A quiet street in Kolonaki, a short walk from the hospitals on Vasilissis Sofias. Photo: George E. Koronaios, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
If you are accompanying someone receiving care at Evangelismos Hospital in Athens, this guide covers the hospital's visiting rules, transport and places to stay nearby.
Last updated: 6 October 2026
I live in Kolonaki and host guests in an apartment on Ipsilantou Street, the same street as Evangelismos. What follows is taken from the hospital's own website and those of the organisations I mention. Rules change, and individual wards can have their own, so for anything that affects you directly the nursing staff on the ward always have the final word.
Evangelismos at a glance
Evangelismos General Hospital of Athens is at Ipsilantou 45-47, in lower Kolonaki, beside Evangelismos station on Metro Line 3. It is a large complex of several buildings, so ask early which building and floor your ward is on.
The hospital publishes its information in Greek only, and its website has no English version. If your Greek is limited, it is worth bringing someone who can help with the paperwork on the first day.
Useful numbers, from the hospital's contact page (from abroad, add +30):
- Switchboard: 213 204 1000
- Patient movement office (admissions): 213 204 1039
- Morning outpatient clinics secretariat: 213 204 1166
- Afternoon clinics secretariat: 213 204 1041 and 213 204 1050
Visiting hours and rules for companions
Visiting hours change. The times below are as published on Evangelismos Hospital's own website, last checked on 6 October 2026. Wards and intensive care units often set their own rules, so confirm with the ward before you go.
Visiting hours at Evangelismos are 17:00 to 20:00 on weekdays, and 11:00 to 12:30 and 16:00 to 20:00 at weekends and on public holidays.
A companion is not a visitor. Companions who stay on the ward do so "by special permission", in the hospital's own words, so ask the ward on day one whether and how that permission is given. The same rules ask companions not to sit on patients' beds and not to consume food, soft drinks or coffee inside the patient rooms. In practice you will need somewhere else to eat, shower and rest. What the patient may eat from outside is a question for the ward, every time.
Paperwork: admission and discharge
Admission. These are administrative requirements, and it is worth confirming them with the hospital. Evangelismos lists the patient's Greek social security number (AMKA), health insurance booklet and ID card, plus tax number and tax office, and for non-Greek patients a passport, residence permit or equivalent document. In an emergency admission, relatives bring the documents to the inpatient accounts office as soon as they can. For scheduled admissions the hospital keeps a waiting list and contacts patients through the patient movement office; ask them in advance what paperwork it needs in your case.
Discharge: the medical decision and the paperwork. When the patient can leave, and whether they are fit to travel, is for the treating team to decide. The paperwork is separate: the discharge form goes to the patient accounts office, whose cash desk keeps morning hours, and patients insured with EOPYY, the Greek national insurer, also need it stamped by the EOPYY doctor, again in the morning. Check the exact hours with the ward, and do not book an early morning flight home on discharge day.
The social service. Evangelismos has a social work department on the third floor of the Old Building (room 318), open Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 14:00, on 213 204 1245. Among the reasons it lists for seeing patients and families are a lack of housing or support and care after discharge. If the cost of staying is a worry, or the patient will need care after leaving hospital, that is the first office to visit.
Getting to Evangelismos
Help on the flight. If the patient has difficulty walking, request assistance from the airline, or whoever sold you the ticket, at least 48 hours before the flight. Under EU rules on passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility, that assistance is free of charge, and if you do not give notice in time the airline must still make all reasonable efforts to help, though it is not guaranteed.
Getting the patient there. For a planned journey, choose transport that suits the patient's mobility; ask the treating team if medical transport is needed. Athens airport taxis charge a fixed fare into the city centre, with a different rate at night, and the fares are revised from time to time, so confirm the current fare before you set off.
By metro from the airport. Line 3 runs from the airport to Evangelismos station without a change, in about 40 minutes. The airport metro ticket costs €9 (€4.50 reduced, €16 return) and is valid for 90 minutes on all OASA transport, according to the OASA fare list. Airport trains run less often than the rest of the line, so check the STASY timetable before you fly. Our guide to getting from the airport to Kolonaki covers every option in more detail.
From Piraeus port, if you are coming by ferry: Line 3 serves Piraeus station and reaches Evangelismos without a change, in about 25 minutes.
From Thessaloniki by train: you arrive at Larissa Station. Take Line 2 to Syntagma, change to Line 3 and get off at the very next stop, Evangelismos.
By car. Ask the hospital before you arrive where the patient can be dropped off. If you stay with us, ask about parking: there is a paid garage near the apartment.
Arriving late. Track works close different sections of the metro on weeknight evenings from time to time. Before an evening arrival, check the current STASY announcements.
Staying near Evangelismos for days or weeks
A companion's accommodation is not a holiday, and what matters most in a place to stay may change during a hospital stay.
Being close. Companions spend much of the day at the hospital. A nearby place can make it easier to return for a meal or rest when the ward allows it.
Separate bedrooms for shifts. If the ward permits an overnight companion, family members may be able to take turns. Whoever comes back in the morning has to sleep while everyone else is awake, so two separate bedrooms are worth more than one large open space.
A kitchen and a washing machine. Since companions cannot eat in the patient rooms, a kitchen saves you from takeaway every day. And after a few days you will need to do laundry.
A lift. Not a given in older Athens apartment blocks, and it matters when you come back late, or when the patient stays with you for a few days after discharge before the journey home.
Dates that move. Surgery gets rescheduled, discharge comes earlier or later, and the first thing to ask any host is what happens if your dates change.
Our apartment. It is on Ipsilantou, the same street as the hospital, on the third floor with a lift: two bedrooms in 65 square metres, sleeping up to six. One bedroom has its own air conditioning, there are room-darkening shades for daytime sleep, a full kitchen, a washer-dryer at no extra charge, a workspace in a room with a door and a wired internet connection. Check-in is self-service with a lockbox, and if you arrive very early you can leave luggage. If you need wheelchair access, write to me before booking so I can give you the measurements. We answer in English and Greek. Details are on the two-bedroom apartment at Evangelismos page.
You should know this up front: bookings paid online on our site are non-refundable, including if you leave early. If your dates are uncertain, book the nights you are sure of and ask to extend once you know more. Extending is not guaranteed, because it depends on availability. Travel insurance that covers cancellation is worth having. We accept stays of more than 28 days and can arrange cleaning during them; for longer stays see our guide to a month in Kolonaki, and for the neighbourhood in general, where to stay in Kolonaki.
Around Evangelismos
- Late-night and Sunday pharmacies: the Pharmaceutical Association of Attica publishes the rota of on-duty pharmacies at fsa-efimeries.gr (in Greek; the addresses are what you need).
- Weekly shopping: Kolonaki has supermarkets within walking distance, a farmers' market every Friday on Xenokratous Street and a kiosk on the same street.
- Somewhere to breathe. The National Garden runs along Vasilissis Sofias towards Syntagma, and the slopes of Lycabettus Hill begin above upper Kolonaki. Half an hour under trees, away from the ward, is not a luxury.
If cost is a worry: free accommodation
The hospital's social service can help you explore support (details above); patients can also apply to the Hellenic Cancer Society programme online themselves.
"Óli i Ydrógeios éna spíti", Hellenic Cancer Society. If your person is having cancer treatment, this programme offers free accommodation in homes near the hospitals for cancer patients from outside Athens plus one companion. The criteria it lists: family income up to €9,000, a medical certificate, and a need to stay more than seven days. Applications are made online by the patient or by the hospital's social service, and places are allocated in order of priority and subject to availability; confirm with the programme how long a stay it can offer. The Society also publishes information in English. Telephone +30 210 440 7419.
These schemes are designed mainly for people living elsewhere in Greece. If you may qualify, contact the programme or hospital social service before arranging your stay.
Other hospitals nearby
If treatment or tests also take you to another hospital in the area, here are the basics. Check visiting rules with each hospital directly.
| Hospital | Address | Switchboard | From Evangelismos | |---|---|---|---| | Aretaieio | Vasilissis Sofias 76 | +30 210 728 6000 | One metro stop to Megaro Mousikis; the hospital is opposite the station | | Aiginiteio and Alexandra | On either side of Aretaieio, opposite the Megaro Mousikis concert hall | See each hospital's website | One metro stop to Megaro Mousikis | | Hippokrateio | Vasilissis Sofias 114 | +30 213 208 8000 | Further up Vasilissis Sofias | | Agia Sofia Children's Hospital | Thivon and Papadiamantopoulou, Goudi | +30 213 201 3000 | According to the hospital: metro to Ampelokipi, then bus 230 or B5; or metro to Katehaki, then bus A5 or 140 | | Agios Savvas Cancer Hospital | Alexandras Avenue 171 | +30 210 640 9000 | Taxi, or public transport planned with the OASA Telematics app |
For families of children treated at the children's hospitals there are two free options. The Ronald McDonald House parents' home, inside Agia Sofia Children's Hospital, has rooms for families living outside Attica, the Athens region (+30 210 770 4076). The ELPIDA Guest House in Goudi hosts families from outside Athens free of charge while their child has cancer treatment at the Agia Sofia or Aglaia Kyriakou children's hospitals, with applications through the social service (guest house telephones +30 210 777 7168 and +30 210 777 3101).
If you would like to talk before booking, send me your dates as you know them today, even if they are not final, and I will tell you whether we are the right fit.