Can you drink tap water in Athens?
Yes. Athens tap water is safe to drink, and the water company EYDAP tests it every day in the reservoirs and across the street mains. The two real caveats are old pipes inside some buildings and a chlorine taste that some travelers notice at first.
Is Athens tap water safe to drink
Most of the water that reaches Athens taps comes from four reservoirs, Mornos, Evinos, Yliki and Marathon. Yliki is a natural lake and the other three sit behind dams, while about 100 boreholes add groundwater when the reservoirs need support. Treatment plants at Galatsi, Acharnes, Polydendri and Aspropyrgos filter and disinfect the water, and the Galatsi plant feeds the part of the network that serves central Athens and Piraeus.
EYDAP runs its own laboratories in Galatsi and Acharnes, accredited to ISO 17025, and logs about 120,000 measurements a year on raw and treated water. Its yearly results are published through the EYDAP water quality checks page, and the 2025 figures for water sampled in the distribution network look like this.
| Parameter | 2025 result | Legal limit |
|---|---|---|
| E. coli | Median of 0 across 8,140 tests | 0 |
| Lead | 0.57 µg/l on average | 10 µg/l |
| PFAS (sum of 20 compounds) | 0.02 µg/l on average | 0.10 µg/l |
| Nitrate | 0.83 mg/l on average | 50 mg/l |
| Sodium | 8.1 mg/l on average | 200 mg/l |
The limits come from Greek ministerial decision 27829/2023, which brings the EU Drinking Water Directive (2020/2184) into Greek law. The directive has applied since January 2023 and also asks member states to make tap water easier to find in public spaces. EYDAP certifies that the water in its network complied with every limit in 2025.
Why the water can taste different
Some travelers notice a faint swimming-pool note in Athens tap water. That is residual chlorine, which EYDAP keeps in the pipes so bacteria cannot grow on the way to the tap, and its 38,156 checks in 2025 averaged 0.41 mg/l. The water is also on the hard side, at about 150 mg/l of calcium carbonate, so kettles scale up and the taste can feel mineral to anyone used to soft water. Neither point affects safety, and EYDAP's 2025 tests rated both taste and odour as acceptable.
A jug of tap water left in the fridge for a few hours tastes softer, since the chlorine fades as the water stands and cold water hides the mineral edge.
Unusual smells do happen now and then. On 1 October 2025 residents of several southern suburbs, among them Nea Smyrni, Agios Dimitrios and Palaio Faliro, reported water that smelled of chlorine or naphthalene. EYDAP linked the smell to emergency measures after a fault in the network and said the water remained safe to drink. Episodes like this stay local and short, and a day on bottled water plus a question to the host or hotel covers them.
When bottled or filtered water makes sense
Old buildings and holiday flats
EYDAP looks after about 9,500 km of mains, and its responsibility ends at each building's water meter.
The pipes between the meter and the tap belong to the building, and some older blocks still run on old pipework.
Running the cold tap for a minute after a few days away clears standing water, and the host can say whether the people who live there drink it.
Works in the street or an odd smell
Repairs and network faults can leave the water cloudy or smelling of chlorine for a few hours.
Hotel staff or the host can say whether works are under way nearby.
Until the water runs clear and smells normal again, bottled water is the simple choice.
Ferries and the islands
Ferries and island water systems sit outside the EYDAP network, so the Athens results do not cover them.
On many islands the supply depends on local wells, desalination or water shipped in, and quality and taste vary.
The accommodation is the most reliable place to ask.
Personal taste
Some travelers prefer the taste of bottled mineral water, or want as few changes as possible for a sensitive stomach on a short trip.
The test results give no safety reason for it, so the choice comes down to taste.
A filter jug or a filter bottle softens the chlorine taste and saves buying plastic every day.
Where to refill a water bottle in Athens
The City of Athens, Greenpeace and the company Aqualife opened a refill station in Korai Square on 22 March 2025, World Water Day. It has a bottle-filling spout, a drinking trough for animals and step-free access. For other spots, the Greenpeace map of public fountains lets users pin working taps and add new ones, so it grows with each summer.
In cafés and tavernas, many travelers report that a glass or jug of tap water comes with the order or arrives on request. Asking for "nero tis vrisis" (tap water) makes the request clear.
Archaeological sites need more planning in summer. Drinking fountains on the Acropolis are hard to confirm in advance, so a full bottle before the climb is the safe habit. During a heatwave on 25 August 2026, Hellenic Red Cross teams handed out thousands of free bottles of water at the entrance and along the main paths, under an agreement with the Ministry. That was an emergency action, and a midday visit in July or August still calls for water carried from the hotel.
The staff at the two points of tourist information in Athens, in Syntagma Square and on the arrivals level of the airport, can point newcomers to the nearest place to fill a bottle.
The Attica drought and what it means for visitors
Rainfall in Attica has fallen short for several years, and the reservoirs that feed Athens have been shrinking since 2022. On 28 November 2025 the Ministry of Environment and Energy declared a state of emergency over water scarcity in Attica, alongside the islands of Leros and Patmos.
The declaration speeds up new supply projects and came with no restrictions on households, so the taps keep running and the water stays the same quality. EYDAP still asks everyone to use water with care. For a visitor that means short showers, reusing towels for more than one night and turning the tap off while brushing teeth.
Reservoir levels change with every winter, and EYDAP publishes the current figures on its own website.
Tap water in the rest of Greece
The Athens results cover the EYDAP network only. Elsewhere in Greece the same EU rules apply, but each town or island has its own water utility, its own sources and its own checks.
On many islands the supply depends on small aquifers, desalination plants or water brought in by ship, and travelers often describe the tap water there as salty or flat even where it meets the rules. The answer can change between islands, and sometimes between villages on the same island. Hosts know whether the people around them drink from the tap, which makes the accommodation the best source, and bottled water is easy to find in any island shop.