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Greece’s national airline, Olympic Airways, operates direct flights between Athens and most major Europe cities, including London; British Airways and easyJet also operate daily flights from London to Athens (from Heathrow and Gatwick, respectively).

Greece’s national airline, Olympic Airways, operates flights to the Middle East, as well as to Bangkok, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Montreal, Sydney and Toronto. In the US, New York offers the most direct flights to Athens, with Delta flying daily.

For late deals, check out www.lastminute.co.uk and www.bargainflights.com. Some websites, such as www.travelocity.com, will alert you by email when tickets fall below a certain price.

Metro Line 3 runs from the airport to Syntagma in the city centre. In addition, three 24-hour express bus services cover the 27-km (18-mile) stretch between the airport and the city: the E94 runs to Ethniki Amyna metro station; the E95 to Plateia Syntagma and the E96 to Piraeus. Taxis are also readily available and the journey takes approximately 40 minutes.

Though there are no direct ferries from Italy to Piraeus, regular overnight services run from Trieste, Venice, Brindisi, Ancona and Bari to Patra. Most companies then lay on a connecting coach from Patra to Athens. Alternatively, the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) operates eight trains daily from Patra to Athens (journey time: 4 hours).

Ferries run from Limassol in Cyprus (journey time approx 44hrs) to the Athens port of Piraeus.

There are regular ferries from the Dodecanese, Cyclades, Saronic Gulf Islands, Crete, Samos and northeastern Aegean Islands to Piraeus. Many islands are also connected to Piraeus by Hellas Flying Dolphins hydrofoils – faster but expensive.

There are international trains to Greece from Bulgaria, the Former-Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Turkey. These terminate at Thessaloniki, where you will need to change trains for Athens, to arrive at Larissa Station.

Major roads linking Greece to its neighbours run to Thessaloniki: The E90 from Turkey; the E79 from Bulgaria; and the E75 from the FYROM. From Thessaloniki, the E75 runs south to Athens. Arriving from Albania, the border crossing into Greece is at Kakavia. From here, take the regional road to Ioannina, the E92 to Larissa, then the E75 south to Athens.

The Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) also operates international bus services to and from Albania, Turkey and Bulgaria from the Peloponnese train station in Athens. Eurolines runs a weekly service from London Victoria to a variety of destinations.