An overview of shop opening hours

Shopping hours are a somewhat complicated matter in Greece as they vary according to the type of business. The list below covers the main areas but bear in mind that this is subject to sudden arbitrary and often incomprehensible changes in the law.
Generally the hours between 2.00pm and 5.30pm are dedicated to lunch and the sacred afternoon siesta, especially in the hot summer. Tourist shops may stay open, so do many kiosks, all the supermarkets, main post-offices and telephone offices.
Apart from kiosks, sweet shops, florists and many tourist shops everything is closed on Sundays.

Supermarkets

Open at 8.00 am and close at 8.00 pm in winter and 9.00 pm from April to end of October. Saturday they close at 6.00 pm and are closed on Sundays and holidays.

All shops (with the exception of the ones listed separately)

Shops open around 9.00 am and close around 1.30 or 2.00 pm Monday to Saturday. On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday they are also open from around 6.00 pm to 9.00 pm. Always closed on Sundays and holidays.

Offices (with the exception of the ones listed separately)

Most offices keep the same times as shops but they are often closed on Saturday.

Petrol stations

Generally open throughout the day until evening Monday to Saturday. Only very few are open after 10.00 pm. On Sundays and holidays some are open and some are closed so you may have to drive a bit before you find an open one.

Post-offices

The main post-offices are open Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm and Saturday 8.00 till 2.00 pm. Other post-offices will generally be open from 8.00 till 2.00 only from Monday to Friday.

Pharmacies

Pharmacies keep normal shop hours Monday to Friday. They are closed on Saturdays. If you need a chemist on closing days or at night you can see which one is open (there are generally a few in larger towns) in the list displayed in the window of every pharmacy. The list is in Greek however. The best solution is probably to take a taxi to the nearest one.

Kiosks

There is almost always a kiosk open somewhere, night and day, at least in the cities

Tourist shops

Tourist shops are not requested by law to keep normal shop hours so the opening times vary widely. They will often stay open later in the evening (11.00 pm) and will also open on Sundays. This applies to the tourist seaon only.

Garages

Most mechanics work from around 8.00 pm to 4.00 pm Mondays to Friday. Some open on Saturday morning as well.