At a glance
4 March 2027
Tsiknopempti. Last year Varvakios filled with grills from 11:00, with free souvlaki.
15 March 2027
Clean Monday, a public holiday. Koulouma and kites on Filopappou Hill.
17/1 – 14/3
The Patras Carnival 2027. The Grand Parade is on Sunday 14 March.
Free
All City of Athens events. Costumes and confetti are sold on Athinas Street.
The 2027 dates
Carnival moves every year because it depends on Orthodox Easter. In 2027 Easter falls on 2 May, which is late, so Carnival comes late too: mid-March instead of February. The three weeks of Carnival are called Profoni, Kreatini and Tyrini.
| Day | 2027 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Opening of the Triodion | Sunday 21 February | Carnival officially begins. The first costumes appear. |
| Tsiknopempti | Thursday 4 March | Grills in the streets, meat on charcoal. The noisiest day of all. |
| Meatfare Sunday | Sunday 7 March | The last day for meat. Children’s parades. |
| Cheesefare Sunday | Sunday 14 March | The big parades in Athens, Patras and Xanthi. |
| Clean Monday | Monday 15 March | Public holiday. Kites, lagana, Koulouma. Lent begins. |
| Easter | Sunday 2 May | For comparison: in 2026 Easter was on 12 April and Clean Monday on 23 February. |
Before you plan
The programmes of the City of Athens, Moschato and the other municipalities come out 2–3 weeks before Tsiknopempti. Where this guide says “last year”, the information is from February 2026. Times and routes repeat almost unchanged every year, but check the websites at the end of the article before you set off.
What Apokries is
The Greek word apokries means “abstaining from meat”; the Latin carne vale, which gave us “carnival”, means the same. For centuries the three weeks before Lent were the last chance for food, wine and dressing up before 48 days of fasting. Folklorists link the customs to the festivals of Dionysus: masks, bells, teasing, mock weddings and deaths that end in a “resurrection”.
- Maskarades: in Athens neighbourhoods you still see children in costume at the supermarket and on the metro. Don’t be surprised.
- Gaitanaki: a dance around a pole with coloured ribbons that are woven and unwoven. You will see it at every children’s party the City organises.
- Tsikna: the smell of grilled meat. On Tsiknopempti grills appear even on the pavements.
- Bells: in Skyros, Sochos and Naousa costumed men wear bells weighing tens of kilos to drive away evil.
- Kites: on Clean Monday all of Greece heads to hills and beaches to fly a kite.
Tsiknopempti in central Athens
Last year, Thursday 12 February 2026, central Athens filled with smoke from 11:00. The cultural association “Vakches” set off from Syntagma Square at 11:00 and ended at Kotzia Square, where it revived the Kordelatoi custom of Naxos. In the square of Varvakios Market the City Philharmonic played at 11:00, followed by traditional dances and a concert by the Greek Music Workshop. The meat on the City’s grills is handed out free; in past years the queue for souvlaki formed before the charcoal was even lit.
Varvakios, the city’s central meat and fish market, is the natural home of the day. Its butchers work from dawn and the tavernas around it fill up from midday. Our guide to the Varvakios Central Market covers what to see and where to eat.
The City’s grills are set up under tents in the square. You can see the smoke from Athinas Street.
Long charcoal grills, and the City hands out the meat for free. Go early, the queue grows fast.
The menu of the day: pork souvlaki, sausage, bread. For something quieter, the market tavernas also serve patsas, tripe soup.
Tsiknopempti 2024 at Varvakios. Photos: C messier, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to get from Ioulianou 50 to Varvakios
Varvakios is 1.5 km from Ioulianou 50, about a 20-minute walk in a straight line. The metro cuts that in half:
- Ioulianou 50 → Victoria station: 3 minutes on foot.
- Line 1 (green): towards Piraeus, one stop to Omonia, about 4 minutes.
- Omonia → Varvakios: from the square walk down Athinas Street towards Monastiraki, about 500 metres, 6 minutes. The market is on your left, before City Hall.
🍢 From Ioulianou 50 to Varvakios
The walking route, about 1.5 km. Tap Varvakios to open the route in Google Maps.
Carnival weekends in the neighbourhoods
The City of Athens programme reaches all seven municipal districts. Last year, according to the official programme, events included:
| Last year (2026) | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 14 February, 11:00 | Monastiraki Square | Parades with dances from all over Greece, with the International Dance Council CID UNESCO. |
| Sunday 15 February, 11:00 | Zappeion | Children’s carnival “The carnival of the world”: stilt walkers, face painting, a Chinese dragon. |
| Sunday 15 February, 11:00 | Dionysiou Areopagitou | Folk parades below the Acropolis. |
| Thursday 19 February, 10:30 | Attiki Square and Agios Panteleimonas Square | A neighbourhood parade with drums. Agios Panteleimonas Square is an 8-minute walk from Ioulianou 50. |
| Saturday 21 February, 11:00 | Kypseli Square and Fokionos Negri | Parade with the Brazilian percussion group Quilombo. |
| The whole season | Squares and parks | Children’s parties with gaitanaki, balloons and music. Free. |
Alongside the official events there is the Metaxourgeio carnival. Residents and artists of the neighbourhood organise it without sponsors, with percussion, gaitanaki and a march through the streets around Avdi Square. It usually takes place on Meatfare Sunday, at midday. The date is announced a few days before on the neighbourhood’s social media. From Victoria it is one stop to Metaxourgeio station on Line 2 from Omonia, or a 20-minute walk.
Groups dress in one colour and pass the neoclassical houses of Metaxourgeio. No floats, just people.
The ribbons are woven around the pole as the dancers turn. The custom comes from the Balkans and Asia Minor.
Most people make their own costume. Masks and wigs are sold in the shops on Athinas Street.
Avdi Square is the meeting point. After the march there is a party with music until the evening.
Percussion groups from all over Athens set the rhythm. You hear them from the metro before you see them.
Stalls for face painting are set up in the square, free of charge. Children go first.
You can step into the circle and dance. Nobody will look at you strangely, even without a costume.
The difference between the two soon disappears. Balconies fill with people throwing confetti.
The party continues after sunset in the square and in the bars on Iasonos Street. The drums stop around 22:00.
The Metaxourgeio carnival, 2017. Photos: Meta Lands, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The big parade from Syntagma
The high point of the Athens Carnival is the parade on the last Sunday. Last year, Sunday 22 February 2026, it set off at 17:00 from Syntagma Square with the City Philharmonic in front, went down Ermou, turned into Aiolou and reached Kotzia Square around 18:00. Walking with it were the percussion groups Bloco Swingueira and Global Daoulia, stilt walkers, the Greek Cheerleaders and the dance group “O Molyvos”. A party followed at Kotzia at 19:00, broadcast live by the radio station Lampsi 92.3.
The parade is small compared with Patras, about an hour long, but it has one advantage: Ermou is pedestrianised, so you see everything up close. The best spot is the corner of Ermou and Aiolou, in front of the Kapnikarea church, where the parade turns and the groups stop for a moment. If you want to join the parade yourself, just fall in at the back; no registration is needed.
How to get from Ioulianou 50 to Syntagma
- Ioulianou 50 → Victoria station: 3 minutes on foot.
- Line 1 (green): towards Piraeus, one stop to Omonia.
- Line 2 (red): at Omonia change towards Elliniko and get off two stops later, at Syntagma. From Victoria to here, about 12 minutes.
- Return: after the party at Kotzia, Omonia is a 5-minute walk uphill, and from there it is one stop to Victoria.
🎭 From Ioulianou 50 to the parade
On foot to Victoria, metro with a change at Omonia. The parade goes down Ermou to Kotzia. Tap Syntagma to open the route in Google Maps.
Clean Monday: Koulouma and kites on Filopappou
Clean Monday is a public holiday, the first day of Lent, and Athenians spend it outdoors. Filopappou Hill, opposite the Acropolis, is where the city gathers. Last year, 23 February 2026, the City Philharmonic started at 11:00, an island music party with Nikos Oikonomidis and Kyriaki Spanou followed at 11:30, and the City handed out free Lenten food: lagana, olives, taramosalata, halva. There is almost always wind at the top of the hill, so kites fly easily; hundreds rise at the same time above the Acropolis.
Kites are sold at kiosks and in the shops on Athinas Street in the days before, from 5€ to 15€. Take plenty of string. If you don’t want crowds, the beach at Faliro and Lycabettus Hill are the windy alternatives.
Clean Monday 2023. The rock fills up from the morning, the sky with kites. Wear shoes that don’t slip.
The coast of Piraeus and Faliro on the same day. Fewer people, steadier wind.
One person holds the kite up high, the other runs with the string. If it doesn’t rise with the first gust, change spots.
Photos: Catlemur, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ellywa, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gepsimos, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons).
How to get from Ioulianou 50 to Filopappou
The hill is 3.5 km away. On Clean Monday the metro runs a holiday timetable, but it runs.
- Ioulianou 50 → Victoria station: 3 minutes on foot.
- Line 1 (green): towards Piraeus, one stop to Omonia.
- Line 2 (red): at Omonia change towards Elliniko and get off at Akropoli, three stops. From Victoria to here, about 15 minutes.
- Akropoli → Filopappou: come out on Dionysiou Areopagitou and walk west along the pedestrian street, with the Acropolis on your right, about 900 metres. The hill starts opposite the Acropolis entrance, 15 minutes in total to the top.
🪁 From Ioulianou 50 to Filopappou
Line 1 to Omonia, Line 2 to Akropoli and a walk along Dionysiou Areopagitou. Tap the hill to open the route in Google Maps.
The carnivals of Attica
The big parades with floats take place in the municipalities around Athens, not in the centre. All are free and you reach them on Line 1 without changing. The dates are from 2026; in 2027 they move about three weeks later, to the corresponding Sundays.
| Carnival | Last year (2026) | How to get there from Victoria |
|---|---|---|
| Moschato | Sunday 15 February, 14:00, grand parade on Makrygianni Avenue with thousands of carnival-goers. At 16:00 the Colour Day Festival and a concert in Taxiarchi Papantoniou Square. | Line 1 towards Piraeus, 8 stops to Moschato, about 20 minutes. The parade passes 300 metres from the station. |
| Nikaia | Sunday 15 February, 12:00, parade on Vournova Street and a concert in Koumpaki Square. It was the municipality’s 32nd carnival, with 3,500 participants. | Line 1 to Nikaia, 12 stops, about 28 minutes. |
| Rentis | Sunday 22 February, 12:00, parade on Fleming Street, 4,500 carnival-goers. On Saturday 21 at 11:00, a children’s party in the main square. | Line 1 to Moschato and a bus, or a 20-minute taxi ride. |
| Nea Ionia | Sunday 15 February, the “Ioniotiko Karnavali” from the corner of Irakleiou and 28is Oktovriou, with floats for the first time. From 09:30 a party in Simirioti Square. | Line 1 towards Kifisia, 5 stops to Nea Ionia, about 12 minutes. |
| Nea Filadelfeia | A parade with schools and associations in February. The date is announced in mid-January. | Line 1 to Ano Patisia and a 15-minute walk, or a bus from Patission. |
| Peristeri and Ilioupoli | On Clean Monday they bake a giant lagana in the square and share it out. | Peristeri: Line 2 from Omonia, 4 stops. |
Moschato carnival 2023. Local schools parade with a shared theme; the parents sew the costumes.
Moschato carnival 2024. The pavements fill from midday. For a good view, stand near the station.
Photos: Pavlos1988, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Patras Carnival 2027: the biggest in Greece
The Patras Carnival is the biggest in the country and dates back to 1829. In 2027 it starts on Saturday 17 January, with the Town Crier and the Opening Ceremony in Georgiou Square, and ends on Sunday 14 March. About 40,000 carnival-goers walk the 4-kilometre route of the Grand Parade, and the city welcomes 80,000–100,000 visitors. On the evening of that Sunday the float of the Carnival King is burned in the sea at the Agios Nikolaos pier, with fireworks.
- Sunday 7 March 2027: the Children’s Carnival parade, with about 20,000 children.
- Saturday 13 March: the Night Parade on foot. The groups walk without floats and the night ends with a party in Georgiou Square until morning.
- Sunday 14 March: Grand Parade at midday, burning of the King in the evening.
- Hidden Treasure: a team game since 1966, with hundreds of groups solving riddles all over the city.
Each group dresses in one colour. The parade lasts more than five hours; bring water and a hat.
The King’s float opens the parade. That same night it burns in the sea and the city celebrates.
They are built by the Carnival Workshop of the Municipality of Patras, with a new theme every year.
From the carnival archive. The style of the floats has not changed much in thirty years.
The Saturday before the Grand Parade. No floats, lights in hand and dancing until morning.
Photos: Gontzi, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Conudrum, CC BY 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons).
How to get to Patras
KTEL Achaia buses leave from Kifisos bus station every half hour, from 05:00 to 22:00, and the trip takes about three hours. From Ioulianou 50, Kifisos station is 20 minutes by taxi, or bus 051 from Omonia. The train only goes as far as Kiato and continues by bus, so you gain no time. For the Grand Parade weekend, book your ticket and room a month ahead; the city fills up. Our guide to day trips without a car covers the KTEL buses and stations.
Carnivals in the rest of Greece
Every region has its own custom, often far older than the float parades. Most take place on the last Sunday or on Clean Monday, so in 2027 they fall on 13–15 March.
| Where | Custom | When |
|---|---|---|
| Xanthi | The biggest carnival in Northern Greece, since 1966, part of the Thracian Folklore Festival. A float parade on the last Sunday and the burning of the Tzaros, an effigy, in the evening. | Last year 28 January – 23 February, parade on Sunday 22 February. |
| Naousa | “Genitsaroi and Boules”: young men in wax masks and kilts dance through the streets to zurna and drums, and take off their masks in the evening in Alonia Square. | The last two Sundays. Last year Sunday 15 February and Clean Monday. |
| Tyrnavos | The Bourani: a vegetable soup without oil, cooked on Clean Monday amid teasing and phallic symbols. The boldest custom in the country. A parade on the last Sunday. | Last year parade on Sunday 22 February at 18:00, Bourani on the Monday. |
| Skyros | The Geros, in a black cape, a goatskin mask and tens of kilos of bells around his waist, together with the Korela and the Frangos, roam the lanes of Chora. | Every Carnival weekend; the climax is the last long weekend. |
| Rethymno | The biggest carnival in Crete, with about 15,000 participants, a treasure hunt, serenades and a night parade. | The last weekend. |
| Ioannina | The Tzamales: big bonfires in the neighbourhoods and in the Castle, with dancing and wine around them. | The evening of Cheesefare Sunday. |
| Kozani | The Fanoi: bonfires in every neighbourhood with satirical, spicy songs, and a float parade in the main square. | The last week, peaking on the Sunday. |
| Sochos, Thessaloniki | The bell-bearers, “Meriou”: costumed men in sheepskins, bells and tall hats, with rituals such as the Arapka’s Wedding. | Last year Sunday 15 February and Clean Monday. |
| Galaxidi | The Alevromoutzouroma: a battle with flour and coloured powder at the harbour, since 1801. Wear old clothes and goggles. | Clean Monday, midday. |
| Thiva | The Vlach Wedding: a re-enacted wedding with a man as the “bride”, matchmaking and a party in the square. | Clean Monday. |
| Chalkida | A sea carnival on the Evripos strait, with floating floats and the Carnival King burned in the sea. | Last year closing ceremony on Sunday 22 February at 19:00. |
| Thessaloniki | A parade of about thirty groups that ends in a party in Aristotelous Square. | Last year Sunday 15 February, from 16:00. |
Flour, coloured powder and smoke flares at the harbour. Within two hours nobody recognises anybody.
Galaxidi is 2.5 hours from Athens, next to Delphi. Many people combine the two in a two-day trip.
The wax masks of the Genitsaroi. They are worn all day and come off only in the evening, in Alonia Square.
The Xanthi parade, 2024. On the evening of Clean Monday the Tzaros is burned on the bank of the Kosynthos river.
A bonfire in the Castle, 2013. Every neighbourhood lights its own, with clarinet and wine until late.
Photos: RoubinakiM, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Catlemur, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nick Kristo, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jkravv, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
What Greeks eat on Clean Monday
Clean Monday is the first day of the fast: no meat, dairy, or fish with blood. Seafood is allowed, so the table is full. Bakeries bake lagana only on this day, from dawn, and the queue at Venetis in Victoria reaches the street until 10:00.
- Lagana: a flat, unleavened bread with sesame. Eaten fresh, on the same day.
- Taramosalata: fish roe, bread or potato, oil, lemon. The white one is the best; the pink one is coloured.
- Halva: the sesame kind, made with tahini, in slices. With cocoa or almonds.
- Seafood: octopus in vinegar, squid, prawns, mussels. In the tavernas of Piraeus and Varvakios.
- Pulses and vegetables: bean soup, gigantes beans, rice-stuffed vine leaves, olives, pickles.
Tradition says it is torn by hand, not cut with a knife. Eaten with olives and taramas.
Clean Monday 2026. Bakeries open at 06:00 and many sell out of lagana by midday.
In tavernas it is served with lagana and lemon. You can also buy homemade taramosalata at Varvakios.
The sweet of Lent. Sold by the kilo in the grocery shops of Evripidou Street, next to Varvakios.
Photos: Andrzej 22, CC BY-SA 3.0 · C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Robert Kindermann, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Aykhan Zayedzadeh, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
What is open on Clean Monday
- Shops: closed, it is an official public holiday. Kiosks and bakeries open.
- Tavernas: open, with a Lenten menu, and full from 13:00. Book a table a week ahead, especially in Piraeus.
- Archaeological sites and museums: Clean Monday is not one of the days state sites close, but check each museum’s website; some private ones stay closed.
- Metro and buses: holiday timetable, less frequent. The metro to Filopappou runs normally.
- On Tsiknopempti: everything is open, it is a working day. Only the centre smells of grilled meat.
Weather and clothes
March in Athens has 15–17°C at midday and 7–9°C in the evening, with 8–10 rainy days. It is windy on the hills. For the Sunday parade a jacket is enough; for Filopappou on Clean Monday bring a windbreaker and closed shoes, the rock is slippery. Confetti and streamers stick to your hair; a hat solves the problem. If you want to dress up, the costume shops are on Athinas and Evripidou Streets, between Omonia and Monastiraki, and in the last days they have queues.
With children
Carnival is the easiest celebration in Athens for children. All the City’s children’s parties are free and take place in the morning. Last year the biggest was at the Zappeion on Meatfare Sunday at 11:00, with stilt walkers, face painting and balloons. Agios Panteleimonas Square, 8 minutes from Ioulianou 50, had its own parade on the Thursday before Clean Monday. For the Moschato parade go early to get a front-row spot; children collect confetti from the street. On Clean Monday a kite is compulsory. More ideas in our guide to Athens with kids.
Three suggested plans
Tsiknopempti on foot from Ioulianou 50
- 11:00: Varvakios, the Philharmonic and the grills. One metro stop or a 20-minute walk.
- 12:00: Kotzia Square, the Kordelatoi custom.
- 13:30: lunch at a market taverna or souvlaki in Victoria.
- Evening: the neighbourhood tavernas grill on the pavement. Follow the smoke.
Cheesefare Sunday, the day of the parades
- 12:00: parade in Rentis or Moschato, on Line 1.
- 16:30: head back and find a spot on Ermou, at the corner with Aiolou.
- 17:00: the parade from Syntagma.
- 19:00: party at Kotzia, then one stop from Omonia to Victoria.
Clean Monday
- 08:00: lagana from the bakery, before it runs out.
- 11:00: Filopappou, Koulouma and a kite. Metro to Akropoli.
- 14:00: Lenten food at a taverna in Thissio or Petralona, with a booking.
- Afternoon: a stroll along Dionysiou Areopagitou; the shops are closed and the city is quiet.
Frequently asked questions
When is Carnival in 2027?
From Sunday 21 February to Sunday 14 March 2027. Tsiknopempti is on 4 March and Clean Monday on 15 March.
Is there a big carnival in Athens?
Not like Patras. The City of Athens holds dozens of small celebrations and one parade from Syntagma on the last Sunday. The parades with floats take place in Moschato, Nikaia, Rentis and Nea Ionia.
Do I pay an entrance fee anywhere?
No. All events of the City of Athens and the Attica municipalities are free, and so is the Patras parade. In Patras you only pay if you want a seat in a stand.
Where can I fly a kite on Clean Monday?
On Filopappou Hill, where the City hands out free Lenten food, or on the beach at Faliro. Pedion tou Areos, 6 minutes from Ioulianou 50, has less wind, but also fewer people.
How long is the Athens parade?
About an hour, from 17:00 to 18:00, Syntagma – Ermou – Kotzia. The party at Kotzia goes on into the evening.
How far is Patras?
About three hours by KTEL bus from Kifisos station, with buses every half hour. For the Grand Parade, Sunday 14 March 2027, set off in the morning.
Does the metro run on Clean Monday?
Yes, on a holiday timetable. For Filopappou get off at Akropoli station on Line 2.
What is lagana?
A flat bread without sourdough, topped with sesame, that bakeries bake only on Clean Monday. It is eaten with taramosalata, olives and halva.
Can I join the parade?
In Athens yes, just fall in at the back, with or without a costume. In Patras you need to register with a group from January.
Photos (Wikimedia Commons): Gontzi, CC BY-SA 3.0 (main image and Patras) · Conudrum, CC BY 2.5 (1995 float) · C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Tsiknopempti, lagana 2026) · Meta Lands, CC BY 2.0 (Metaxourgeio) · Pavlos1988, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Moschato) · Catlemur, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Filopappou, Naousa masks) · Ellywa, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Piraeus) · Gepsimos, CC0 (kite) · RoubinakiM, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Galaxidi) · Nick Kristo, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Xanthi) · Jkravv, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Ioannina) · Andrzej 22, CC BY-SA 3.0 (lagana) · Robert Kindermann, CC BY-SA 2.5 (taramosalata) · Aykhan Zayedzadeh, CC BY 4.0 (halva).
— Kathy
