🕒 Essentials
Opening hours, siesta and the island season
Sites open early and close earlier from September. City shops keep split hours on some days. Most island businesses shut between November and April.
Archaeological sites
In summer the big sites typically open around 08:00 and close around 20:00; hours shorten from September and are much shorter in winter (often closing mid-afternoon). The Acropolis runs 08:00–20:00 in summer (last entry 19:30), 08:00–19:00 from 16 to 30 September, and 08:00–17:00 in winter. Check the day's hours on the official ticketing site before you go — they change with the season, and on extreme heat days.
Shops and siesta
Traditional shops in towns often close in the early afternoon and reopen in the evening on some weekdays; supermarkets and chains stay open through the day. Most shops close on Sunday, except in tourist areas. The Greek day runs late: lunch after 14:00, dinner from 21:00, and a quiet hour after lunch is still respected in villages — do not phone a small hotel at 15:30.
The island season
On most islands the season runs roughly from Easter or May to October. From November to April, most seasonal businesses close — hotels, beach bars, many tavernas, boat trips — and ferries switch to winter timetables. Big islands with a year-round population (Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Naxos) keep a life of their own; small islands in January can be beautiful and almost entirely shut. Check that what you want is open before booking a shoulder-season trip.
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