Right now, admission requirements to Greece and by extension to the Schengen area (which Greece is part of) are minimal. There is some fuss around a new system of admission, ETIAS, (similar to the US’s “ESTA”) that will be activated, but for the time being (this is written in July ’25) it has been postponed for the last quarter of 2026.

Please bookmark the official EU site for ETIAS: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias and the generic EU site about travelling to Europe for future reference: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/pub

Greece is a country that relies heavily on tourism and is “setup” to welcome and host millions of visitors every year. Last year Greece welcomed 36 million visitors from abroad (Greece’s population is 11 million)

Here are the top countries of origin:

Most Greeks understand and can speak at least basic English. All road signs are in Greek and English. Most commercial signage is in English(!)

Google maps cover Greece and especially Athens fully.

Even if you are not an hardened international traveller, your experience from Greece as a foreign visitor should be trouble-free, especially if you pay attention to the information that follows:

1) Zebra (pedestrian) crossings: SOS SOS SOS: These are mostly decorative! If they are not coupled with traffic lights that specifically give way to pedestrians, you should ignore them as a pedestrian and always make sure that no car is moving on the street before crossing. If you drive a car in Greece, also keep this in mind, the car following you is not expecting you to break to a still to allow a pedestrian to cross the street on a zebra crossing – if you do break there is the risk that the car following you will be surprised and may drive into you.

2) Zebra crossings coupled with a traffic light on crossroads: SOS SOS SOS: Caution is recommended! It is common when you see the green walking light, the cars turning into your street to have the double blinking arrows. These command the car that turns and crosses the zebra crossing to yield to pedestrians, but very few people know this or adhere to this rule. So even if you have a green light as a pedestrian and there is a zebra crossing, always pay attention to what the cars turning into your street do!

3) Driving altitude of Greek drivers: I would place it somewhere between Rome and Cairo. Very aggresive driving is to be expected. Greek drivers rarely yield, so you need to be extra careful when changing lanes, even if you have signaled that you will do so. Scooters are a menace! No rules apply to or observed by them. They will do the stupidest things on the road (and often pay the price of hospital admission).

4) Respect for public places (pavements, squares etc): Minimal, compared to Western Europe. It is not uncommon for a scooter to drive on the pavement, amongst pedestrians, to cut through traffic. Also they drive the opposite way on one-way streets expecting the cars to allow them to pass. Scooters park everywhere, blocking the passage of pedestrians. If you have limited mobility, or you are a parent with a stroller you will have a hard time manuvering between cars and scooters parked on the pavements and various other obstacles people have put in place for their own personal convenience. (I am angry writing this, yet it is an accurate description of reality)

If you accept and get used to the above, then Athens is great! Very vivid, very diverse, quite walkable due to density, full of things to discover and amazing memories waiting to be made!

More information about means of travelling around Greece will follow