Dear Erasmus student,

Transcription

1 Dear Erasmus student, Congratulations for choosing Greece for your Erasmus experience! Like all other students who came to Greece in the previous years, you too will soon realize you made the right choice!!! Here are a few tips from ESN Athens (Erasmus Student Network Athens) on how to get from Athens International Airport to the Erasmus Office. We have tried to put ourselves in your position and hope this information will prove useful QUESTION: How do I get from Athens airport to the Erasmus office? ANSWER: Υou can choose from the following 6 options We suggest option No. 1, not only because it is cheaper, but also because it involves the minimum walking OPTION No.1: Take bus E95 and then either trolley No. 9 or trolley No. 2 or trolley No. 4 (only ONE of these trolleys). Total cost: 2,90 Euro. Full description: (1) When you exit the baggage reclaim (=suitcase collection) room, go to the information desk (just a few metres away as you exit the baggage reclaim room) and ask for an Athens Public Transport Pocket Map in English (April 2004 edition) and for Athens Map published by Athens Airport. If you are lucky(!), they will give you at least one of them, or they might have some maps at the stand to the left of the information desk. Both these maps are free and the colour in the front of both maps is blue. After the information desk, make sure you have some money (cash in Euros, NOT credit cards/cheques/travelers cheques etc ). If you do not have any money and want to exchange money, there are 2 foreign currency exchange bureaux ( American Express and Eurochange ) at the arrivals level in the airport, both open 24 hrs a day. (2) Exit the airport building, turn right and walk to bus stop E95. Bus E95 operates 24 hrs/day, 365 days/year, every minutes and takes you from the airport to the centre of Athens (Syntagma Square). (3) Buy a ticket (2,90 Euro) from the ticket office next to the bus stop. If there is nobody in the ticket office, you can also buy your ticket from the bus driver. (Don t show him a 50 or 100 Euro bank note trying to buy a bus ticket, because he will probably think you are a stupid millionaire who has landed from Mars and, more importantly, you will not get your bus ticket!). So, like in every country in the world, it is much easier if you have some coins and a bank note of 5 or 10 Euros with you. (4) Get inside bus E95 and VALIDATE your ticket (=hit/punch your ticket in the machine which is inside the bus). From this moment, you can use this ticket on all Athens public transport (buses, electrical yellow buses/trolleys and metro) for the next 24 hours, but you must NOT validate your ticket a second time just keep it in your wallet (5) Get off at the final stop, which is called Sintagma Square (the main square in Athens). Bus journey time is between 40 minutes (zero traffic) and 1,5 hours (usually Monday-Friday late morning and afternoon). Don t worry thinking where exactly is Syntagma Square? When do I get off the bus? etc Syntagma Square is the END of the bus route. The driver will turn off the engine, everyone else will get out and so will you! The bus terminates in Sintagma square, on Othonos Street.

2 (6) When you get off the bus, you will see some banks called Emporiki, Eurobank and Citybank and a kiosk ( periptero in greek) a few metres higher up the pavement. Walk uphill along the pavement. After passing to the right of the kiosk, you will reach the corner of Othonos street and Amalias avenue. Use the pedestrian traffic lights in front of you and cross to the OPPOSITE side of Amalias avenue. When you have reached the other side, turn right and walk along the pavement of Amalias Avenue (walk in the direction OPPOSITE to the way cars are moving). After passing a blue bus stop which writes the word SINTAGMA (in greek), you will see a yellow bus stop with the word SINTAGMA in greek and English and the numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 15 written on it. It is a stop for yellow electrically-powered vehicles. In Greece these vehicles are known as trolley. Trolleys operate approximately between 05:15 and 00:00. The yellow stop is exactly opposite the Amalia Hotel. From this stop, take trolley number 9 (better) or trolley number 2 or trolley no. 4. All trolleys go to the Erasmus office. The ONLY difference between these three trolleys is that trolley no. 9 usually has LESS passengers, so it is better for people with lots of luggage like you! Do NOT validate your ticket inside the trolley. Do NOT buy a new ticket. Just keep the 2,90 Euro ticket you bought at the airport at all times (7) Get off at trolley stop Panelinios (on Mavromateon Street) if the trolley stops everywhere (which it almost always does) you should get off after 5 stops. If you ask or show the word Panellinios to another passenger or to the trolley driver, they will help you. (8) When you get off at Panellinios stop, you will be in Mavromateon street. Cross to the opposite side (=other pavement) of Mavromateon Street and then turn RIGHT and walk for 20 metres (along the pavement of Mavromateon Street, in the same direction as cars are moving) until you reach the corner You should now be at the corner of 35a Mavromateon Street and 1, Derigni Street. The Erasmus Office is at this corner, but the entrance is from 1, Derigni Street. You will recognize the Erasmus building from the inscription BANKOYBEP APAPTMAN (in greek letters) above the main entrance. The Erasmus office is on the TOP floor (no bell on front door). The address is: 1, Derigni Street. The phone number from your home country is (0030) (if you are calling from a phone inside Greece, the number is ) In case of difficulty, you can also call Cleopatra on (0030) or Theofilos on (0030) NOTE: If your flight arrives at Athens International Airport between 22:30 and 04:00, it is still possible to get to the Erasmus Office. You can take bus E95 to Syntagma Square and walk to yellow trolley stop (read OPTION No. 1) and then you will have to take trolley No.11 (which runs 24 hrs/day at least until 30 September 2004) and get off after 4 stops, at OTE stop. You should now be in front of a big building on no. 82 Patission Street. This is your beloved University! (second home, second sweet home!) Walk for 30 metres (same direction as cars are moving) and turn right on the first street. This is Derigni Street. Walk straight along the pavement for 50 metres until you get to no. 1, Derigni Street You will recognize the Erasmus building from the inscription BANKOYBEP APAPTMAN (in greek letters) above the main entrance. The Erasmus office is on the TOP floor (no bell on front door). Alternatively, from Syntagma Square, you can take a taxi the cost for a taxi from Syntagma Square to the Erasmus Office between 00:00-05:00 should be between 2,5 and 6 Euros (including suitcases) but at 02:00 or 05:00 o clock in the morning, the Erasmus office is closed so, EVERYONE (ESPECIALLY those who arrive during the night or early in the morning PLEASE contact us by (theofilos82@yahoo.gr) and inform us about your arrival date and time it is VERY important we would be grateful if you could also tell us the flight number and time you are arriving in Athens airport. Although we cannot come and pick you up, it is useful for us to know these details, because we can check exactly what time your flight has landed at the airport or if your flight is delayed (we hate delays!) using the internet ( Your family can also see what time your plane landed in Athens by visiting this website. OPTION No.2: Take bus E95 to Syntagma Square (read OPTION No. 1) and then taxi to Erasmus Office (address: 1, Derigni Street).

3 Cost: 2,90 Euro (for bus) + between 2,5 and 6 Euros for taxi (including suitcases). Ask the driver what you will pay If they tell you 10 or 15 Euros, it is too much! OPTION No.3: Take blue metro line from the airport to Monastiraki station, green metro line from Monastiraki station to Victoria station and walk 10 minutes to the Erasmus Office. Total cost: 8 Euro (although we have not tried it, we have been told by Athens metro that you pay 4 Euro if you have an ISIC card). Full description: When you exit the baggage reclaim (=suitcase collection) room, go to the information desk (just a few metres away as you exit the baggage reclaim room) and ask for an Athens Public Transport Pocket Map in English (April 2004 edition) and for Athens Map published by Athens Airport. If you are lucky(!), they will give you at least one of them, or they might have some maps at the stand to the left of the information desk. Both these maps are free and the colour in the front of both maps is blue. After the information desk, stay in the airport building and walk up one level (=floor) to the departures level. Exit the airport building from exit no.2 at departures level and walk over the pedestrian bridge you will see in front of you. At the other side of the bridge you will find the common station for the metro+suburban railway. Buy a ticket (8 Euro full price. Discounts: 4 Euro if you have ISIC card or greek student card or <18 years old or >65 years old, 12 Euro for 2 people travelling together, 16 Euro for 3 people travelling together, 12 Euro for a RETURN ticket if you plan to return within 48 hours) and get on the metro. The metro leaves Athens airport every 30 minutes, between 06:00 (first train) and 01:30 (last train). So, take metro from the airport, get off at the end (Monastiraki station), change train and take the green metro line to Victoria station (2 stops). Get off at Victoria Station and walk straight along Heyden Street (the street you see when you get out). The first perpendicular street you will meet is Patission Street. Use pedestrian traffic lights to cross to the opposite side of Patission Street, and walk left, along the pavement of Patission Street, until you reach no. 82 Patision Street. This is your beloved University! (second home, second sweet home!) after admiring the architectural splendeur, continue walking for 30 metres and turn right on the first street. This is Derigni Street. Walk straight along the pavement for 50 metres until you get to no. 1, Derigni Street You will recognize the Erasmus building from the inscription BANKOYBEP APAPTMAN (in greek letters) above the main entrance. The Erasmus office is on the TOP floor (no bell on front door). The address is: 1, Derigni Street. The phone number from your home country is (0030) (if you are calling from a phone inside Greece, the number is ) But an image is worth a thousand words... :)

4 OPTION No.4: Take suburban railway ( proastiakos in greek) from the airport to Nerantziotissa metro station, green metro line from Nerantziotissa Station to Victoria Station and walk 10 minutes to the Erasmus Office. Total cost: 8,60 Euro (8 Euro for suburban railway +0,60 Euro for green metro line). Full description: Read option No.3, but instead of buying a metro ticket, buy a suburban railway (proastiakos) ticket and get on the proastiakos railway. The proastiakos leaves Athens airport every 30 minutes, between 05:15 (first train) and 00:15 (last train). So, take proastiakos train from the airport and get off at Nerantziotissa Station (Monastiraki station) and then walk out of the suburban railway p art of the station to the metro part of the station, buy a 0,60 ticket, validate it in the metro machine and take the green metro line to Victoria station (2 stops). From Victoria, just follow the instructions of OPTION No.3. OPTION No.5: Take taxi all the way from the Airport to Erasmus Office on 1, Derigni Street. If you take a taxi from the airport between 05:00 and 00:00 hrs, cost should be between 20 and 30 Euro including suitcases. If you take a taxi between 00:00 and 05:00 hrs, cost can sometimes reach 35 Euro because of the night double tariff/rate, but not more. Ask the taxi driver before you get in. Some students 2 years ago paid 60 Euro. This is too much! EMERGENCY OPTION: Some days during the year the centre of Athens is closed due to special events. This is EXTREMELY unlikely to happen, but we consider it our duty to inform you about this in advance (for example, in September there is a European day without cars and Athens participates with many other European cities in this event. Also, on Friday 17 September at 21:00 there is the opening ceremony of the Paraolympic Games and there may be some special traffic regulations). What to do? Just get on bus E95 (read option 1) if the centre of Athens is closed, the driver will stop the bus in front of (or very near to) a metro station of the blue metro line, and you will see everyone getting out. With the SAME ticket you bought from the airport and WITHOUT validating it in the metro machines, take

5 blue metro line to Monastiraki and then change and take green metro line to Victoria (2 stops). From Victoria, just follow the instructions of OPTION No.3. BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY: 1) PLEASE write us an telling us WHEN you will be arriving at Athens airport (arrival day, time). We cannot pick you up but we would appreciate it if we had your flight details (flight number and arrival time) because we can can check what time your plane landed at Athens Airport using the airport web site ( The address to write to is: It is VERY important for us to know your arrival details, ESPECIALLY if you arrive between 23:00 and 09:00. If there is a last minute change in your arrival date or time, please inform us by or send sms to Cleopatra ( ) or Theofilos ( ). 2) Have some money (=Euro) with you Coins and notes of 5,10,20 Euro are more convenient! Even if you do not have money, there are 2 Foreign Currency Exchange Bureaux at Athens International Airport arrival desk that are open 24 hours, but it is better to have some money before you arrive in Athens 3) Have 6 passport-size colour photos with you (you will need them when registering as students of AUEB). Also, have your student health insurance document (in many european countries it is known as E111 form). 4) Students from Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia must check whether they still need a special permit to stay more than 3 months in Greece. Probably the best way to get information on this is to ask students from your home University who were in Greece last year what papers/translations/medical papers they needed to bring from their home country. Don t worry, because even if you still need to obtain this permit from greek authorities, you will have 3 months to collect the necessary papers 5) Bring your mobile phones with you. You can buy a greek mobile number for 19,99 Euro (it includes between 7 and 10 Euro calling time). Some students who bring their mobile phones to Greece realise when they reach Athens Airport that their phones are blocked! This has mostly occurred to students from France and Belgium who have bought new phones (LESS than 6 months old) with credits (rechargeable credit time) so, if you want to avoid disappointment, check if your phone will work in Greece BEFORE you leave your home country 6) If you have a portable computer, it may a good idea to bring it with you the University has internet connection and PCs, but the computer rooms are occupied many hours during the day 7) Some students will come with friends or family and will want to visit Athens or Greece for a few days in February. We just want to tell them to check the following web sites: More than 100 Erasmus students are expected this winter semester 2004 by the AUEB. Get ready for a great time! Welcome to Athens! ESN Athens 1, Derigni Street Tel:

6 (kindly note that this phone number is operated and answered by volunteer students of ESN Athens we regret that there are no fixed operating hours for this phone line). It is also to contact the following students by phone or Cleopatra Deliou Panos ( , Theofilos ( , Despina ( ,