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Student eats · November 2026
Studying abroad in Athens
Every meal here costs €10 or less.
About $12 US. Typical prices, checked November 2, 2026.Athens is the easiest city in Europe to eat cheaply: a souvlaki pita costs a few euros, bougatsa is breakfast, and the tavernas around the central market have been feeding workers for a hundred years.
A day of eating for €12
- Breakfast, €4: Bougatsadiko Thessaloniki, bougatsa with cream, dusted with sugar and cinnamon
- Lunch, €3: Kostas, a pork souvlaki pita with his tomato sauce
- Dinner, €5: O Thanasis, the kebab pita with onions and tomato
Breakfast, lunch and dinner: €12, about $14.
Eat for €10 or less
1A photo like it
€4Breakfast
Bougatsadiko Thessaloniki
Get: Bougatsa with cream, dusted with sugar and cinnamon
Phyllo rolled by hand every day, Thessaloniki-style, open from early to very late.
2A photo like it
€3Lunch
Kostas
Get: A pork souvlaki pita with his tomato sauce
A tiny souvlaki stand open since 1950, lunch only, closes when it sells out. A few euros.
3
€10Lunch
Diporto
Get: Chickpea soup or whatever fish is frying, with retsina
A basement taverna with no sign and no menu. You eat what's cooking, next to the market traders.
4
€5Dinner
O Thanasis
Get: The kebab pita with onions and tomato
The Monastiraki kebab shop Athenians have argued about since 1964.
5
€6Late
Feyrouz
Get: Lahmacun and a spinach pie
A tiny Levantine bakery in Psyrri, cheap and good, open late.
6
€5Snack
Lukumades
Get: A portion of loukoumades with honey and cinnamon
Greek doughnuts fried to order, on the busiest café street in the center.
The market
Monday to Saturday, mornings to mid-afternoon
Varvakios Central Market
Athinas Street
Get: Olives, feta, nuts and fruit from the stalls around the meat and fish halls
Buy olives and feta from the shops on Evripidou Street next door; they're cheaper than at home by a mile.
The supermarket to find
Sklavenitis, AB Vassilopoulos or Lidl
- Greek yogurt and honey for breakfast, cheap and very good
- Feta, tomatoes and cucumbers for a horiatiki at home
- Spanakopita from the bakery (fournos) for a euro or two
Sklavenitis is usually the cheapest. Every neighborhood also has a Thursday or Friday street market (laiki).
How students save in Athens
- A souvlaki pita is the cheapest full meal in Europe. Ask for 'me ola' (with everything).
- Eat at tavernas where the menu is in Greek first. Avoid the ones with a waiter pulling people in.
- The laiki (weekly street market) in every neighborhood sells fruit and vegetables for very little.
More for Athens
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Prices are typical, checked November 2, 2026, and move; places with branches all over (chains) are named so you can use any of them. "A photo like it" is the same kind of food, not from that place. Chef Amazing is not paid by any place on this page.
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