The best parking deal in central Athens is under a metro station. The STASY garage at Syngrou-Fix, one metro stop from the Acropolis, lists €8 for 24 hours on weekdays and €4 for 7–24 hours at weekends, open round the clock. The city's new Kotzia Square garage charges €12 for ten hours; the kerb stops you at three.
The second fact is about your number plate. From autumn to summer the Daktylios, the central traffic ring, lets cars in on alternate days by the plate's last digit, Monday to Thursday 07:00–20:00 and Friday 07:00–15:00. Weekends, public holidays and public-transport strike days are free of it.
Marble glare, orange trees and double parking
Even in October the light comes off the marble hard enough to make you squint. The streets smell of grilled pork, two-stroke exhaust and, in the older districts, the bitter-orange trees along the kerb. Drivers double-park calmly; the scooter behind will find a way round.
Plaka's picture menus, and driving to the Acropolis gate
I wouldn't eat on the busiest lanes of Plaka, where the menus come laminated, with photos, in eight languages. Three streets away the food is better and cheaper.
The second trap is trying to drive to the Acropolis. There is nowhere to leave a car at the gate, and the street along the south slope belongs to walkers. Park at Syngrou-Fix and walk or ride.
A basement with no sign behind the meat market
Diporto sits under the corner of Sokratous and Theatrou, behind the central market, down a flight of stairs with no sign above it. Market workers have eaten here from dawn for generations: ten or so tables, paper tablecloths, wine from barrels, chickpeas, beans, fried sardines, salad. No reservations; you will share a table. My advice is to point at what the next table has.
Check the last digit against the date before you cross the ring
On an odd date only plates ending 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 may drive inside the ring; on an even date, 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8. The boundary streets themselves, Syngrou and Alexandras among them, are exempt. Two 2026 news reports put the fine at €100; other Greek sites print €150 or €200, and the police notice gives no amount. I plan my weekday into town around the plate, or I leave the car at a metro garage outside.
€1 an hour for two hours, then the third costs €4
The municipal kerb, the controlled parking system, covers eleven zones, Plaka and Kolonaki among them; visitor spaces have white lines and a P – Με πληρωμή sign. The city's price list: €0.50 for 30 minutes, €2 for two hours, €4 for two and a half, €6 for three, and three hours is the maximum. It is charged Monday to Friday 09:00–21:00 and Saturday 09:00–16:00; Sunday is free. Pay in the city's AthensWay app, which replaced MyAthensPass on 20 September 2026 and takes a card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or with a scratch card from a kiosk. The fine rose from €10 to €30 in January 2026.
For longer stays, the garages. The city's newest, under Kotzia Square, opened in December 2025 with 500 spaces: €3 for the first hour, €5 up to two, €9 up to four, €12 up to ten, €15 beyond. It closes at 01:00 Monday to Thursday, 03:00 on Friday and Saturday. Its sister garages at Klafthmonos and the Varvakeios market publish their prices only as PDFs I could not open.
My pick is the metro garage at Syngrou-Fix: 642 underground spaces, €3.50 for up to three hours, €4.50 up to ten, €8 for 24 hours on weekdays, and half that or less at weekends. That STASY price list is dated April 2022, so read the board at the entrance.
Hire cars and foreign plates: the police notice lists only green exemptions (electric, hybrid, gas and low-CO₂ Euro 6 cars with a gov.gr permit). The Greek motoring sites 4troxoi and carandmotor add foreign-plated cars for their first 40 days and cars rented by foreign visitors. I'd keep the rental contract in the car and still respect the plate.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Syngrou-Fix (STASY metro car park)Under Syngrou-Fix metro station, line 2 — one stop from Akropoli | Weekdays €3.50 up to 3 hours, €4 up to 4, €4.50 up to 10, €8 for 24 hours; weekends €1.50 up to 3 hours rising to €4 for 7–24. 642 spaces, open 24/7. Price list dated April 2022. | Not published. |
| Kotzia Square (City of Athens, DAEM)Under Kotzia Square by the City Hall — entrances on Lykourgou & Apellou and on Sofokleous & Streit | €3 the first hour, €5 up to 2, €9 up to 4, €12 up to 10, €15 beyond. 500 spaces. Closes 01:00 Mon–Thu, 03:00 Fri–Sat. Inside the Daktylios ring. | Not published. |
| Nomismatokopio (STASY metro car park)Nomismatokopio metro station on Mesogeion Avenue, line 3 to Syntagma and the airport — outside the ring | Weekdays €3 up to 2 hours, €3.50 up to 3, €4 up to 24; weekends €1.50 up to 3 hours, €3.50 up to 24. 604 spaces, open 24/7. Price list dated April 2022. | Not published. |
| PK Parking, Doukissis PlakentiasAl. Panagouli 16, Agia Paraskevi — by Doukissis Plakentias metro, line 3 | First hour free, then €5 for the next five hours, €10 to midnight; €5 a day with an airline ticket. Open 24/7. Private operator. | The operator says it has EV charging; price not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Kerb, controlled parking (visitor spaces) | €2 | Three hours at most: €2 for two hours, €6 for three. Sunday free. Pay in AthensWay or with a scratch card. The fine is €30. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Syngrou-Fix (STASY metro car park) | €3.50 | weekday prices; weekends €4 for 7–24 hours |
| A full day (10 h) | Nomismatokopio (STASY metro car park) | €4 | park and ride, outside the ring |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Syngrou-Fix (STASY metro car park) | €4.50 | weekday prices; weekends €4 for 7–24 hours |
| 24 hours | Nomismatokopio (STASY metro car park) | €4 | park and ride, outside the ring |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Syngrou-Fix (STASY metro car park) | €8 | weekday prices; weekends €4 for 7–24 hours |
The Traffic Police tow, and publish no pound
The Traffic Police tow cars that block ramps, crossings, entrances or traffic. I found no central pound address and no price on the police or city sites; the traffic code says the owner pays transport and storage costs set by ministerial decision, then gets the car back.
So ring. 1571 is the Tourist Police line, in Greek, English, French and German, and 1033 reaches the police services of Attica. The Athens Traffic Police office is at Deligianni 24-26, on 210 528 4142, weekdays 08:00–14:00. Bring your passport, driving licence, the registration or rental papers and a card.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The Traffic Police tow cars that block ramps, crossings, entrances or traffic. The owner pays transport and storage costs set by ministerial decision; no amount is published on the police or city sites
- Phone
- Tourist Police — Greek, English, French, German: 1571
Police services in Attica: 1033
Athens Traffic Police office, weekdays 08:00–14:00: 210 528 4142
Emergency: 100 - Collect it at
- No central pound is published. Ask where the car went; the Athens Traffic Police office is at Theodorou Deligianni 24-26.
- Hours
- The Traffic Police office answers weekdays 08:00–14:00; 1571 and 100 around the clock.
- What it costs
- Not published. The traffic code says transport and storage costs are set by ministerial decision and paid before release.
- Bring
- Passport, driving licence, the registration or rental papers, and a card. For a hire car, ring the rental company too.
AthensCharge: 37 cents from 1 October
From 1 October 2026 the city's public chargers switch to AthensCharge, run by its company DAEM: €0.37 per kWh, paid in the AthensCharge app, starting with 19 stations and a 24-hour helpline on 1595. The city's reason includes cars left plugged in long after they were full, so I'd expect overstay rules to follow; idle fees are not published yet.
Free kerb parking for electric cars needs a gov.gr permit with Greek tax credentials. A foreign EV cannot get one, so I pay like everyone else.
Where to charge
- AthensCharge — the city's chargers at €0.37 per kWh — 19 municipal stations across Athens from 1 October 2026, run by DAEM. €0.37 per kWh, paid in the AthensCharge app; 24-hour helpline 1595. Idle fees not published yet. I'd use it for a top-up, not an overnight stay
Sunday on the kerb, €4 a day on the airport line
Sunday is the cheapest day to drive into Athens: the kerb is free, the ring is off and the metro garages are on weekend prices. At Syngrou-Fix that is €4 for anything from seven hours to a day.
On weekdays my choice is Nomismatokopio on line 3, the airport line, which runs straight to Syntagma: 604 underground spaces, open 24 hours, €3 for two hours and €4 for up to 24 in STASY's price list. It sits outside the ring, so the plate does not matter.
Near Doukissis Plakentias, a private car park prints the first hour free, then €5 for the next five hours and €10 to midnight, with a €5 daily rate if you show an airline ticket.
Free or nearly-free spots
Sunday: free kerb, no ring, weekend garage prices
The controlled kerb is free on Sunday, the Daktylios does not apply at weekends, and Syngrou-Fix drops to €4 for 7–24 hours. If you can choose your day in town, choose Sunday.
€4 a day at Nomismatokopio, on the airport line
STASY's garage at Nomismatokopio, outside the ring on metro line 3, lists €4 for up to 24 hours on weekdays; 604 spaces, open 24/7. Line 3 runs straight to Syntagma.
First hour free by Doukissis Plakentias
PK Parking prints the first hour free, then €5 for the next five hours, €10 to midnight, and €5 a day with an airline ticket.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- The Daktylios ring runs Monday to Thursday 07:00–20:00 and Friday 07:00–15:00 in season (2025–26: 20 October to 24 July). Odd dates: plates ending 1, 3, 5, 7, 9; even dates: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8. Boundary streets are exempt. The 2026–27 start date was not yet announced.
- Foreign plates and hire cars: the police notice lists only electric, hybrid, gas and low-CO₂ Euro 6 cars with a gov.gr permit. Greek motoring sites add foreign-plated cars for their first 40 days and cars rented by foreign visitors. Two 2026 news reports give the fine as €100; other sites print €150 or €200.
- The kerb allows three hours at most: €0.50 for 30 minutes, €2 for two hours, €6 for three. Charged Mon–Fri 09:00–21:00, Sat 09:00–16:00. The fine is €30 since January 2026.
- Free EV parking on the kerb needs a permit applied for on gov.gr with Greek tax credentials, so a foreign EV pays like any other car.
Take these places with you
Every place on this page as a file you can keep — car parks with their prices, the free and park-and-ride spots, the chargers and the pound.
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