In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The tree on Syntagma Square is lit in late November or early December; the City has not announced the 2026 date. The season runs from 6 December to 6 January. On New Year’s Eve the City counts down on Syntagma Square, and the Niarchos centre in Kallithea becomes a Christmas village with ice skating. The state sites are closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January. They are free on 6 and 20 December and 3 and 17 January. The sun sets at about 17:09 on 21 December. Or book an evening: the Athens: Night Walking Tour with Local Guidead is from €18 for 2 hours.
⚠️ The Acropolis, the Ancient Agora and the National Archaeological Museum are closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January. The Acropolis Museum is open from 09:00 to 15:00 on 24 and 31 December.
The dates
Only the dates the City has published are printed as dates. The tree and New Year’s Eve show their 2025 pattern, and the 2026 details follow when the City announces them.
| Event | Where | Date | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas tree lighting | Syntagma Square | Late November or early December 2026; 27 November in 2025, 19:30 | Free |
| Christmas season | Across the city | 6 December 2026 to 6 January 2027 | Free |
| Free entry to the state sites | The Acropolis and the other state sites | 6 and 20 December 2026; 3 and 17 January 2027 | Free for everyone |
| New Year’s Eve countdown | Syntagma Square | 31 December 2026; in 2025 a concert from 22:00 | Free |
| Epiphany, the blessing of the waters | Seaside and ports | Wednesday 6 January 2027 | Free |
The tree and the lights
The Christmas tree on Syntagma Square with the Parliament behind it. Photo: G30rgey, Wikimedia Commons.
The City lights the main Christmas tree on Syntagma Square in a ceremony. In 2025 it was on Thursday 27 November, with the square open from 17:00, the lighting at 19:30 by the mayor and a free concert, according to the City of Athens. In 2024 it was lit on 28 November at 18:00, according to the City’s guide. By the first week of December trees stand in every square, and the Acropolis shines above the lights.
The City’s guide names two other places for the lights. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre in Kallithea has light displays, free concerts and performances and an outdoor ice rink each winter. The Christmas Factory at Technopolis, a bazaar of crafts and gifts with playgrounds and rides, is one for children. The venues announce their dates.
New Year’s Eve
Syntagma Square strung with Christmas lights, seen from the Parliament steps. Photo: George E. Koronaios, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The City counts down to the new year on Syntagma Square with live music and what the City’s guide calls the city’s most impressive fireworks show. In 2025 there was a free concert from 22:00 with the municipal philharmonic, a drone show and silent fireworks at midnight, chosen to respect people who are sensitive to noise and animals. The 2026 plan has not been announced.
The Niarchos centre in Kallithea turns into a Christmas village, with ice skating, light installations, live music, a countdown and fireworks, and its SNF RUN starts a 3 km course at four minutes past midnight. For the fireworks above the Acropolis, the City’s guide points to hotel restaurants with a view, among them the Electra Metropolis Roof Garden; the roofs are in rooftop bars in Athens. Most restaurants offer a fixed-price menu on the night. Book, or ring to check the details.
The traditions and the food
The season begins on 6 December, the feast of St Nicholas. Greek children get gifts from Agios Vasilis on 1 January, though most now open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Groups of children sing the kalanda, the carols, from the early morning of 24 and 31 December and 6 January, and the karavaki, a small decorated boat, was the centrepiece before the tree. On New Year’s Day pomegranates are smashed on doorsteps.
The sweets are melomakarona, syrupy biscuits with honey, nuts, cloves, cinnamon and orange, and kourabiedes, crumbly butter and walnut cookies under powdered sugar. Pork is the festive dish, often with plums or as a fricassee. The vasilopita, a vanilla cake spiced with orange, has a coin baked inside, and whoever finds it has luck for the year. The majority of restaurants in Athens stay open and offer Christmas menus, according to the City’s guide, which calls December a good time to visit, with fewer tourists and shorter lines. The tavernas are in where to eat in Athens.
What is shut over Christmas
From the operators’ and the Ministry’s pages:
- State sites and museums: closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January, including the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora and the National Archaeological Museum. See Acropolis tickets and Athens museums.
- Acropolis Museum: open 09:00 to 15:00 on 24 and 31 December, and closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January. See Acropolis Museum tickets.
- The first and third Sunday: the state sites are free on 6 and 20 December 2026 and 3 and 17 January 2027, but not on the closed days above. See free things to do in Athens.
- Winter hours: from 1 November the Acropolis closes at 17:00 and the smaller sites at 15:00.
Planning the day
- Daylight and weather. The sun rises at about 07:37 and sets at about 17:09 on 21 December, 9.5 hours of daylight. At the Elliniko station December has a mean daily maximum of 15.1°C and minimum of 8.8°C, with 62 mm of rain on 13.5 days; January is 13.6°C and 7.0°C. The other months are in the best time to visit Athens.
- Getting there. Syntagma, on metro lines 2 and 3, is the station for the square. Fares are in Athens public transport, and the airport in Athens airport to the city.
- The Odeon. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus closed in July 2026 for at least three years.
Where to stay
The links go to the hotel on Hotels.com. Where to stay in Athens compares the areas, and hotels near the Acropolis lists the closest.
NJV Athens Plaza
Vasileos Georgiou A 2 · 159 rooms and 21 suites · about 90 m from Syntagma Square · Hotels.comad
At the edge of the square where the tree stands. The hotel lists suites and rooms with views of the Acropolis, and others facing Syntagma.
Electra Metropolis Athens
Mitropoleos · 216 rooms and suites · about 250 m from Syntagma Square · Hotels.comad
A five-star hotel at the start of Mitropoleos Street, with a roof garden that faces the Acropolis, according to the hotel.
New Hotel
16 Filellinon · 79 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 270 m from Syntagma Square · Hotels.comad
A mid-century hotel, once the Olympic Palace, rebuilt by the Campana brothers from its own doors, beams and stone.
Next
Easter in Athens in 2027 covers the other festival, and Athens in one or two days fits the sights round the winter hours. Where to stay in Athens compares the areas. Christmas in Rome and Christmas in Madrid have their own guides.
Common questions
When are the Christmas lights switched on in Athens in 2026?
The City of Athens has not announced the 2026 date. The tree on Syntagma Square was lit at 19:30 on Thursday 27 November in 2025, and at 18:00 on 28 November in 2024, so expect late November or early December. The City's guide says the season runs from 6 December, the feast of St Nicholas, to Epiphany on 6 January.
What happens on New Year's Eve in Athens?
The City counts down on Syntagma Square with live music and fireworks. In 2025 there was a free concert from 22:00, a drone show and silent fireworks at midnight, and the 2026 programme has not been announced. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre in Kallithea becomes a Christmas village with ice skating and fireworks, and starts a 3 km run at four minutes past midnight.
What is closed in Athens at Christmas?
The state archaeological sites and museums are closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January. The Acropolis Museum is open from 09:00 to 15:00 on 24 and 31 December. Most restaurants stay open and offer special menus, according to the City's guide.
Is Athens free to visit in winter?
The state sites are free for everyone on the first and third Sunday from 1 November to 31 March: 6 and 20 December 2026 and 3 and 17 January 2027. The Acropolis Museum is outside the Sunday rule.
How cold is Athens in December?
At the Elliniko station the mean daily maximum is 15.1°C and the minimum 8.8°C in December, with 62 mm of rain on 13.5 days. On 21 December the sun rises at about 07:37 and sets at about 17:09.
What do Greeks eat at Christmas and New Year?
Melomakarona, syrupy biscuits with honey, nuts and cinnamon, and kourabiedes, crumbly butter and walnut cookies with powdered sugar. Pork is the festive main dish. On New Year's Day the vasilopita, a cake with a coin baked in, is cut, and whoever finds the coin has luck for the year.
