Greece public holidays and festivals: dates and closures

Greece keeps the fixed national holidays below, plus the moveable Orthodox dates. Orthodox Easter usually falls one to four weeks after Western Easter, so check the year you travel. When a holiday lands on a weekend, the day is generally not moved to Monday, unlike the UK or US.

The moveable dates shift each year: Clean Monday, Orthodox Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday and Holy Spirit Monday.

On the major holidays, banks, post offices, government offices, schools and most state-run archaeological sites and museums close. Private museums and sites sometimes open on a Sunday-style schedule, so check the site's own page before you build a day around it.

Tavernas, cafés, hotels, bakeries and kiosks in tourist areas generally stay open, and island resorts barely pause in season. Supermarkets often open in the morning on holidays, then shut for the afternoon. Pharmacies run a rota, with one open per area; the duty pharmacy is posted on the door of every closed one.

Ferries and intercity buses run on public holidays, but on 15 August and around Orthodox Easter the demand is the highest of the year. Book ferry seats and island rooms weeks ahead for those dates, and keep a spare day before an international flight in late July and August.

Patras Carnival runs through late winter and ends at Clean Monday. It is the largest in Greece, with parades, floats and a night-long party; rooms in Patras fill early, so book months ahead if you want to be there.

Orthodox Easter is the one to plan a trip around if you want the full experience. Midnight services on Saturday, candlelit processions on Good Friday and family feasts on Sunday are the country's biggest annual event. Corfu, Chania and the Cyclades all do it well, and the atmosphere is worth the peak prices.

In summer, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival stages theatre and music, including performances at the ancient theatre of Epidaurus and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus below the Acropolis. Tickets go on sale in spring and the best nights sell out. Thessaloniki runs its own summer cultural programme, and the islands fill July and August with panigyria, local saint's-day fairs with food, music and dancing.

Thessaloniki's Dimitria in autumn, the Athens Marathon in November and the December Christmas markets round out the year. Wine harvests on Santorini and Crete fall in late August and September.

If your dates are flexible, avoid arriving on 15 August or during Orthodox Easter week unless you want the crowds. Both are wonderful and both are expensive, with ferries and rooms booked out. Late April to mid-June and September to October give you warm weather, open sites and easier transport.

If your dates are fixed, work backwards from the holiday: book ferries first, then rooms, then intercity buses. On strike-prone days such as 1 May, check your airline and ferry operator the day before, and keep a buffer before any flight home. For a family trip, the shoulder weeks either side of the school holidays are calmer and cheaper.

Names and dates are set by the Greek state, so a holiday can be added or shifted with little notice. Confirm the year's list against an official Greek government source before you lock in travel on a borderline date.

On Sundays and public holidays, urban transport runs a reduced timetable. Metro and bus services in Athens still run, but less often. Taxis are metered and easy to find, though demand spikes on holiday evenings.

Etiquette on religious holidays is simple: dress modestly in churches, stand back during processions, and do not photograph people at prayer without asking. Many Greeks will happily explain what is happening if you ask.