlimited rides
€4.10
The day cost is OASA's 24-hour ticket at €4.10, valid on metro, tram, buses and trolleybuses in the city.
Tapping a Visa or Mastercard on the readers gives the same result, because the daily charge is capped at €4.10.
A single ride is €1.20 and lasts 90 minutes with changes.
The airport metro (€9) and the airport express buses (€5.50) are not covered by either.
Children under 6 travel free.
The reduced €0.50 ticket for ages 7 to 18 needs a personalised Athena card, so most visiting children pay the full €1.20.
Do the sum for your trip
Change the numbers to match your group. Fares are adult fares from the tables above.
Sightseeing bus–
Public transport–
Public transport is charged per ride up to the daily maximum. Multi-day passes can be cheaper still.
24, 48 or 72 hours
48 hours€20 1 Day Plus 1 Day Free 4 Lines Combo Ticket · €10 per day · 2.4 times public transport for the same days
72 hoursLowest cost per day€20 3 Days 4 Lines Combo Ticket · €6.67 per day · 1.6 times public transport for the same days
Buy the two-day ticket, because there is nothing shorter. It costs €20 for an adult and €6 for a child aged 4 to 12, and it runs for two days from first use.
The three-day ticket has a list price of €28 and €10 for a child. On 5 October 2026 the operator's site was selling the three-day adult ticket for €20, the same as two days.
A third day only earns its keep if you use the beach lines or the Piraeus line. The city loop itself takes 1 hour 30 minutes and one day on it is enough.
By public transport the same day costs €4.10. That is OASA's 24-hour ticket, or the daily cap if you tap the same bank card each time.
Metro line 2 stops at Akropoli for the Acropolis and its museum, at Syntagma for Parliament and at Omonia. Line 1 links Monastiraki and Thissio with Viktoria, 6 minutes' walk from the National Archaeological Museum.
The Panathenaic Stadium has no metro station, and the walk from Syntagma through the National Garden takes about 14 minutes. Two adults spend €8.20 for a day against €40 for two bus tickets, and the tram from Syntagma to the coast is included.
Does it suit your trip?
With children
The bus is cheap for children: €6 for two days for ages 4 to 12, and free for children under 4. The operator's ticket pages do not all state the same age limit, so check at booking if your child is 4.
Two adults and two children pay €52 for two days, or €48 with the family ticket, which covers up to 3 children. On OASA, children under 6 travel free and older children without a personalised card pay the adult €1.20.
One loop of 1 hour 30 minutes is long for small children. Plan to get off at the Acropolis Museum and again at the Panathenaic Stadium.
The buses run in all weather, according to the operator. The top deck is open and the lower deck is covered, so in rain everyone moves downstairs and the view shrinks to shopfronts.
Athens is dry for most of the year and wet days cluster between November and February. On a wet day the metro is the better tool: Akropoli station is 2 minutes from the Acropolis Museum.
The marble paths on the Acropolis are slippery when wet, whichever way you get there.
In July and August, ride early or late. The top deck has no shade and afternoon temperatures in Athens regularly pass 35°C.
The first bus leaves stop A1 at 08:30, which gets you to the Acropolis stop at 08:45. In recent summers the Acropolis has closed during the hottest hours of heatwave days, so check before you plan a midday visit.
A full loop is 1 hour 30 minutes in the sun if you stay upstairs. Buses come every 15 minutes, which keeps the wait at unshaded stops short.
If you cannot walk far
Sights of Athens says all its buses are low-floor with a designated wheelchair space. The top deck is reached by stairs, so wheelchair users ride on the covered lower deck.
Nine of the ten main sights are within a 7 minute walk of a stop, which helps anyone who cannot walk far. The Acropolis itself is a climb on uneven marble from the stop, and it has a lift on the north slope for visitors with reduced mobility.
Metro stations on lines 2 and 3 have lifts, so the €4.10 day ticket is a realistic alternative for many wheelchair users.
Walk the centre and use the metro for the two outliers. From the Acropolis Museum, the pedestrian Dionysiou Areopagitou and Apostolou Pavlou run 1.5 km round the hill to Thissio and the Ancient Agora.
From there it is 5 minutes to Monastiraki and 15 minutes along Ermou to Syntagma. Take line 1 to Viktoria for the National Archaeological Museum, and walk through the National Garden for the Panathenaic Stadium.
A 24-hour ticket for all of it is €4.10. For Lycabettus, the funicular leaves from Aristippou Street in Kolonaki, about 10 minutes uphill from the Benaki Museum.
Start at the Acropolis stop if you can. It is the interchange for the Piraeus and beach lines, and the bus reaches it 15 minutes after leaving stop A1.
Stops A2 Plaka and A5 Temple of Zeus are on opposite sides of Amalias Avenue. If you get off at one, you can rejoin at the other and skip part of the loop.
The beach lines leave the Acropolis stop only six times a day, at 10:00, 11:50, 12:50, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:40. The last one back ends at Parliament, not the Acropolis.
For the changing of the guard, get off at stop A6 or A9, both at Parliament. The Evzones change every hour on the hour.
Tickets bought online are tied to the date you choose and can be cancelled up to 24 hours before. Drivers also sell tickets on board, by card or cash.
From November to March, resellers list a thinner service: about every 20 minutes and finishing around 17:00. Check the operator's current timetable image before a winter trip.
Athens hop-on hop-off bus: quick answers
How much is the hop-on hop-off bus in Athens?
Sights of Athens charges €20 for an adult two-day ticket and €6 for a child aged 4 to 12 (checked 5 October 2026). The three-day ticket lists at €28 and was €20 online on that date. There is no one-day ticket.
How long does the Athens loop take?
The Orange Line takes 1 hour 30 minutes without getting off and has 15 stops. A bus leaves stop A1 at the Old Parliament every 15 minutes between 08:30 and 18:00.
Does the bus go up to the Acropolis?
It stops at the foot of it. The Acropolis - Parthenon stop (A4) is at the west end of Dionysiou Areopagitou, about 5 minutes' walk uphill from the main ticket office, and the Acropolis Museum stop (A3) is 2 minutes from the museum entrance.
Are Piraeus and the beaches included?
Yes. The same ticket covers the Blue Line to the Piraeus cruise terminals and the Yellow and Green lines to Glyfada and Vouliagmeni. Each runs six times a day from the Acropolis stop.
Is the sightseeing bus cheaper than the Athens metro?
No. A 24-hour OASA ticket for metro, tram and buses is €4.10 and a single 90 minute ticket is €1.20. The €20 bus ticket costs about 4.9 times the day ticket, though it lasts two days.
Is the Athens hop-on hop-off bus wheelchair accessible?
The operator says all buses are low-floor with a designated wheelchair space. The open top deck is reached by stairs only.
Sights of Athens · AthensOn Civitatis · rated 7.5/10 by 1,002 travellers
