May Day in Athens: what closes, strikes and May wreaths

🌼 Until May Day

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Holiday and strike: archaeological sites close, public transport runs less.

May Day, 1 May, is in Greece both a spring festival and workers’ day. It’s a public holiday, and every year the GSEE union calls a strike, so the day brings marches in the centre and fewer services. For visitors to Athens, the most important thing is that the Acropolis, the archaeological sites and the state museums stay closed. In 2027 the day falls on Saturday 1 May.

At a glance

1 May

A public holiday every year, with a GSEE strike.

Closed

Acropolis, archaeological sites, museums, banks, most shops.

Few services

Metro and buses with work stoppages, trains and ferries usually halted.

Flowers

The May wreath hangs on front doors.

What closes

On May Day all archaeological sites, monuments and museums of the Ministry of Culture close, including the Acropolis. The Acropolis Museum is closed too. Banks, public services and most shops close. Most cafés, tavernas and restaurants stay open, and many kiosks work as usual. If you have only a few days in Athens, plan the Acropolis for another day.

Strike and public transport

The GSEE calls a 24-hour strike every May Day. The public transport schedule is announced a few days before. To give you an idea, in 2026 it was like this:

Metro: no service until 9:00 and after 23:00.
Electric railway (Line 1): stopped all day.
Buses and trolleybuses: no service until 8:00 and after 22:00.
Trains and suburban railway: few or no services.
Ferries: kept in port all day because of a PNO seafarers’ strike. Sailings were moved to 30 April.

If you’re leaving for an island or the airport that day, check with your company in advance and book a taxi.

Marches in the centre

The unions gather in the centre in the morning and march to Syntagma. In 2026 the rally was at 10:00 in Klafthmonos Square and the march set off at 11:00. The marches are usually peaceful, but the streets around Panepistimiou, Stadiou and Syntagma close for a few hours. Ioulianou 50 is outside the route.

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A May wreath with pink and green flowers hanging on a wooden door — The May wreath
Made with flowers picked on May Day.

A small wreath of wildflowers hanging on a door — On the door
It stays up until late June.

A march with a sound truck in front of the Academy of Athens, on Panepistimiou Street — The marches
The unions walk along Panepistimiou towards Syntagma.

Klafthmonos Square with its trees and the buildings around it, early in the morning — Klafthmonos Square
This is where they gather in the morning.

Ancient foundations among the greenery in the park of Plato’s Academy — Plato's Academy
In 2026 the City Festival opened here with a picnic on May Day.

Photos: Tadeáš Bednarz (CC BY-SA 4.0, strike in Athens, 2020), Ζέτα Τσίγκα (CC BY-SA 4.0), Argyro.Tsiki (CC BY-SA 4.0), athenswalk (CC0), George E. Koronaios (CC0), Wikimedia Commons.

The May wreath

May Day is also the festival of flowers. Many Athenians head out of the city, pick wildflowers and make a wreath, which they hang on their front door. The wreath stays there until 24 June, the feast of Saint John Klidonas, when it’s traditionally burned on bonfires. That day you’ll often also see stalls selling flowers and ready-made wreaths in the streets.

May Day and Easter in 2027

In 2027 1 May falls on Holy Saturday, and the next day, 2 May, is Easter. The law lets the Ministry of Labour move the holiday to another working day when it falls in Holy Week or on Easter Monday. The decision for 2027 hasn’t been issued yet; most expect it to move to Tuesday 4 May.

2021 had exactly the same calendar, with Easter on 2 May, and it shows what will probably happen:

Saturday 1 May, Holy Saturday: the holiday was moved, so the archaeological sites were open, 8:30–15:30.
Sunday 2 May, Easter: all archaeological sites and museums closed.
Monday 3 May, Easter Monday: a public holiday, but the archaeological sites opened as usual.
Tuesday 4 May: the May Day holiday. The archaeological sites stayed closed and the GSEE held its 24-hour strike, with few public transport services.
Thursday 6 May: the ADEDY public-sector union and other unions held a second strike and march.

The strike doesn’t always follow the holiday. In 2024 May Day fell on Holy Wednesday: the holiday moved to Tuesday 7 May, but the GSEE still went on strike on 1 May and the ferries stayed in port that day. For 2027, check the announcements a few days before.

If you’re coming to Athens in early May 2027, don’t book the Acropolis for Easter Sunday or for the day the holiday moves to, probably Tuesday 4 May. During Holy Week and Easter the city has its own events: the Epitaphios procession on Good Friday and the Resurrection at midnight on Holy Saturday. You’ll find them in our guide to Easter in Athens. Ferries to the islands fill up in the days before Easter, as many Athenians head to their home villages.

Kathy’s tip: on May Day do something that doesn’t need a ticket: walk through Plaka and Anafiotika, climb Philopappos Hill or Lycabettus, stroll in the National Garden. If you have a flight or a ferry, book a taxi the evening before.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Acropolis open on May Day?

No. The Acropolis, the archaeological sites and the Ministry of Culture museums are closed. The Acropolis Museum is closed too. When the holiday is moved because of Easter, they close on the day of the holiday.

Does the metro run?

Usually with work stoppages in the morning and evening. The exact schedule is announced a few days before.

Are there ferries to the islands?

Usually not, because the seafarers strike. Sailings are moved to the day before or after.

When is May Day in 2027?

It falls on Saturday 1 May, Holy Saturday. The holiday will probably be moved to after Easter, most likely to Tuesday 4 May, as in 2021. The Ministry of Labour decision hasn’t been issued yet.

— Kathy