Events in Athens, Greece
This September, Athens keeps its cultural calendar full as summer eases into autumn. Live music runs from Jeff Mills at the Theatro Vrahon on 20 September to Swallow The Sun on 17 October, with Candlelight concerts playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Coldplay and Imagine Dragons at the Old Parliament House and The Jazz Room at the Parnassos Literary Society. At the museums, Jeff Koons brings 'Venus' Lespugue to the Museum of Cycladic Art, the National Gallery shows The Avant-Garde World and EMST presents Jani Christou and Niki Kanagini. The official calendar adds Music Technopolis and the Change Makers gathering.
Athens events this September from the official listing
The events below are drawn from Athens's official events calendar for the month, and each card links straight to the calendar's own listing with the dates and the venue. For the sights that stay open all year, start with things to see in Athens.
Music Technopolis
When: 2 to 20 September
Where: Technopolis City of Athens
A late summer music season at the city's Technopolis cultural centre in Gazi, with a run of open-air concerts across September.
Jeff Mills, Tomorrow Comes the Harvest
When: 20 September
Where: Theatro Vrahon Melina Mercouri
The techno pioneer plays a night of live electronic improvisation at the open-air Theatro Vrahon amphitheatre below Mount Hymettus.
The Artist's Cinema, Film Selections by Jannis Psychopedis
When: 26 June to 2 October
Where: Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation rooftop
A rooftop film programme at the Goulandris museum, screening a selection by the painter Jannis Psychopedis on late summer evenings above the city.
Change Makers IV, Vogue Greece
When: 3 October
Where: Athens Concert Hall (Megaron)
Vogue Greece gathers designers, creatives and industry figures for the fourth edition of its flagship talks event at the Megaron.
Live music and festivals in Athens
Candlelight: Vivaldi's Four Seasons
Candlelight: Vivaldi's Four Seasons plays the Old Parliament House on 19 September at 19:00.
The Jazz Room: a journey to the heart of New Orleans
The Jazz Room plays the Parnassos Literary Society on 9 October at 19:00.
Swallow The Sun
Swallow The Sun plays Architektoniki Club Live Stage on 17 October.
Candlelight: Coldplay & Imagine Dragons
Candlelight: Coldplay & Imagine Dragons plays the Old Parliament House on 17 October at 21:00.
Art exhibitions and museum shows in Athens
Jeff Koons, 'Venus' Lespugue
Until: 28 September
Where: Museum of Cycladic Art
The contemporary American artist sets a gleaming stainless steel Venus among the museum's prehistoric Cycladic figurines, linking ancient and modern ideas of the body.
The Avant-Garde World
Until: 27 September
Where: National Gallery
An anniversary show gathering early twentieth century avant-garde works with the MOMUS Costakis Collection, tracing how modern art reimagined city, nature and the human figure.
Jani Christou, Enantiodromia
Until: 8 November
Where: EMST
A tribute to the Greek avant-garde composer, presenting scores, recordings and archive material that trace his radical and unfinished musical vision.
An Ode to Things, Niki Kanagini retrospective
Until: 8 November
Where: EMST
A retrospective of the Greek painter and stage designer, following her work in painting, tapestry and set design across five decades.
Athens tickets and tours
Bank holidays and local festivities in Athens
Public holidays reshape a visit more than most travellers expect. Public offices and banks close, shops shut or move to holiday hours, museums switch timetables and transport thins out, so a day built around a market or a museum can come apart. Greek law fixes nine compulsory public holidays for the whole country, under article 60 of Law 4808/2021, and those are the days on which work is prohibited rather than left to each employer.
National holidays in Greece 2026
- 1 January New Year's Day (Πρωτοχρονιά)
- 6 January Epiphany (Θεοφάνεια)
- 25 March Independence Day (Εικοστή Πέμπτη Μαρτίου)
- 13 April Easter Monday (Δευτέρα του Πάσχα)
- 1 May Labour Day (Εργατική Πρωτομαγιά)
- 15 August Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Κοίμηση της Θεοτόκου)
- 28 October Ochi Day (Το Όχι)
- 25 December Christmas Day (Χριστούγεννα)
- 26 December Second day of Christmas (Δεύτερη ημέρα των Χριστουγέννων)
Local holidays in Athens 2026
- 3 October Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, patron saint of Athens (Άγιος Διονύσιος ο Αρεοπαγίτης), local
On that day the administrative, financial and technical services of the City of Athens close to the public, while nurseries, refuse collection, controlled parking and the cemeteries carry on; in 2026 it falls on a Saturday. Beyond the nine compulsory days, the official visitors guide also counts Clean Monday on 23 February, Orthodox Good Friday on 10 April, Orthodox Easter on 12 April and Whit Monday on 1 June among the public holidays that change opening hours, and it notes that shops trade from 13:00 to 19:00 on Good Friday. The national tourism organisation desk beside it keeps 09:00 to 17:00 on Sundays and public holidays.
Before you go to Athens
What to see in Athens
The Athens guide on Tourist Office maps out a first day around the Acropolis, the neighbourhoods worth wandering and the sights to book ahead.
Where to get help in Athens
This page lists the official tourist information points in Athens, the hours they keep and which public holidays change them.