Hugely popular Greek tourist destination set for city-wide shutdown

Roughly eight million tourists will visit Athens this year. But for travellers visiting the Greek capital this weekend, things could get a little challenging.

On November 7 and 8, the city will see significant road closures as the annual Athens Authentic Marathon, and its accompanying races, take place.

In fact, rolling closures of roads began on November 5 in preparation for the running events.

November 7 will see the 5km road race, 5km universities night run and kids race 1,200m. The 10km road race and the marathon race will then take place on the Sunday.

In total, roughly 75,000 runners will be pouring into the capital, so here’s how the weekend events will impact your trip.

Affected routes

The race will begin in the coastal town of Marathon, and head down towards central Athens, past the Tomb of the Athenians, and Pallini and Gerkas.

Heading into the city, the route that will be blocked off for runners heads along Mesogeion Avenue and Vasilissis Sofias Avenue.

If you’ve rented a hire car, you’ll find it extremely difficult to navigate the city. No vehicles are allowed in the city centre of Athens or anywhere around the Panathenaic Stadium from 3pm to 9pm on Saturday or from 5am to 6:20pm on Sunday.

This includes roads like Vasilissis Amalias Avenue, Syntagma Square, Panepistimiou Street, as well as Ardittou and Vasileos Konstantinou avenues, which surround the finish line.

The races will finish at the Panathenaic Stadium, a popular tourist attraction. This is just 1000m from the Syntagma, Acropolis and Evangelismos metro stations, so if you’re attempting to use that public transport, expect it to be extremely busy, with runners and spectators.

If you’d hoped to visit the iconic stadium itself, you’ll be out of luck. Only organising staff and finishing runners will be allowed on the track, while spectators are only allowed in a designated area.

So, you might want to change your sightseeing schedule around and visit at a later date.

Public transport routes

Public buses and trams will also need to be on diversion to avoid the affected routes.

Movement through transit hubs like Syntagma, Evangelismos, and Hilton will be suspended, which tram services will terminate before reaching the marathon route, stopping at Fix station instead.

Taxis, airport shuttles, and tour buses will also be impacted, so if you’re leaving the city to catch a flight, it’s best to check you’ll be able to reach the airport.

Holidaymakers arriving in the city, the X95 airport bus will have a temporary final stop at the General Military Hospital, instead of its city-centre Syntagma terminus. So, you’ll need to get a different form of transport the rest of the way.

What will be unaffected, is the Athens Metro. In fact, train frequencies will be increased on lines one, two and three, to accommodate for the influx of passengers.

Crucially, if you’re needing to get to Athens International Airport, it’s advised you take Metro line three, or the Proastiakos train, for the smoothest journey.

Good news

If you’re not interested in cheering on the runners participating in the iconic race, you can still enjoy what Athens has to offer.

Countless sites will be largely unaffected by these closures, including the  Acropolis, Parthenon, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, and Hadrian’s Library.

With many runners enjoying drinks or dinner after a 26.2 mile race, you’ll also want to reserve any tables for food or drinks as early as you can, to avoid being disappointed.

So, as long as you plan in advance, your autumn holiday should be okay.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk

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