11 fun things to do in Athens on bank holidays

If you find yourself visiting Athens on May Day (May 1, International Workers Day) or on one of the other public holidays in Greece, you might feel disappointed that the Acropolis and museums aren’t open. But don’t be too annoyed about your visit falling on a public holiday as there are plenty of things to do in Athens on bank holidays.

I visited Athens as part of my project to go to all the European Union capitals, but I didn’t do enough research and ended up arriving in Athens just in time for May Day – a bank holiday when almost everything in Athens is closed – or so I thought. I was pretty cross with myself, but visiting Athens on a public holiday turned out just fine, with plenty of things to do.

Bank holidays in Athens in 2024

The major sights in Athens are open on most Greek bank holidays, but if you’re visiting Athens on New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, May 1 or at Christmas, you might need the rest of my tips for visiting Athens on public holidays! These opening times for the 2024 bank holidays were last checked on 8 April 2024.

New Year’s Day – Monday, January 1

Acropolis – closed
Acropolis Museum – closed
Agora – closed
Temple of Olympian Zeus – closed

Epiphany – Saturday, January 6

Acropolis – open
Acropolis Museum – open
Agora – open
Temple of Olympian Zeus – open

Orthodox Ash Monday – Monday, March 18

Acropolis – open
Acropolis Museum – open
Agora – open
Temple of Olympian Zeus – open

Independence Day – Monday, March 25

Acropolis – closed
Acropolis Museum – open, free admission
Agora – closed
Temple of Olympian Zeus – closed

Labour Day – Wednesday, May 1

Acropolis – closed
Acropolis Museum – open, but it’ll be closed on Tuesday 7 May instead
Agora – closed
Temple of Olympian Zeus – closed

Orthodox Good Friday – Friday, May 3

Acropolis – open
Acropolis Museum – open in the afternoon, 12pm-6pm
Agora – open
Temple of Olympian Zeus – open

Orthodox Easter Sunday – Sunday, May 5

Acropolis – closed
Acropolis Museum – closed
Agora – closed
Temple of Olympian Zeus – closed

Orthodox Easter Monday – Monday, May 6

Acropolis – open
Acropolis Museum – open
Agora – open
Temple of Olympian Zeus – open

Orthodox Whit Sunday – Sunday, June 23

Acropolis – open
Acropolis Museum – open
Agora – open
Temple of Olympian Zeus – open

Orthodox Whit Monday – Monday, June 24

Acropolis – open
Acropolis Museum – open
Agora – open
Temple of Olympian Zeus – open

Assumption Day – Tuesday, August 15

Acropolis – open
Acropolis Museum – open
Agora – open
Temple of Olympian Zeus – open

Greek National Anniversary Day/Ohi Day – Monday, October 28

Acropolis – open
Acropolis Museum – open
Agora – open
Temple of Olympian Zeus – open

Christmas Day – Wednesday, December 25

Acropolis – closed
Acropolis Museum – closed
Agora – closed
Temple of Olympian Zeus – closed

2nd Day of Christmas – Thursday, December 26

Acropolis – closed
Acropolis Museum – closed
Agora – closed
Temple of Olympian Zeus – closed

The best things to do in Athens on public holidays

1. Visit the Roman Agora

Fair enough, you can’t go inside Athens’ Roman Agora on public holidays. But the Roman Agora is surrounded by public streets and a low fence, so you can see a lot of the site from outside. The bonus is, that with the site empty, you won’t have any random people in your picture of the Tower of the Winds.

2. Explore Plaka

The stepped streets and narrow lanes of the Plaka district under the Acropolis are open 24/7, including on bank holidays. Take your time and let yourself get lost, discovering churches and street art before sitting down in a shady restaurant (yes, they’re open!).

3. See the tiny Agios Eleftherios church

Although the culture ministry’s website says the church is open daily from 7am to 8pm, it wasn’t open when I visited Athens on a public holiday. You may not be able to see the inside of this mini, Byzantine-era church made of bits of ancient temples on bank holidays, but you can walk around the outside and see the contrast between its tiny size and its big brother, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, next door.

4. Visit the Arch of Hadrian

Even when other sites are closed, you can still get up close with Athen’s history. The Arch of Hadrian, or Hadrian’s Gate is right next to one of Athen’s busiest roads in the centre of the city and is free to visit any day of the year.

The magnificent Temple of Olympian Zeus archaeological site next to Hadrian’s Arch is closed on May 1 but you can look through the fence to get a sense of the huge scale of the temple, once the largest in Ancient Greece.

5. Experience May Day demonstrations

Not all visitors will be comfortable doing this, but if you’re in Athens for the May Day bank holiday it’s interesting to see the protests and parades which happen on Syntagma Square on May 1. As always, trust your gut (we made sure we stayed on the edge of the crowd), but we found the May Day protests to be peaceful and it gave us a good insight into the political environment in Greece.

6. Visit the National Garden

If the weather’s nice, one of the loveliest things to do in Athens on public holidays is to visit the National Garden. The National Garden is in Athens city centre, right behind Syntagma Square and is open every day. There’s a botanical garden, a children’s play area, ponds, fountains, statues and lots of shady places to sit and relax for a while.

In the middle of the park you can see Zappeion Hall, a grand, sunshine-yellow palace built as a venue for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

7. See the Greek Presidential Guard (Evzones)

We didn’t see the changing of the guard in Syntagma Square because of the May 1 protests but after a walk through the National Garden (which is open on public holidays) we found ourselves opposite the Presidential Palace which has Evzones in their traditional uniforms stationed outside. Their ceremonial changing of the guard outside the palace lasted around 15 minutes with only a handful of us watching.

8. Panathenaic Stadium

This beautiful horseshoe-shaped marble stadium is closed on many public holidays, including May Day, but is only separated from the public area by a low fence, so you can see the whole thing without needing to go inside.

9. Go up Lycabettus Hill

This Athens tourist attraction is open 365 days a year, including Christmas Day, Easter and all bank holidays. You can either get the funicular railway up to the top or walk, but you’ll already have climbed a good part of the hill to get to the teleferik station for the funicular, and it is expensive at 10 euro each return or 7 euro each one way (cash only, no cards when I visited). The train runs through a tunnel for its entire length so you don’t even get a good view on the way.

At the top, you’ll find a couple of bars and restaurants, a tiny church, and a stunning view over Athens and the Acropolis, to Piraeus and the Aegean Sea beyond.

10. The Acropolis and Parthenon

Not visiting them of course – Athens’ most famous sights lock their gates for most public holidays, but you can get a great view from the many rooftop bars in the city. We were lucky enough to be staying in a hotel with a bar on the roof but there are loads of others, including the Athens Gate hotel bar and the 360 cocktail bar in Monastiraki. Try to be there in the hour before sunset to see the Parthenon change colour from white to warm yellow, before the nighttime illuminations switch on.

11. Eat and drink

Don’t worry about eating and drinking in Athens on May 1 or other public holidays (although you should definitely book in advance for Christmas or Easter). Restaurants and bars throughout the main tourist areas including Plaka, Monastiraki and Psirri are open and busy with Athenians enjoying their day off and visitors enjoying the city.

Have you visited Athens on a public holiday?

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