Athens’s Happy Train
Photo by HowieHunger
Sometimes Athens in the summertime can get so gosh darn hot that even walking at a leisurely pace can sound like a bad idea. If, due to the heat or you’re simply feeling lazy and you want to check out the sights without walking or driving, consider the “Happy Train.” People riding it usually do look pretty happy.
The folks who run Happy Train must have some kind of hook-up with the city government. You’ll be sitting at a café in Thisseio marveling at the view of the Ancient Agora, Temple of Hephaestus, and Acropolis, when chug-a-chug-a-chug, along comes the Happy Train, rolling right in front of you in the five feet of space usually reserved for pedestrians.
The Happy Train takes passengers on a 40-minute ride through the heart of Athens, beginning at Plateia Monastiraki and rolling past the aforementioned and other ancient sites. If you decide to ride, you’ll pay €3 per child and €5 per adult for the convenience.
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July 3rd, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Best 5 Euros (per person) we spent.
Cruisers, if you want to avoid getting taken for a ride (no pun intented) by the Athens cabbies, you can get from the Piraeus ship terminal to the Acropolis and back for under 7 Euro a person. You’ll see signs in the Ship terminal that the cab fare is about 8 or 9 Euro for a cab to the Acropolis, but no cabbie will take that offer. They all want to be hired for 5 to 8 hours to give you a tour of Athens for anywhere from 100 to 350 Euros. Here’s a far less expensive alternative.
When you come out of the terminal, vear left (past the swarms of crooked cabbies) and continue through the parking area for the excursion buses. Follow the street that goes around the dock for about 20 mins. When you get to the heart of the section of the dock where the ferries load/unload, you will see an overhead crosswalk that connects the dock area to the train station. Use the overhead crosswalk to cross over the street. On the left (and slightly ahead) will be the Piraeus train station (green line). Purchase a ticket (70 cents, yes less than a 1 Euro) and take the train to the Monastiraki station (7th stop). Once you come out of the station, you can walk to the Acropolis, OR take the Happy Train (its kinda’ like the shuttles you get at the big amusment parks to get you around the parking lot, only faster), which stops right in front of the Monastiraki station. For 5 Euros per person, it will take you to the Acropolis entrance area. You are able to hop-on, hop-off at all its stops, so when you are finished at the Acropolis, just go down to where it dropped you off and catch the next Happy Train that comes by. Show them your receipt, and you’re on your way. It will take you to many of the other Athens sites, and sure beats walking in the Athens heat. When you’re ready to go back to the ship, just hop the Happy Train back to Monastiraki station, buy a 70 cent ticket back to Piraeus, and stroll back to the Ship terminal.