Greece | Athens security and safety assessment

• Petty crime and disruption from protests are likely to remain the main day-to-day risks for travellers this year

We assess that Athens is a generally safe and secure city for transit, travel and operations. The Greek capital is a popular destination for holidaymakers and a transit point for those evacuating from Lebanon and Israel amid military tensions in the Middle East. There appears to still be near-daily flights from both countries. The main risks in Athens are petty crime and travel disruption due to hardship protests. Western government advisories also warn of wildfires close to the city in the summer. But these usually only occur near the northern outskirts and rarely cause more widespread disruption to the city, as was the case with a fire earlier this week.

Crime concentrated in tourist areas and deprived neighbourhoods

The likelihood of exposure to crime for travellers is moderate. Petty crime, such as pickpocketing, bag snatching and taxi scams, is the main risk. Official statistics have recorded a moderate decrease in overall crime rates in the country in recent years, compared with the past few years before the Covid-19 pandemic. The majority of incidents involved theft and burglary, and around 50-60% took place in Athens or the broader Attica region. But common sense precaution measures and location awareness are enough to mitigate such risks, in our view.

Pickpocketing, and phone- and bag-snatching are more common in busy tourist areas in the city centre (less so in residential areas) or on public transport, particularly on the metro. Line 1, connecting the Piraeus port area to the north of Athens, is such a hotspot. Taxi drivers will sometimes illegally overcharge passengers on routes to and from the airport or other major transport hubs. Left-wing activists often vandalise cars and other private property in areas they frequent, such as Exarcheia and the National Technical University area.

Violent crime is in comparison much more rare. Organised criminal groups, including drug gangs, usually operate in deprived areas north and west of Omonoia Square. Drug trafficking, mugging and assault are the main types of violent or organised crime there. In our view, the risk of exposure is low but seems to be elevated at night. Some foreign government travel advisories recommend avoiding walking alone during night hours. Many locals in those areas, especially women, usually stay indoors after nightfall, out of precaution, according to a Dragonfly analyst who used to live in the city.

Protests and strikes likely to remain frequent in centre

There is a strong protest culture in Athens. Demonstrations are frequent in the city centre, occurring several times a month. This is particularly in areas around and between Syntagma and Omonoia squares, affecting major streets such as Stadiou, Panepistimiou, Akadimias, Vasilissis Sofias and Vasilissis Amalias. Traffic on these and nearby streets, which constitute the arterial roads of the capital, can often be severely disrupted for a few hours during gatherings.

Protesters are mainly motivated by economic hardship or worker/student issues. And most protests are usually called by major trade unions or left-wing groups. The largest tend to gather several thousand people. Strikes called by major unions, including in public transport, usually have very high participation, numbering dozens of thousands of people, and causing nearly total sector-wide disruption for several hours or an entire day.

Most demonstrations pass off peacefully. But scuffles between protesters and riot police are more probable during left-wing protests. Small left-wing or anarchist groups often cause localised unrest in specific neighbourhoods or infiltrate larger protests. This is particularly in Exarcheia, the National Technical University area, and nearby streets. Their tactics usually involve throwing stones or Molotov cocktails at police, which often uses tear gas to disperse larger pockets of unrest.

Far-left and Iran-affiliated groups drive terrorism threat

We assess there is a reasonable possibility that a terrorist attack will occur in Athens. Our terrorism threat level is moderate. We had lowered our threat level from high last year to reflect a significant decrease in the frequency of attacks in recent years, despite Greece’s decades-long problem with far-left violence. In our analysis, this decline reflects the diminished capabilities of far-left terrorist groups; the most active of these have either disbanded or become inactive in the past few years.

That said, there are still groups motivated to mount attacks. For example, there have been three small-scale bombings against judicial, police and government targets in central Athens since last December. All these were claimed by or attributed to newly formed groups, but none of them has mounted a sustained campaign of attacks. The most probable form of a far-left attack in the city would be a small bombing or arson against law enforcement, political or other government targets. These groups usually try to avoid harming civilians.

Individuals or small groups affiliated with Iran also appear motivated to attack Jewish/Israeli targets. Since early 2023, we have recorded two Iran-linked incidents and a plot targeting either Jewish-owned businesses or synagogues in Athens with explosives or incendiaries. The authorities have also reportedly been on high alert in recent weeks after receiving foreign intelligence on potential Iran-sponsored retaliation attacks against Israeli targets in third countries, such as Greece.

Discrimination occurs occasionally

Athens is overall a safe and secure environment for LGBTQ+ people, in our assessment. But there is a reasonable chance of exposure to discrimination, threats, or stigma. This is particularly in some more conservative outlying areas or rural areas in the vicinity, according to a recent ILGA-Europe report. Our LGBTQ+ discrimination risk rating for the Greek capital is therefore moderate.

Similarly, while Athens is an overall safe and secure city for ethnic minorities, there is a reasonable possibility of exposure to discrimination, threats or harassment. This has especially been the case since the height of the migrant and refugee arrivals in Europe in 2015; Greece is a common entry point for people seeking asylum in Europe. In recent years there have been reports in the area of Piraeus of those perceived as Middle Eastern, African or Muslim being verbally harassed or having their properties vandalised. A local NGO recorded 158 discrimination-based attacks in 2023, up from 74 in 2022; 89 targeted migrants or refugees and 61 targeted LGBTQ+ people.

Still, according to local media reports, the city is a significantly more tolerant place than some rural areas in its vicinity. The migration and asylum ministry also recently told local press that it is expanding communication with the police in order to ‘investigate every complaint and incident’ driven by discrimination.

Some infrastructure and driving risks

There is a reasonable possibility of some business disruption due to underdeveloped or inconsistently maintained infrastructure in some areas. This is particularly in the outskirts of the city and when travelling overland to and from other parts of the country. While generally safe to use, infrastructure, especially roads and trains, is often reported in the international media as being below European average standards; a train crash near the Tempi Valley (roughly 230km from Athens) killed around 57 people in February last year. Our infrastructure risk for Athens is low, but our countrywide risk is moderate.

There are similar risks associated with driving in Athens. The Dragonfly analyst who used to live in the city said that reckless and over-confident driving, exacerbated by some poorly maintained roads, an incomplete road traffic code and high volumes of traffic, is quite common in the city. An international study from 2019 indicated that Greece has one of the highest rates of fatal traffic crashes in urban areas (56%) compared to the European average (36%), but anecdotally this appears to have improved somewhat in recent years.

Wildfires and heatwaves in the summer

There is a heightened risk of wildfires and heatwaves in the Attica region between May and October. These can lead to flight delays or cancellations, road closures, localised evacuations and strain on medical systems for weeks. While smoke from fires sometimes reaches more central parts of the city (elevating health risks) and fires occasionally get close to some northern suburbs like Dionysos, they largely occur in more rural parts of the region. The Greek authorities have also increased the number of firefighters on standby and monitoring of forests since 2021.