December in Greece is an Athens month. The islands are shut, the ferries are minimal and the sea is 17°C – but the capital is at about 15°C, lit up, cheap, and celebrating a Christmas that works nothing like the northern European one. State museums are free on Sunday 5 December, the ancient sites have no queues, and the presents arrive on 1 January rather than the 25th.
Greek Christmas is not the main event
The first thing to understand about a Greek December: Easter, not Christmas, is the great festival of the Orthodox year. Christmas is warm, family-centred and comparatively low-key, and several of the customs are different from what a northern visitor expects:
- Gifts arrive on 1 January, from Agios Vasilis – Saint Basil – not on Christmas morning.
- Children sing the kalanda, carols accompanied by a small triangle, door to door on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and the eve of Epiphany, and are given small change.
- Decorated boats, not just trees, are the older tradition in a seafaring country; you will see lit karavaki in squares and on waterfronts.
- The sweets are the point: melomakarona, honey-soaked and spiced, and kourabiedes, buried in icing sugar. Every bakery in the country makes both from late November.
In 2027 Christmas Day falls on Saturday 25 December and Boxing Day on Sunday the 26th – both public holidays, both at the weekend, so the holiday period is short and compressed.
Free entry on the first Sunday
The free first-Sunday scheme runs from 1 November to 31 March, so December is included. In 2027 the date is Sunday 5 December.
It covers state-run archaeological sites, monuments and museums – the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, Delphi, Knossos – but not the Acropolis Museum, the Benaki or other private and municipal museums, and you collect a free ticket at the gate. Winter opening hours apply at every site: shorter days and earlier last admission.
Weather
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- Athens – highs near 15°C, lows near 8–9°C, and about 60 mm of rain across ten or eleven days. It is the wettest month of the Athenian year by number of rainy days, and still milder than anywhere in northern Europe.
- Thessaloniki and the north – cold, damp and occasionally snowy, with the mountains in full ski season.
- Crete and the Dodecanese – the mildest, high teens on a good day, and the reason a December week in Chania or Rhodes town works.
- The sea – about 17°C, and falling.
What is open
Athens, Thessaloniki, the Peloponnese, Meteora and Delphi all run normally. Crete, Rhodes and Corfu function as year-round islands with working towns and airports. The small Cyclades are closed – on Santorini and Mykonos most hotels and restaurants shut from November until Easter, and winter ferries run a few sailings a week, weather permitting.
Meteora deserves a specific note: the six monasteries each close on different days, and the winter timetable is shorter than the summer one. Check the current day-by-day schedule before you go, or you will drive up and find the one you wanted shut.
Athens at Christmas
Syntagma Square takes the main tree, the surrounding streets and the Ermou shopping run are lit from late November, and the city stages free concerts and events through the month. Thessaloniki does the same on a smaller and arguably better scale.
The practical December pleasures are indoor ones: the National Archaeological Museum, the Acropolis Museum, the Benaki, the covered Varvakios market, and the long lunches that a 15°C afternoon makes possible.
New Year
Friday 31 December brings fireworks over the Acropolis and free concerts in Syntagma. 1 January is Protochronia, a public holiday, when gifts are exchanged and families cut the vasilopita – a cake with a coin baked into it, the slice containing it bringing luck for the year. Restaurants run expensive fixed menus on the 31st and book out well ahead.
The season then runs to 6 January, Theophania, when the cross is thrown into the water in every coastal town and swimmers dive for it.
Prices
December splits. The first three weeks are genuinely cheap – among the lowest rates of the year in Athens. From about the 20th, Christmas and New Year lift prices sharply, restaurants go to fixed menus, and the ski resorts hit their most expensive week of the season.
For daily numbers see how much a trip to Greece costs.
The December 2027 calendar
- Sunday 5 December – free entry at state archaeological sites and museums.
- From late November – Christmas lights in Athens and Thessaloniki; melomakarona and kourabiedes in every bakery.
- Friday 24 December – children sing the kalanda door to door.
- Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 December – Christmas and Boxing Day, both public holidays and both at the weekend in 2027.
- Friday 31 December – fireworks over the Acropolis; expensive fixed menus, booked ahead.
- Saturday 1 January – Protochronia: gifts from Agios Vasilis and the cutting of the vasilopita.
Read alongside
- Greece in November – the season ending, and the free Sundays returning.
- Greece in January – the Epiphany, and the cheapest weeks of the year.
- Best time to visit Greece – all twelve months compared.
- How much a trip to Greece costs – low-season daily numbers.
- Athens travel guide – the city a Greek December belongs to.
- Greece travel guide – regions, islands and how to combine them.
- What to pack for Greece – the winter list.
Frequently asked
Is December a good time to visit Greece?
For Athens and the mainland, yes – mild at about 15°C, very cheap for the first three weeks, with empty ancient sites and free state museums on 5 December. For the islands, no: the small Cyclades are closed and ferries are minimal.
How cold is Greece in December?
Athens averages about 15°C by day and 8–9°C at night, with roughly 60 mm of rain across ten or eleven days – the most rainy days of the Athenian year. The north is cold with mountain snow; Crete and Rhodes are mildest.
When do Greeks exchange Christmas presents?
On 1 January, from Agios Vasilis – Saint Basil – rather than on Christmas morning. Christmas itself is a family meal; Easter, not Christmas, is the great festival of the Orthodox year.
Are museums free in Greece in December?
On the first Sunday – 5 December in 2027 – state archaeological sites and museums are free, under the scheme running 1 November to 31 March. The Acropolis Museum and other private museums are not included.
Are the Greek islands open in December?
Crete, Rhodes and Corfu are, as year-round islands. Santorini, Mykonos and the small Cyclades are largely closed from November until Easter, with winter ferries running a few sailings a week and cancelled in bad weather.
What is a vasilopita?
The New Year cake, cut at midnight or on 1 January, with a coin baked inside. Whoever gets the slice with the coin is said to have luck for the year.
Is Meteora open in December?
Yes, on winter hours, but the six monasteries each close on different days and the timetable is shorter than in summer. Check the current day-by-day schedule before travelling.
Is Greece cheap in December?
For the first three weeks, yes – among the lowest Athens rates of the year. From about the 20th, Christmas and New Year lift prices sharply and the ski resorts reach their peak week.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.
