When you are planing a trip to Greece, surely you want to visit some museum or archaeological site. Shopping is also a part of every trip to Greece.

Before every trip to Greece, in order to make the best plan that besides resting is consisted of shopping also, take a look at non-working days in Greece and work hours of shops and shopping malls during the week and year.

All the shops, schools, banks, shopping malls, museums and archaeological sites are closed during national holidays in Greece.

Greek National and Public Holidays 2025

January 1, 2025 - Wednesday, New Year’s Day
January 6, 2025 - Monday, Epiphany
March 3, 2025 - Monday, Clean Monday
March 25, 2025 - Tuesday, Annunciation
April 18, 2025 - Friday, Good Friday
April 19, 2025 - Saturday, Holy Saturday
April 20, 2025 - Sunday, Easter
April 21, 2025 - Monday, Easter Monday
May 1, 2025 - Thursday, Labor Day
June 9, 2025 - Monday, Spirits
August 15, 2025 - Friday, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
October 28, 2025 - Tuesday, Anniversary of “No” Day
December 25, 2025 - Thursday, Christmas Day
December 26, 2025 - Friday, the Second Day of Christmas

Multi-day holidays and non-working days:
4-6. January 2025 - Epiphany
1-3. March 2025 - Clean Monday
18-21. April 2025 - Easter
15-17. August 2025 - Assumption of the Virgin Mary
25-28. December 2025 - Christmas

Clean Monday is not always a non-working day, but schools and banks are closed, while the owners of private shops and businesses decide themselves whether to work or not.

There are some holidays celebrated just in schools and universities (January 30th and November 17th).

Many cities have their own city patron saint whom they celebrate and on that day, banks, schools and shops are closed. In Thessaloniki, for example, October 26th is a non-working day, since the city’s patron saint, St. Dimitris is being celebrated that day.

Also, there are some exceptions in the working hours. For example, on January 2nd many shops often remain closed. That is the case with Jumbo and some shops in city malls. There are no rules for January 2nd.

Also, even if Sunday is a non-working day during the year, usually, the shops are open during Sunday shortly before Easter. And in December, even three weeks before New Year, the shops are open on Sunday.

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Typical opening hours in Greece

Typical working week in Greece looks like this: 8 hours per day, from Monday to Friday, starting from 8 am or 9 am.

The Greeks work a bit more than the rest of the countries in Europe, 42 hours, while in Europe it’s 40 hours.

Banks in Greece work from 8:00 till 14:30 from Monday till Thursday, Friday till 14h, and they don’t work on Sunday.

The Shops are open from 9:00 till 14:30 from Monday till Saturday and on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 17:00 till 19:00.

Lately, many shops work without afternoon break. Usually, those shops are the most popular ones, Zara, H&M, Stradivarius etc. Also, the shops at city malls work without afternoon break during the day.

In Thessaloniki, for example, the shops in Tsimiski don’t have break during the day, and the shops in Egnatia street don’t work from 14:00 or 15:00 till 17:00 or 18:00.

By the law, it is allowed to open shops during Sunday but only if you they are located in tourist places.

Big shopping malls generally have longer working hours, most often from 9:00 or 10:00 till 21:00 from Monday till Friday, and Saturday till 20:00.

All in all, one has to be careful with working hours in Greece. Before you arrive in Greece for shopping or plan to stop by Thessaloniki, see to it that it is not done on Sunday, on national holiday and pay attention that the working hours are shorter on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Also, on big holidays like Easter, Christmas and New Year most of the shops are closed.

Opening hours of museums and archaeological sites

Museums and archaeological sites in Greece usually don’t work on Monday and during national holidays, while they are open on Sunday.

National holidays when museums and archaeological sites are open however are October 28th, August 15th, Easter Monday. While nearly all museums and archaeological sites don’t work on Monday during the day, the Acropolis in Athens does work, but working hours are shorter, from 13.30 till the sunset.

According to the new law of working hours of museums and archaeological sites in Greece, working hours start from 8:00 till 9:00 the most, and end by the sunset. That way, during the winter, working hours are till 15:00-16:00 and during summer till 19:00-20:00.

Working hours of shopping centers in Greece

Cosmos shopping mall
Shops-boutiqes in the mall work from Monday till Friday from 10:00 till 21:00, and from 10:00 till 20:00 on Sunday.

On Sunday and on national holidays, the shops are closed.

Shortly before important holidays (Easter, Christmas, New Year) the shops do work even the last Sunday before the holiday. Usually before New Year, the shops are open even three Sundays in a row.

The shops are open on December 31st every year, with shorter working hours. till 18:00.

Cafes and restaurants in the shopping mall are open every day, but on national holiday and on Sunday, they work till 14:00.

Jumbo shops don’t work on national holidays and on Sunday, and from Monday till Friday, they are open from 9:00 till 21:00 and on Saturday from 9:00 till 20:00.

You can see the opening hours of shopping centers in Thessaloniki here.

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