Paris to Athens by Train.. possibly plane

Kate, I looked into this ,, years ago mind you, but even years ago ,, before cheapo airlines, the train and ferry option was a bad one. We flew.

There are many budget airlines , just start googling,, try Easyjet, Ryanair, Vueling, Tuifly, etc etc.. just google for "discount airlines Europe" and start searching.

Be aware that you would do best to fly out of Charles De Gaulle or Orly airports in Paris, Beauvais is used by some discount airlines, but it is further outside Paris then other two and not as well served by public transport. Watch flight times too, a flight that leaves at 6 am will be hard to get to by public transport,, I don't think RER runs till 4:30 or 5 am.. not enough time.

To get from Paris to Athens you need to take both a train and a ferry...over 24 hours.....

Fly.

There is some good information on the various options here:
http://www.seat61.com/Greece.htm#Bari & Patras

Thanks for the advice. Would anyone recommend flying? Or know of a good website where I could check out the flight options and prices?

Paris to Athens by train is certainly possible, most likely through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, then in through Thessoloniki and down to Athens...very, very long, several days, probably a couple overnight trains. Even the train then ferry route would be a 3 day trip. 18 to 20 hours overnight train to Bari, Overnight ferry to Patras, then another 3 hours or so to Athens. I would consider flying for sure. Aegean Air flies from CDG, rates vary, but you can fly for as little as a 100 Euro if you find the right fare. You could also take the train to say Rome, spend a couple days, then fly from Rome to Athens.

www.easyjet.com

yes I would fly....the train would be too long.

I have taken the train from Stuttgart to Athens. It was a long time ago and it took a long time. I caught the train at 6 PM and 46 hours later I was in Athens. I remember we hit the then Yugoslav border in the middle of the first night. I remember waking up the first morning and looking out the window to see cornfields and power lines. I thought I was back in the midwest! By the end of the day we were in mountains and I was struck by the poverty of the villages with dirt roads and outhouses. We got into Thesalonica around 2 in the AM of the second night and still didn't get to Athens until 4 in the afternoon. It was a heck of a trip and I got a paper out of it for an expository writing class. I went second class and the compartment was full of guest workers returning to Greece. They were extraordinarily kind and generous, didn't speak any English, and want to know if I knew Jackie Kennedy Onasis. ; ) My fellow travelers on the leg from Thesalonica to Athens were mostly soldiers with their guns! I would fly today, but if you want an adventure go for it. Just bring food and water! Pam

Hello Kate. It is possible to go by train from Paris to Athens. It takes about 45 hours and you have to change trains 4 times. As Pam said, if you want adventure go for it, other wise fly. The information I found on my favorite rail site bahn.de Good luck and bon voyage, Karin

So, sad to hear that the Hellas Express has not revived. I did find this interesting site while googling the Hellas Express http://www.balkanology.com/blog/2008/11/train-timetable-changes-in-balkans.html It's a blog on traveling in southeast Europe called Balkanology. It looks pretty interesting. Pam