Time difference Greece
GMT + 2: 1 hour difference with France. When it is noon in Paris, it is 1pm in Athens, in winter as in summer.
Opening hours Greece
To see / To do Greece
In high season, the opening hours of the main sites and museums in Athens, Thessaloniki or Delphi are generally harmonized. Between April1 and October 31, they are open from 8am and close around 8pm. The rest of the year, they often close at 4pm. In any case, and especially in summer, we can't recommend enough to be at the opening to avoid the crowd. But in other places of visit, especially in smaller museums or places of worship, the opening hours are a regular source of anxiety for the authors of guidebooks on Greece: they change constantly, sometimes several times a year, and often, above all, they don't even really exist. One thing to remember: stay flexible! A museum that is closed during opening hours is commonplace, especially on the smaller islands where crowds are limited. Off season, in remote sites everything is closed!
Enjoying yourself Greece
In Greece, people eat later than in France. Lunch is usually served from 1:30 pm to 4 pm and dinner from 9:30 pm to 11 pm. However, in Athens and in all the tourist sites you can eat all day long without any problem. And throughout the day, from the door of some restaurants, waiters will try to attract you.
Take a break Greece
In tourist areas, bar and cafe owners have to cover the summer season in order to survive all year round, so they are open every day from morning to night, and the hours depend on the number of people. Some night bars only open from 6-7pm and stay open until the early hours of the morning. Some traditional kafeneio open early in the morning and again around 6pm but close a few hours after lunch. But most of the time these places are open continuously: in summer, the waiters just wait for the last customer to leave before closing.
This flexibility can be extended out of season, especially on weekends, in establishments that remain open. In Greece, you will never be pressured to leave an establishment or recommended once you have finished your drink. Unless you ask for the bill, you will be left to enjoy it, without necessarily clearing the table. However, it is important to keep your wits about you: if you see that you are the last ones and that the waiters are exhausted, it may be time to leave!
(To) please yourself Greece
Shops are generally open from Monday to Saturday, from 8am to 8pm, with a closing period at lunchtime. However, opening hours are adapted to the number of tourists: it is not uncommon for a store to close at 10 pm or even later during the high season. Out of season, it is generally the opposite, with many tourist stores simply closed, especially on the coast.
Get out Greece
Greeks go out late, often on Fridays and Saturdays, and usually from 10 pm onwards. To obviously return early in the morning. In the evening, we live to the rhythm of the moon! The summer cinemas, in the open air, usually offer a second screening around 10-11pm because it has to be dark for the projection. The clubs and nightclubs open around midnight and stay open until the early morning, around 5-6am and depending on the number of people.
