Teams, tales and tips – a guide to the local game
Home of the modern Olympics and a fiery football scene, Athens has staged several European finals but its clubs have only been involved in one. More than five decades after Ferenc Puskás led Panathinaikos out at Wembley for the 1971 European Cup Final against Ajax, no other club from the Greek capital, not even wealthy, once dominant Olympiacos, has followed in his footsteps.
Leaving the original 1896 Olympic Stadium as a public monument to sport, a century later the Greeks built an arena capable of hosting the Games: the Olympic Stadium.
Or rather rebuilt, as the modern-day Olympic Stadium was opened here in 1982. Two of the Athens’ top clubs had been using the large, all-seated, two-tiered Olympic Stadium as their home ground. In 2023, its status as a white elephant was enhanced by a safety inspection, which revealed that its roof required further investigation before any more events could be staged there.
Previous long-term tenants, AEK, nearly went under in 2012-13, but have come back up the hard way after dropping down to the third as amateurs. AEK’s revival and return to the Super League in 2015 re-established the Big Three. AEK’s title win of 2018, after 24 years, broke the near 20-year hegemony of Olympiacos, champions 19 times since 1997.
Until the 2022 unveiling of their Agia Sophia Stadium, AEK were the only ones left in the Olympic arena. Derby games with Panathinaikos and Olympiacos barely fill half the 69,000 capacity of this white elephant – for AEK’s home games with provincial opposition, crowds were counted in four figures.
In 2013, AEK announced plans for a new ground at their old stomping ground of Nea Filadelfeia. The club are now owned by one of the richest men in Greece, Dimitris Melissanidis, his money made in fuel and betting. A display of the future Agia Sophia was revealed in 2015, church, barber shop, shoe shop, sauna and all. The Hellenic theme echoes the history of AEK themselves, formed by Greek refugees from Constantinople.
After a long-term residency at the Olympic Stadium, Panathinaikos are back at their old stomping ground of Ambelokipi, north-east of Athens city centre. Even the Greek national side have moved out, preferring to play at the Karaiskakis, contemporary home of dominant club Olympiacos. Located down in the port of Piraeus, this impressive stadium was also completely rebuilt for the 2004 Games (and used, by the way, in 1896).
Little Atromitos are based in Peristeri, western Athens. The Greek Cup runners-up in 2011 also earned consecutive play-off places in the league from 2012 to 2014. Their subsequent performances in the Europa League were not without merit either, an honourable defeat to Newcastle followed by away-goals exit to AZ Alkmaar.
Panionios represent Nea Smyrni and are perennially found mid-table in the Greek league. Meanwhile venerable Apollon, founded in 1891, gained promotion from the second flight to the Super League in 2013, but went straight back down in 2014. In May 2018, the attendance at Apollon’s Giorgios Kamaras Stadium in Rizoupoli was inflated to 12,000, many of the spectators AEK fans eager to see their club lift the Super League trophy after 24 years. As the nearest metro station is Perissos, close to where the new AEK stadium now stands, they didn’t have to travel too far.
Getting Around
Arriving in town, local transport and tips
Athens International Airport is 20km (12 miles) east of the city, 30km (19 miles) by road. From the airport, the Athens metro blue line 3 links to central Syntagma station (every 30mins, journey time 40mins). A single journey into town, with an Ath.enaTicket or Ath.enaCard (both rechargeable but the card requires an initial top-up fee of €4.50), is €9. This includes one onward journey from Syntagma, overall validity 90mins. For a three-day pass with two airport transfers, there and back, it’s €20 – a bargain considering each transfer would be €9.
Tickets are sold at machines and windows in the concourse before the metro entrance in the airport, accessed via a pedestrian footbridge from the terminal.
These tickets are also valid for the suburban rail line from the airport, seven stops and 25mins to Neratziotissa by the Olympic Stadium. Express bus X95 to Syntagma takes at least 70mins but at €6 is cheaper than the metro. Athens also has tram lines, handy for Olympiacos and Panionios.
A taxi from the airport into town has a flat rate of €38, €54 between midnight-5am.
Around town, a single journey valid for 90mins is €1.40, a 24hr ticket is €4.50, both using the Ath.enaTicket or Ath.enaCard. For a cab journey across town, contact Taxi Athens (+30 211 800 9110).
Where to Drink
The best pubs and bars for football fans
Surprise as it may be in a city as football-mad as Athens, but sports bars and soccer-friendly pubs are few and far between in the Greek capital. This situation is particularly acute in winter, when the beach haunts of seafront Glyfada hibernate before the summer rush. Down here, however, 30 minutes from Athens, Molly Malone’s operates year-round, large-screen TVs beaming top football action.
Back in Athens, while many bars close in summer, those in the lively quarter of Psyrri just off the main street of Ermou are always abuzz– although you won’t find much sport.
You will find – in fact, should find, it’s decent – retro-tinged Old Fashioned at Miaouli 16. Nearby on Pl Iroon, Beertime serves all kinds of brews in a bare-brick interior and terrace overlooking the square – but visiting during happy hour is always a good idea, as it isn’t cheap.
Across Ermou, in the shadow of the Acropolis, the city’s long-established expat pub, the James Joyce, puts the focus on football. Its terrace overlooking Stoa Poikile, where philosophers convened 2,000 years ago, it features a long bar counter inside, backdropped by many whiskeys. The Guinness is well looked after and the pub grub – lamb shank, traditional steak & Guinness pie, steak sandwiches – won’t disappoint. When the match is on, particularly Celtic, the whole bar is focused on the screen set up near the front door.
On the other side of the Acropolis, the Athens Sports Bar at Veikou 3A is the only such place in the city, attached to a hostel, a row of screens beaming match action. A wall of framed shirts from Aussie rules teams opposite hints at the bar’s ownership. Screens also bookend each of two parallel terraces aligning the place, set between the Pulp craft-beer pub and a launderette popular with backpackers, a five-minute stroll from Acropolis metro station. More often than not, your barman will be seen-it-all Dimitri, whose burly appearance belies his friendly manner once you break the ice.
Exiting Keramikos metro station, you’re two minutes from the late-opening, expat-friendly Lucky Sparrow, whose raison d’être is the ever-changing selection of beers it serves. It also dabbles in DJ sounds, tending towards rock and post-punk. Links with the local Noctua Brewery means it attracts a higher percentage of Greek drinkers than other foreigner-focused pubs in town. Closed Mondays.
On the same street of Triptolemou, the other side of the square, The Intrepid Fox follows the path set by the legendary Soho pub of similar ilk, delving deep into rock’s rich tapestry for inspiration.
The bizarrely named Sporaki Seed Rock Irish Pub on Archelaou in Pangrati shows major games but it otherwise as Irish as the pizza it serves. It’s nice and lively, all the same, with a dartboard if you need it.
The darts fraternity also convene at the nearby Red Lion, Niriidon 16. Athens’ oldest pub, in business since 1971, once attracted celebs from the Hilton Hotel round the corner, including Frank Sinatra in 1972. With its closure for major renovations in 2022, older regulars still keep the place going, the venerable Pandelís pouring pints just as he mixed Martinis for old blue eyes half a century ago.
Athens also has a Scottish pub, the Wee Dram near Panormou metro station up in Ambelokipi, where Ross extends visitors a warm Edinburgh welcome. Liverpool fans gather here in droves, whisky lovers are spoiled for choice, as the pub name suggests, while darts players can find a game most nights. Brewdog Punk IPA stands out among the draught beers, though check out the guest ale from Scotland. Those who prefer lager can go for Nymfi from Thessaloniki.
Where to stay
The best hotels for the stadiums and city centre
This is Athens has tourist information and a hotel-booking function.
Conveniently located between the historic centre and the bar quarter, A for Athens overlooking Ermou and Monastariki metro station offers romantic rooftop views from its bar and modern touches in its 35 mid-range rooms. Either side of Ermou, the 360 Hotel and its sister 360 Degrees Pop Art Hotel are similar in style and price range, one topped by a cocktail bar.
So close to the nightlife vortex that it hands out earplugs, athensotel on Agias Eleousis gains an extra star for its lofts, its rooftop jacuzzi, gym and sauna. It also provides a paid0for left-luggage service for all-comers, filling a vital gap in the market.
Nearer to the city’s retail hub on Ermou, the Elia Ermou Athens appeals to a discerning clientele, with its spa area and roof garden. On nearby Diomeias, the four-star Athens Cypria also welcomes non-guests to its seventh-floor Acropolis View Bar.
In the same vicinity, also a short walk from focal Syntagma Square, Electra is one of two business-friendly and spa-equipped establishments under the same umbrella – the Electra Palace has marble-tiled bathrooms and a rooftop pool.
To stay on Syntagma itself, you’ll be paying top dollar at the five-star Hotel Grande Bretagne, which has been welcoming guests since 1874. Next door, also in the Marriott portfolio, the King George matches it for luxury but not longevity, only dating back to 1930. Alongside, the NJV Athens Plaza does five-star the contemporary way.
Round the corner on Eleftheriou Venizelou, the Athens Capital Center allows guests to take in the views from its rooftop pool and cocktail bar, and enjoy the hospitality of a staff happy to go the extra yard. Closer to Omonia, the four-star Titania, a pre-war cinema, was converted into a hotel in the 1970s and overhauled in the early 2020s, rooftop restaurant and all.
For a flavour of old Athens, the Royal Olympic overlooks the National Gardens, a short walk from the original stadium of 1896. A roof-garden restaurant and seasonal outdoor pool are further attractions. Convenient for Biktória on metro line 1 and Ambelokipi/Panathinaikos a few bus stops along main Leoforos Alexandras, the Radisson Blu Park Hotel offers Acropolis views from its restaurant as well as a summer pool and garden on its roof.
To stay near Olympiacos, the Olympic is just the other side of the metro tracks of Neo Faliro station, balconies of its upper rooms overlooking the gulf.
For Larissa rail station in town, the mid-range Candia opens its roof garden in summer, the Delta belies its two-star status and the budget Neos Olympos is a 1938 original just a few steps from your train.
