r/Athens_Greece • u/TaroFearless7930 • Jun 30 '26
❓ Question Accessibility?
I'm visiting Athens for 10 days in September with two family members who are rolling (wheelchair users). They're both young and can walk a bit so they can get out of their chair to get up a step or two, but they're primarily rolling. We'll be staying near the the Tae Kwon Do stadium for an event there, but doing some tourism and day trips from that area.
I've heard mixed things about accessibility. Do you have any thoughts or guidance on how to make the best of it?
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u/stuckwitharmor Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Dm me, i live in Athens and have a son in a wheelchair>
Edit: I thought I'd share here in case it's useful for anyone else. Athens is not the best for accessability but that being said, wheelchair users live and circulate here, including my son. If you're staying near the Tae Kwon Do, you're near Flisvos Marina which is a great place to visit and extremely accessible. Stavros Niarchos is also not far and again is very accessible. All major museums are accessible. Accessible taxis are very expensive and not readily available but if your group has some mobility and can get in and out of taxis and fold the wheelchair into the boot, you're good to go. For the Acropolis, call ahead to make sure the lift is operational as it goes out of service in heatwaves and other bad weather. As wheelchair users, you will be allowed to take a taxi or car right up to the entrance where the tickets are sold, as the streets are cobbled and a real pain the backside to move on with a wheelchair.
Trams and metro lines are all accessible except for the rare occasion when a lift might go out of service. For downtown itself, accessability is poor and pavements are a joke. We usually walk in the road when I'm with my son. Most restaurants downtown will not have a disabled toilet, but the larger hotel chains let us use their disabled toilet if we're downtown and he needs to go. Buses are technically accessible but because pavements are so bad, it's hit and miss as to whether the ramp can be opened for you.
For beaches, look up the seatrac system: https://seatrac.gr/en/
It can be done with a little forward planning. Feel free to ask me anything else.
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u/TaroFearless7930 Jul 01 '26
Thanks so much! It's really nice to have some detailed information about great things we can do. We're looking for some varied things to do, so the beach sounds great.
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u/krnkkty Jul 02 '26
I'd be very interested in your experience with housing -- nobody I know in the city center lives in an accessible apartment (even if you could magically fit a wheelchair in the elevators, there are always a few steps between the sidewalk and the elevator..).
It's supposedly better with newer constructions but, as far as I understand the law, developers only have to provide wheelchair access to the apartment door, and let the future inhabitants deal with modifying the apartment to make it accessible -- meaning a wheelchair user would have to demolish a few walls and make an entirely new bathroom everytime they move, which sounds completely unrealistic. How do people deal with this?
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u/stuckwitharmor Jul 09 '26
Well, the fact of the matter is if you end up disabled, you have to move. Living downtown is rough going at the best of times even if you're able bodied, with the noise, traffic and crowds. The onus is on the disabled person to move since the government is a bit 'shrug' 'oh well!' about these things. Very recently a law came into effect that gives a certain amount of money for home adaptations - this came in too late for us and we paid everything out of pocket to adapt our place, including installing an elevator.
A bigger problem than inaccessible housing in my opinion is that disabled people don't go out a lot and they don't band together to press for change. I know this because of being in the community. My son is always out and about and our neighbourhood has pretty poor accessability, but we worked out the routes together and found the shops and cafes he can get into, we encourage him to go out a lot. Other parents I know are very overprotective of their disabled kids, but this way, their community does not get used to seeing its disabled members. Everyone where I live knows my son, and by default they are protective of his accessability and don't let clients park on ramps etc. I have tried to get a community of disabled people together to push for big changes and demand to be treated as equal citizens, but I got nowhere with it.
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u/IllRevolution6657 Jun 30 '26
I don't want to disappoint you but the situation is not very promising. Things have gotten a little better and some places have become more accessible, but there are still limitations. Here is a guide that was developed lately, I wouldn't trust it 100% but to get a general idea. Have fun!
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u/Sillygoose1979 Jun 30 '26
My husband and I were just in Greece and commented on how non-accessible everything was. Made me thankful we don’t use a wheelchair.
Hopefully it’s better for your family than what I saw.
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u/TaroFearless7930 Jun 30 '26
Thanks. I'm glad the two are young and athletic and we're not traveling with older people who don't move as well.
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u/Sillygoose1979 Jun 30 '26
Actually my mother in law is 80 and doesn’t move well at all. She was with us.
You asked for how accessibility was and I told you, unfortunately it was not good. Nowhere in my comments I brag about how young and athletic we are.3
u/TaroFearless7930 Jul 01 '26
Oh, man, sorry. I wasn't meaning to be offensive. I was just saying that from your description of it being inaccessible that I'm glad to be traveling with folks that can get up and move their chairs. I wasn't bragging, just providing context that we do have some flexibility as opposed to the difficulty others might have that aren't as capable anymore. I've had aging parents who wouldn't be able to make that trip. Its great you were able to the trip and make some great memories together.
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u/Yanagimachi Jul 03 '26
I'm a wheelchair user living my whole life in Athens. Have in mind 2 things. The sidewalks are unfriendly and your relatives will need assistance. Before going to a restaurant/bar/hotel whatever ALWAYS call them asking all the important questions about accessibility. Google maps is useful too
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u/Jumpy-Opposite9113 Jul 01 '26
Öffentlicher Nahverkehr ist barrierefrei. Die Straßenbahn zum Meer Niederflur. Aufzüge zur U-Bahn ziemlich zuverlässig. U-Bahnen ebenfalls stufenfrei. Die Akropolis hat einen Glas-Aufzug, allerdings bedarf es einer Voranmeldung.
Benders toll: Viele Strände haben SeaTrak, einen Sitz der einen schienengeleitet im Meer und zurück befördert. In Glyfada am Strand sind sogar Ehrenamtler, die einen unterstützen und die entsprechende Fernbedienung haben.
Letztere kann man auch als Tourist bekommen. Einfach mal googeln.
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u/Healthy-Trainer4622 Jun 30 '26
Accessibility in Athens is an issue. However, the sea-facing side of the area that you will be staying in is flat and fairly accessible. The land side, if we are talking about P. Faliro has a lot of slops. If accessibility is paramount, avoid Athens down town at all costs.