Living in Greece

A practical guide to moving, living, working & traveling in Greece, plus musing and misadventures from an American in Athens
Shopping in Greece > Holiday shopping hours in Greece

Holiday shopping hours in Greece

November 24, 2010 at 08:30 ·

Athens Christmas tree in Syntagma 2008. — EPA

Special shopping hours in Greece for Christmas 2014 and New Year’s 2015 will start on December 12 in Athens, Piraeus and the Aegean islands; December 16 in Crete, and December 18 in Thessaloniki with shops open on Sunday, December 14.

Winter sales officially start mid-January 2015, but many retailers offer significant discounts of up to 60 percent on electronics, clothes and gift items in hopes of improving their bottom line before the end of the year.

*Article last updated December 30, 2014.

Hours of Operation

Athens, Piraeus and the Aegean Islands

Fri December 12: 9:00-21:00
Sa December 13: 9:00-16:00
Su December 14: 11:00-18:00 or 20:00 (depending on which newspaper you believe). Some supermarkets will be open, such as Lidl.

Mon December 15: 9:00-21:00
Tu December 16: 9:00-21:00
Wed December 17: 9:00-21:00
Th December 18: 9:00-21:00
Fri December 19: 9:00-21:00
Sa December 20: 9:00-18:00
Su December 21: 11:00-18:00. Supermarkets closed.

Mon December 22: 9:00-21:00.
Tu December 23: 9:00-21:00
Wed December 24/Christmas Eve: 9:00-18:00. Supermarkets typically close at 20:00.
Th December 25/Christmas Day: Closed. Bakeries are open to accommodate the holiday meal.
Fri December 26/Boxing Day: Closed.
Sa December 27: 9:00-18:00.
Su December 28: Closed.

Mon December 29: 9:00-21:00.
Tu December 30: 9:00-21:00.
Wed December 31/New Year’s Eve: 9:00-18:00 in Athens. Supermarkets typically close at 20:00, but some news agencies report 18:00.
Th January 1/New Year’s Day: Closed. Bakeries are open to accommodate the holiday meal.
Fri January 2: Supermarkets open. Shops will be closed today because they are open on December 21.

On January 3, all stores return to normal winter hours but will be closed as usual on January 6, which is Epiphany.

Crete

Special holiday shopping hours for Chania, Iraklio and Rethymno began on December 16 in 2014, as detailed in “Christmas and New Year’s Shopping Hours for Crete” from Living in Crete.

Thessaloniki

Su December 14: 11:00-18:00. Some supermarkets will be open, such as Lidl.

Th December 18: 10:00-21:00.
Fri December 19: 10:00-21:00.
Sa December 20: 10:00-17:00.
Su December 21: 10:00-18:00. Supermarkets closed.

Mon December 22: 10:00-21:00.
Tu December 23: 10:00-21:00.
Wed December 24/Christmas Eve: 10:00-17:00. Supermarkets typically close at 20:00.
Th December 25/Christmas Day: Closed. Bakeries are open to accommodate the holiday meal.
Fri December 26/Boxing Day: Closed
Sa December 27: 10:00-17:00.
Su December 28: 10:00-18:00. Supermarkets closed. Department stores, chain stores and businesses over 250 sq meters are “not allowed” to open today.

Mon December 29: 10:00-21:00.
Tu December 30: 10:00-21:00.
Wed December 31/New Year’s Eve: 10:00-17:00. Supermarkets typically close at 20:00, but some news agencies report 18:00.
Th January 1/New Year’s Day: Closed. Bakeries are open to accommodate the holiday meal.
Fri January 2: Supermarkets open. Shops will be closed today because they are open on December 21.

On January 3, all stores return to normal winter hours but will be closed as usual on January 6, which is Epiphany.

Around Greece

If you have hours to add for a city not yet listed, please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to link.

Bakeries

Bakeries in Greece open on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day until 13:00 to accommodate the holiday meal. Sweet shops (zacharoplasteio), wine/liquor shops and florists are open all hours, as it’s customary to bring a gift when going to someone’s home.

Note from Author

Keep in mind this is Greece, meaning the hours listed above are not written in stone and different municipalities keep different hours.

Shop owners can also decide to open or close earlier or later on a whim and without warning; stores in smaller cities and rural areas may not extend their hours, due to lack of foot traffic or staff; and some open every Sunday, even though it is illegal.

Sources

“Εορταστικό ωράριο από 15 Δεκεμβρίου στα καταστήματα” — To Vima
“Θεσσαλονίκη: Το εορταστικό ωράριο των εμπορικών καταστημάτων” — To Vima
“Θεσσαλονίκη: Aπό τις 12 Δεκεμβρίου το εορταστικό ωράριο” — Zougla
“Εορταστικό ωράριο στα καταστήματα Πειραιά” — Naftemporiki
“Εορταστικό ωράριο καταστημάτων στην Πάτρα” — Patra24
“Δεκαήμερο προσφορών στα καταστήματα του Πειραιά” — Naftemporiki

Related posts

“New Year’s in Greece”
“Winter and summer sales in Greece”
“Athens Metro Mall”

http://bit.ly/GRXmas

http://bit.ly/grchristmas

12 Comments »

  Cheryl wrote @ December 15th, 2009 at 11:34

Thanks for posting this Kat~~
:)

  EllasDevil wrote @ December 31st, 2009 at 22:57

Καλή Χρονιά
με υγεία, χαρά και ευτυχία!

Ηappy New Year
with health, joy and happiness!

  A Nu wrote @ January 9th, 2010 at 22:24

first of all Kalh Xronia – I happened to come across your page a few days ago and cannot believe I never saw it before as I have been living in Athens four 4 yrs! Great page with plenty of real life information!!

  Menelaos wrote @ January 11th, 2010 at 15:39

Greetings, Xronia Polla!

I like your website having been a Greek-Canadian who grew up in Canada and came back in Greece at 16. Lots of the comments and posts I can really relate to!

Unrelated, I’m in the process of opening a OAEE-TEBE (TEVE) due to a company requiring it of me and wondered if I could view your post on that.

Kind regards,
Menelaos

Note from Kat: Hello, what a great name! This question is answered already in “Comments, Questions and Contacting Me.” I appreciate you saying hello and hope you’ll visit again.

  Ag Property Greece wrote @ January 12th, 2010 at 15:16

Very useful post, opening hours are always hard to come by here in Greece.

At least we know know when they SHOULD be open over the festive season!

  xristos wrote @ November 29th, 2010 at 17:11

The funny thing is that most greek shop owners don’t want to open their shops on Sundays.
I guess they can’t understand that they will get more sales.

Kat Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 23:31

The funny thing is first they complain that there is only one Sunday to open and they want another to make more sales. So the next day, another Sunday is approved for shops to open and then they complain that they don’t want to work.

  Katerina wrote @ December 19th, 2010 at 11:37

Tin Deutera 3 Ianouariou tha meinoun kleista ta magazia??? Giati ?

Kat Reply:
December 19th, 2010 at 11:50

Shops are closed on January 3 because they were open on December 19. It’s an exchange.

  Michael Maguire wrote @ December 8th, 2012 at 23:32
  Irma wrote @ December 13th, 2014 at 21:30

I just wanted to check if I understood you correctly :-). I plan to spend New Year’s holiday in Athens and do some shopping while there. I have read about some outlet shopping malls there, but I see here that even those don’t work on January 1. Am I correct?

Kat Reply:
December 15th, 2014 at 10:55

When I say closed, I mean everything is closed. If there are exceptions, they’re already listed.

Further, there are only two shopping centers (not malls) outside (not in) Athens that claim to be “outlet.” They’re not outlets by American standards, just stores with normal discounts that one might see after Christmas, but you may have a different definition.

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