In this guide
💡 The Short Version: There is no single best month, so choose by what you want. April to early June and late September to October have mean daily highs of 19.6 to 29.2°C and 28.3 to 23.4°C. July and August average 32.2°C, with heatwaves above 40°C, and the Acropolis has been closed at midday on dated days in 2024 and 2025. December is the coldest and darkest, with 9.5 hours of daylight. The state sites are free on the first and third Sunday from 1 November to 31 March. Orthodox Easter is Sunday 2 May 2027. Or book a tour: the Athens: Acropolis, Parthenon & Acropolis Museum Guided Tourad is from €29 for 2 to 4 hours, and the entry ticket is extra.
Athens month by month
Highs and lows are the mean daily maximum and minimum in °C, and rain is the monthly total in mm with the number of rain days. The weather is the Hellenic National Meteorological Service’s normals for 1955 to 2010 at Elliniko, a coastal station south of the centre (HNMS). The basin round the Acropolis runs hotter on summer afternoons. Daylight is the length of the day on the 15th, and on 21 June for June. The Acropolis column is its closing time that month.
Wild poppies below the Acropolis, seen from the Ancient Agora. Photo: Georgios Liakopoulos, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
| Month | High / low | Rain | Daylight | Acropolis closes | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 23.4 / 15.7 | 45.9 mm, 8.6 days | 11.3 h | 18:00 from 16 October | Clocks go back on Sunday 25 October. The state sites are free on Wednesday 28 October, Ohi Day |
| November 2026 | 18.8 / 12.0 | 60.1 mm, 10.9 days | 10.2 h | 17:00 | Winter hours from 1 November. The Athens Marathon on 8 November. Free Sundays on 1 and 15 November |
| December 2026 | 15.1 / 8.8 | 62.0 mm, 13.5 days | 9.6 h | 17:00 | The Syntagma tree, the lights and New Year’s Eve. Free Sundays on 6 and 20 December. Sites shut on 25 and 26 December |
| January 2027 | 13.6 / 7.0 | 47.7 mm, 12.9 days | 9.8 h | 17:00 | Shut on 1 January. Free Sundays on 3 and 17 January. Epiphany on 6 January |
| February 2027 | 14.1 / 7.1 | 38.5 mm, 11.4 days | 10.8 h | 17:00 | Free Sundays on 7 and 21 February |
| March 2027 | 15.9 / 8.5 | 42.3 mm, 11.3 days | 11.9 h | 17:00 | Free on 6 March and the Sundays of 7 and 21 March. Clean Monday on 15 March, Independence Day on 25 March. Clocks go forward on 28 March |
| April 2027 | 19.6 / 11.5 | 25.5 mm, 9.3 days | 13.1 h | 20:00 from 1 April | Summer hours start. Free on 18 April. Good Friday on 30 April |
| May 2027 | 24.4 / 15.8 | 14.3 mm, 6.4 days | 14.2 h | 20:00 | Sites shut on 1 May. Orthodox Easter on 2 May. Free on 18 May |
| June 2027 | 29.2 / 20.3 | 5.4 mm, 3.6 days | 14.8 h | 20:00 | Athens Pride is held in June. The Acropolis closed at midday on 12 and 13 June 2024 |
| July 2027 | 32.2 / 23.0 | 6.3 mm, 1.7 days | 14.6 h | 20:00 | The Acropolis closed at midday on 8 July and from 22 to 27 July 2025 |
| August 2027 | 32.2 / 23.1 | 6.2 mm, 1.6 days | 13.7 h | 20:00 | 15 August, the Dormition, is a public holiday |
| September 2027 | 28.3 / 19.6 | 12.3 mm, 4.7 days | 12.5 h | 19:30 to 19:00 | Free entry on the last weekend |
The weather in numbers
- Heat. July and August are the hottest months, with a mean daily maximum of 32.2°C, then June at 29.2°C and September at 28.3°C. The averages hide the days above 40°C that come with heatwaves.
- Cold. January has the lowest mean daily maximum, at 13.6°C, and the lowest mean minimum, at 7.0°C.
- Rain. The wettest months are December (62.0 mm), November (60.1 mm), January (47.7 mm) and October (45.9 mm). June, July and August are the driest, with 5.4 to 6.3 mm each.
- Daylight. From 9 h 30 on 21 December, with sunrise at about 07:37 and sunset at about 17:09, to 14 h 48 on 21 June, with sunrise at about 06:02 and sunset at about 20:51. The Acropolis closes before sunset in every month.
- Clocks. They go back on Sunday 25 October 2026 and forward on Sunday 28 March 2027.
Snow on Mount Hymettus above Athens, with the Acropolis at left. Photo: George E. Koronaios, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Summer heat and the Acropolis
The Acropolis has been closed at midday in heatwaves. The closure is a day-by-day decision of the Ministry of Culture and the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Athens, announced the same morning or the day before, and no fixed temperature is published.
| Date | What closed | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 12 and 13 June 2024 | The Acropolis, and on 13 June the sites of the Ephorate of the City of Athens | 12:00 to 17:00 |
| 8 July 2025 | The Acropolis | 13:00 to 17:00 |
| 22 to 27 July 2025 | The Acropolis and slopes, the Olympieion, the Lyceum, the Roman Agora, the Ancient Agora and Hadrian’s Library | 12:00 to 17:00 |
In June 2024 the Ministry said that visitors with tickets for 12:00 to 17:00 could visit after the site reopened at 17:00. Book the 08:00 slot from June to September, because July and August afternoons can close the site. The tickets are in Acropolis tickets, and the indoor sights are in Athens museums.
Dates that shape a visit
- Ohi Day. Wednesday 28 October 2026 is a national holiday with student parades in Athens and Piraeus, and the state sites are free. In 2025 Vasilissis Amalias Avenue was shut from 09:00.
- The Athens Marathon. Sunday 8 November 2026, from Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium. Vehicles are banned in the centre on Saturday 7 November from 15:00 to 21:00 and on Sunday 8 November from 05:00 to 18:20. See the Panathenaic Stadium.
- Christmas. The tree on Syntagma Square in late November or early December, and the season from 6 December to 6 January: see Christmas in Athens.
- Clean Monday and Independence Day. Monday 15 March 2027 begins Lent, and Thursday 25 March is the national holiday, when the state sites are shut and the Acropolis Museum is open.
- Orthodox Easter. Sunday 2 May 2027, with the Epitaphios on Good Friday and the midnight Anastasi on Holy Saturday: see Easter in Athens in 2027.
- Athens Pride. The parade left Syntagma Square on Saturday 13 June in 2026.
- The Athens Epidaurus Festival. It runs from June to August, and the 2027 programme is not published. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus closed in July 2026 for at least three years, so there are no concerts at the Odeon.
- August. Sunday 15 August 2027 is the Dormition, a public holiday.
- Hotels. The Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association’s survey found occupancy of 77.1% in 2025, up in January to March and November to December: see where to stay in Athens.
Athens airport, 2025
Passengers at Athens International Airport, in millions, from its monthly reports. The figures include Greeks and transfer passengers, so they show the pattern, not the number of visitors.
| Month 2025 | Passengers |
|---|---|
| March | 2.22 |
| April | 2.71 |
| May | 3.10 |
| June | 3.45 |
| July | 3.76 |
| August | 3.88 |
| September | 3.48 |
| October | 3.13 |
| December | 2.31 |
The airport carried about 34 million passengers in 2025, up 6.7%, and in August 2026 it passed four million in a single month for the first time.
Which month for what
- Walking the sites. April to early June, with highs of 19.6 to 29.2°C, and late September to October, with 28.3 to 23.4°C.
- The fewest rainy days. July and August, at 1.7 and 1.6 days.
- Free entry. The first and third Sunday from 1 November to 31 March, and 28 October, 6 March, 18 April, 18 May and the last weekend of September.
- Long evenings. June, with 14 h 48 of daylight on 21 June and sunset at about 20:51. A drink on a roof is in rooftop bars in Athens.
- Short days. December, with 9 h 30 and sunset at about 17:09 on 21 December, so sunset is from a hill: see the best views in Athens.
- Indoors in the heat. The Acropolis Museum and the other museums: see Acropolis Museum tickets.
Plan the rest
Where to stay in Athens compares the areas and hotels near the Acropolis lists the closest. Once you have your dates, Athens in one or two days fits the sights round the closed days. Where to eat in Athens covers the meals, and what to book before you go to Athens has the hours for every sight. For the way in, see Athens airport to the city and Athens public transport. Day trips from Athens covers the trips out. For the same question in other cities, see the best time to visit Istanbul, Madrid and Dublin.
Common questions
What is the best month to visit Athens?
It depends on what you want. April to early June and late September to October have mean daily highs of 19.6°C to 29.2°C in April to June and 28.3°C to 23.4°C in September and October. July and August average 32.2°C, with heatwaves above 40°C, and the Acropolis has been closed at midday in several recent summers.
How hot does Athens get in summer?
The Hellenic National Meteorological Service's normals for 1955 to 2010 at Elliniko, on the coast, give July and August a mean daily maximum of 32.2°C and a minimum of 23.0°C and 23.1°C. The centre runs hotter on summer afternoons. The Acropolis was closed from 12:00 or 13:00 to 17:00 on 12 and 13 June 2024, on 8 July 2025 and from 22 to 27 July 2025.
When does the Acropolis close in the heat?
On a day-by-day decision of the Ministry of Culture and the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Athens, announced the same morning or the day before. No fixed temperature has been published. The dated cases are 12 and 13 June 2024 (12:00 to 17:00), 8 July 2025 (13:00 to 17:00) and 22 to 27 July 2025 (12:00 to 17:00, with five other sites).
Is Athens worth visiting in winter?
The Acropolis and the state sites are free for everyone on the first and third Sunday from 1 November to 31 March. The mean daily high is 13.6°C to 18.8°C from November to March, with 38 to 62 mm of rain a month, and there are 9.5 hours of daylight in December. The Acropolis closes at 17:00 in winter.
When is Greek Easter in 2027?
Sunday 2 May 2027. The state sites are closed on Easter Sunday and on 1 May, which falls on Holy Saturday. See Easter in Athens in 2027.
Is Athens crowded in August?
Athens airport had its first month above four million passengers in August 2026, and August 2025 was 3.88 million, up 6.7% on August 2024. The figures count Greeks and transfer passengers too. 15 August is a public holiday, and in 2027 it falls on a Sunday.
.jpeg){kind=link}