City guides Greece
Athens
A big, real city with winter sun, EUR 4 lunches and a EUR 27 transport pass, and a nomad visa that works if you earn EUR 3,500 a month net. Two things changed in 2026: you can no longer apply for the permit from inside Greece, and rents keep climbing. And the permit does nothing about tax: stay past 183 days and Greece taxes your worldwide income from the day you arrived.
Every figure checked 2 Oct 2026
- EUR 15.60 per square metre a month Asking rent, Koukaki
- EUR 27 Monthly transport pass
- EUR 4.00 to 4.50 Pita gyros
- Country Greece
- Time zone UTC+3 08:22 there now
- Language Greek
- Currency Euro (EUR)
- Plugs Type C and F, 230V
How far English gets you Good wherever tourism and work meet: central cafes, coworking spaces and younger people, of whom about 60 per cent speak it. It stops at the state. Tax office letters, the migration office, the KEP service centres, lease paperwork and most pharmacy and hospital desks work in Greek, so plan on a Greek-speaking lawyer or accountant for the permit and your tax number.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
Remote workers on a solid foreign salary who want winter sun and a proper city rather than a resort, and who treat spring and autumn as the best months. Daily life is cheap even where rent is not: lunch is a EUR 4 gyros, the transport pass is EUR 27 a month and the Acropolis Museum stays open until 10pm on Fridays. It works best if you arrive on a D visa arranged in advance, and either stay under 183 days or budget for Greek tax.
It does not suit you if
Anyone who needs a bearable summer: July and August heatwaves reach 38 degrees and more, and in July 2025 the Acropolis shut in the afternoons. Anyone who needs fast home broadband guaranteed, or a bureaucracy in English. Remote employees counting on the famous 50 per cent tax break, which does not cover them. And anyone planning to fly in visa-free and sort out a permit later: that door closed in February 2026.
Money
What everything else costs
| Asking rent, Kolonaki | EUR 16.70 per square metre a month | Spitogatos, Q2 2026, the top of the central table |
|---|---|---|
| Asking rent, Kypseli | EUR 11.80 per square metre a month | Spitogatos, Q2 2026, the cheapest of the four areas here |
| Coworking day pass | EUR 17 to 18 | Stone Soup EUR 17 + VAT, Impact Hub EUR 18 |
| Coworking monthly | EUR 170 | Unlimited at Impact Hub Athens in Psyrri. EUR 200 for a fixed desk |
| Single ticket | EUR 1.20 | 90 minutes. Not valid to the airport |
| Coffee | EUR 2.20 to 2.70 | A takeaway freddo espresso, Greece-wide; EUR 4.50 to 6 sitting down |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| Official name | Digital nomad national visa (type D), then the residence permit for digital nomads, under article 68 of the Migration Code |
|---|---|
| Apply from abroad | Since February 2026 you must get the D visa at a Greek consulate first. Arriving visa-free and applying in Greece no longer works |
| Who qualifies | Employees of employers outside Greece and freelancers with clients outside Greece. No work for an employer based in Greece, and family members may not work or run a business there |
| How long | The visa lasts up to 12 months, then a two-year residence permit, renewable two years at a time |
| Fee | EUR 75 for the application |
| Permanent residence | EU long-term residence after five years of legal residence. Whether nomad years count is not confirmed in Greek law |
| Citizenship | Seven years of lawful residence, holding a long-term permit when you apply, plus a knowledge exam |
| Without a visa | British and American passports: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen |
| Tax residency | More than 183 days in any 12 months, and you are then resident from your first day |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
-
Koukaki
About EUR 15.60 per square metre askingFlat streets under the Acropolis, a metro stop and enough cafes for laptop days
The catch One of the most Airbnb-saturated parts of the centre: long lets are scarce, and the summer crowds pass your door
-
Kolonaki
About EUR 16.70 per square metre askingPolished, walkable and safe-feeling, with the best cafes and Lycabettus hill for evening runs
The catch The highest asking rents in the centre, on steep streets with little parking
-
Pangrati
About EUR 13 to 16.50 per square metre asking (2025)A lived-in Greek neighbourhood of tavernas and Varnava square, a walk from the National Garden
The catch Most of it has no metro station, so it is a 15 to 25 minute walk to Evangelismos or Syntagma
-
Kypseli
About EUR 11.80 per square metre askingThe cheapest of the four, with the Fokionos Negri pedestrian street and a young creative crowd moving in
The catch No metro station yet, dense older streets and little green space
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan 13C highs, rainy spells
- Feb 14C, mild
- Mar 16C, spring starts
- Apr 20C, 239 hours sun
- May 25C, before the crowds
- Jun 30C, heatwaves begin
- Jul 33C average, heatwaves
- Aug Heat, city on holiday
- Sep 29C, sea still warm
- Oct 23C, rain returns late
- Nov 19C, rainier
- Dec 15C, wettest month
Come now Fine Avoid
April, May, September and October are the months. The averages behind the strip are from 1961 to 1990, and recent summers have run hotter: in July 2025 the Acropolis closed in the afternoons with Athens forecast at 38 degrees. Winter is mild and wet rather than cold, which is why the city works as a base from November to March.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
That is Greece's median fixed download from the Ookla index in December 2024, from two press reports that disagree slightly, and it was the slowest in the EU. Greece has climbed the rankings since, but no newer figure was available. Ask the landlord whether the line is fibre to the home before you sign.
Cafes are fine for email and a freddo, but they are social and loud, and the terraces are where people smoke. For calls, rent a flat with confirmed fibre or a coworking desk, and in July and August reliable air conditioning matters more than speed.
Somewhere to work
Coworking in Athens
Work
Remote roles open to someone in Greece
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
-
Pita gyros or souvlaki wrap
EUR 4.00 to 4.50The standard cheap lunch, eaten standing up or on a bench
-
Freddo espresso
EUR 2.20 to 2.70Iced, shaken espresso to take away, the real coffee order from April to October. Greece-wide price
-
Coffee sitting down
EUR 4.50 to 6.00You pay for the chair, and nobody rushes you. Greece-wide price
-
Koulouri
Price not checkedThe sesame bread ring sold from street carts at breakfast
Days off
Worth a Saturday
-
Acropolis
EUR 30The reason the city exists; go at opening. The same price all year. EU citizens under 25 go free, other visitors only up to 18
-
Acropolis Museum
EUR 20The best museum in Greece, open until 10pm on Fridays, when it is quieter
-
Stavros Niarchos Foundation park
FreeRenzo Piano's park and canal by the sea, with free events
-
National Archaeological Museum
EUR 20The Antikythera mechanism and the great bronzes. The same EU and non-EU youth rule as the Acropolis
-
Free state-site days
Free6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September, 28 October, and the first and third Sundays from November to March
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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Consulate first
Since Law 5275/2026 in February 2026 the nomad permit can no longer be applied for from inside Greece
-
Tax residence is backdated
Pass 183 days in any 12 months and you are resident from day one, not day 184
-
The 50 per cent break is not for nomads
Remote employees of foreign companies with no Greek establishment do not qualify
-
Short lets are frozen in the centre
No new short-let registrations in central districts including Koukaki, Kolonaki, Exarchia and Pangrati until the end of 2026. A monthly holiday let there may be unregistered
-
The airport is extra
The EUR 27 pass does not cover it. The airport metro alone is EUR 9 one way; the pass with the airport is EUR 45
-
Ask about the line
Greece had the slowest median fixed broadband in the EU at the end of 2024
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.