Which days are closed over Christmas and New Year
Every state site page on Hellenic Heritage, the Ministry of Culture's ticket platform, gives the same list of closed days: 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday, and 25 and 26 December. The National Archaeological Museum's visitor page lists the same dates. Neither lists 6 January (Epiphany) or Clean Monday as a closure or a short day.
The Acropolis Museum is a separate institution with its own opening rules. It closes on 1 January, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 1 May, and 25 and 26 December, and opens 09:00 to 15:00 on 24 and 31 December.
Here is how that falls on the 2026–27 calendar (checked 22 October 2026):
| Date | Acropolis and other state sites | Acropolis Museum |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 24 Dec | Normal winter hours | 09:00–15:00 |
| Fri 25 Dec | Closed | Closed |
| Sat 26 Dec | Closed | Closed |
| Sun 27 Dec | Normal winter hours (not a free Sunday) | 09:00–20:00 |
| Thu 31 Dec | Normal winter hours | 09:00–15:00 |
| Fri 1 Jan | Closed | Closed |
| Sun 3 Jan | Free admission (first Sunday) | 09:00–20:00 |
| Wed 6 Jan | No closure listed | No change listed |
What this means for a short holiday stay: if you arrive on 24 December and leave on 27 December, your only state-site days are the 24th and the 27th. Put the Acropolis on one of them and book the slot early. A 30 December to 2 January stay has the 30th, 31st and 2nd.
Winter opening hours from 1 November
Hellenic Heritage switches every Athens state site to winter hours on 1 November. The closing time depends on the site, and last admission is 20 minutes before closing everywhere:
| Site | 1 November – 31 March | Last entry | Full ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acropolis | 08:00–17:00 | 16:40 | €30 |
| Ancient Agora | 08:00–17:00 | 16:40 | €20 |
| Olympieion | 08:00–15:00 | 14:40 | €20 |
| Roman Agora | 08:00–15:00 | 14:40 | €10 |
| Kerameikos | 08:00–15:00 | 14:40 | €10 |
The Ancient Agora page adds that its museum in the Stoa of Attalos opens at 10:00 on Tuesdays.
The National Archaeological Museum has not published its 2026–27 winter hours. Its page shows summer hours until 15 November 2026 (Wednesday to Monday 08:00–20:00, Tuesday 13:00–20:00). Last winter, from 16 November 2025 to 3 May 2026, it opened Wednesday to Monday 08:30–15:30 and Tuesday 13:00–20:00, so expect a shorter day after mid-November and check before you go.
The Acropolis Museum's winter hours (1 November to 31 March) run longer than the sites: Monday to Thursday 09:00–17:00, Friday 09:00–22:00, and Saturday and Sunday 09:00–20:00, with last entry 30 minutes before closing.
Free Sundays from November to March
The Ministry of Culture's free admission list gives free entry to state sites and museums on the first and third Sunday of each month from 1 November to 31 March, and on 6 March. For the coming winter that means 1 and 15 November, 6 and 20 December, 3 and 17 January, 7 and 21 February, and 7 and 21 March, plus Saturday 6 March 2027.
Two rules shape a free Sunday:
- No online booking. Hellenic Heritage's terms of use (clause 3.3) say that on free-admission days tickets are issued only at the ticket offices. You queue on site for a free ticket rather than reserving a time slot.
- The Acropolis Museum is not included. Its visitor page lists only 6 March, 25 March, 18 May and 28 October as free days, so a free Sunday saves you the site tickets, not the €20 museum ticket.
When a site closes at short notice
Hellenic Heritage posts unplanned closures and changed hours on its announcements page. In October 2026 the notices covered rain delaying a Cretan site's opening until after 12:00 and an urgent closure on Rhodes. Last winter the Ancient Agora closed on two free Sundays, 7 and 21 December 2025, for restoration work, according to its own page.
If a site is closed by force majeure on the day of your ticket, clause 3.19 of the terms says the ticket can be extended or refunded, but no other costs are compensated. Otherwise tickets are not refundable, so on stormy days check the announcements before you buy.
For Acropolis prices, reduced tickets and how time slots work, see our Acropolis tickets guide. The National Archaeological Museum guide covers that museum's tickets, and Athens transport tickets covers getting between the sites.
