Generative Syntax in the Twenty-first Century: The Road Ahead
Athens, May 28-30, 2015
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
TRANSPORTATION
Athens has a single active airport, Athens International Airport (ATH), aka
Eleftherios Venezelos, situated outside of town. Airlines that fly to Athens include:
Agean Airlines, Ryanair, Easyjet, AirFrance, Lufthansa...
1. FROM THE AIRPORT TO YOUR HOTEL
From the airport, you can reach the center of Athens by metro, bus or cab.
1.1. Metro
The metro station is located across the street from the airport and is best
accessed from the Departure area, which is one level up from where you will
have arrived (by escalator or elevator). For all destinations, use the Blue Line
(Line 3) to the city and change at Syntagma (city center).
○ Price: 8 euro one way (or Tourist ticket - see below). Tickets can be
acquired before you descend to the platform.
○ Duration: ca. 45min
Directions to hotels
To get to the Titania Hotel, hop on the Blue Line (Line 3) and change at
Syntagma to the Red Line (Line 2, direction Anthoupoli). Get off at the first stop
(Panepistimiou). Use exit National Library, and follow Panepistimiou street for ca.
250m. Athens Way is also best reached from Panepistimiou Station, via
Ippokratou Street (ca. 650m, 10min; see map). In order to get to Acropolis View,
change at Syntagma to the Red Line (Line 2), direction Elliniko and exit at the first
stop (Acropolis). The hotel is some 10min walking distance from the station.
Alternatively, take a cab from Syntagma Square.
1.2. Bus
Buses to the city center depart at the Arrival terminal, right outside Exit 5 and will
transport you to Syntagma Square. Tickets are available at a small kiosk located
on the side walk. Use X95 to Syntagma.
○ Price: 5 euro
○ Duration: ca. 45min
1.3. Cabs
Cabs are waiting right outside the arrival area, at Exit 3.
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○ Price: fixed rate to the center is 35 euros (50 euros after 12:30am).
○ Duration: ca. 30min
2. GETTING AROUND IN TOWN
2.1. Metro
Athens has an efficient and clean subway system which operates ca. 5:30 till
00:00 (Fri/Sat till 02:00am). Tickets are available at any station, either at a
vending machine or at the counter.
○ Single tickets (1.20 euros) are valid for 70min on whole system (metro, bus
and trolley).
○ 5 day tickets for whole system cost 10 euros.
○ Tourist ticket (20 euros) includes: 3 days ticket for whole system + round
trip to airport.
○ Airport tickets are 8 euros one way
2.2. Buses/Trains
If you cannot reach your destination by metro, there is a broad spectrum of buses
and trains. Most likely, you will use the metro only. Buses can be rather crowded
and olfactorily challenging. If you can avoid them, you might want to do so.
2.3. Cabs
Compared to other European cities, cabs (‘Taxi’) are extremely cheap in Athens,
the fare from the Titania to the Acropolis should e.g. be no more than 5 euros.
SAFETY
Athens is a very safe city. Violent crimes are virtually non-existent (probably not
unrelated to strict gun regulations), and to the extent that they occur, they are
restricted to regions visitors are highly unlikely to traverse. Still, there are some
areas affected by increased levels of drug peddling people tend to avoid at night,
among them the district north of Omonia Square.
If there are any imminent dangers for tourists in Athens, they mainly come from
two sources:
○ Pick pocketing: Keep an eye - or better even: a hand - on your valuables
and cell phones at all times, in particular while travelling on the metro or in
busy streets.
○ Traffic: Be very careful when crossing streets in Greece, also at regulated
intersections. Drivers consistently misinterpret or disregard red traffic
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lights, in particular in the busy areas around Syntagma Square and
Omonia Square. Also, double check that there is no car crossing from the
wrong direction!
PLACES OF INTEREST
Even though the packed programm of the round table might not leave a lot of time
for sight seeing, here are some suggestions of places you might find of interest
(see map, layer Places of Interest):
○ Acropolis Museum
○ Pnyx and Philopappos Mountain (hills opposite of Acropolis)
○ Ancient agora
○ Enjoy the view from Lycabettus mountain. You can either climb it by foot
(some 200 height meters), go up by cable car or grab a cab.
○ Fish and meat market
POTENTIALLY USEFUL LINKS:
o Lonely Planet
o Athens Survival Guide
o Athens Tourist Information
INTERNET
Many coffee shops offer free internet access and some public places are
connected via athenswifi. There will also be WiFi access at the conference venue
(even though the connection is rather slow, we were told):
Login: uoa guest
Password: uoa2010gr
CONTACT
If you have any questions, please free to contact us any time:
Winnie Lechner: [email protected]; (+30) 697 70 11 157 (cell)
Elena Anagnostopoulou: [email protected]; (+30) 697 43 92 647 (cell)
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