Christmas in Greece is nothing like the summer postcard. Mountain villages fill with wood smoke and fairy lights, Athens and Thessaloniki put up their giant trees, ski centres open on Parnassos and Kalavryta, and families sit down to long lunches of roast pork, melomakarona and kourabiedes. This guide brings together the 12 best places to spend Christmas 2026 in Greece, from snowy villages to city breaks and thermal springs, with what to do in each, where to stay and how to get there from the UK.
Planning Christmas in Greece from the UK?
Mild cities, snowy mountains. Athens, the Peloponnese coast and Crete usually stay mild in December, so you can walk around the Acropolis or Nafplio in a light coat. Drive two or three hours inland and you reach the mountains of central and northern Greece, where snow is common and the villages look like Christmas cards.
Traditions you will not find in London. On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve children go door to door singing the kalanda with triangles. Many squares and homes decorate a karavaki, a small lit-up boat that recalls Greece’s sea-going history, alongside the tree. On New Year’s Day families cut the vasilopita, the cake with a lucky coin inside, and on 6 January the Epiphany Blessing of the Waters sees swimmers dive into harbours and lakes to retrieve a cross.
Food and philoxenia. Christmas is the season of christopsomo (Christ bread), melomakarona with honey and walnuts, powdered kourabiedes and hearty mountain dishes. In village tavernas you will be treated less like a tourist and more like a returning cousin.
Fewer crowds. Delphi, Meteora and Mystras are quiet in winter, and you can see them at your own pace without the summer queues.
The capital is the easiest Christmas trip from the UK, with direct flights from every London airport. Syntagma Square gets the city’s big tree and a Christmas village, Plaka and Monastiraki glow in the evenings, and the museums and ancient sites are almost empty. It also works as a base for day trips to Delphi or Nafplio. Read our full guide to Christmas in Athens 2026, and for a central place to stay see Novotel Athens.
Greece’s second city has the liveliest Christmas atmosphere in the north. The big tree goes up in Aristotelous Square and is usually lit in early December, the waterfront from the White Tower is lit for evening walks, and the food scene, from bougatsa at breakfast to meze in Ladadika, is reason enough to go. Direct flights run from London, and the ski centres of Kaimaktsalan and Vasilitsa are within reach by car. See our Thessaloniki travel guide.
This year the city’s Christmas village moves to Ancient Agora Square, a few minutes uphill from Aristotelous Square. According to local press, it will have around 50 wooden huts selling gifts, sweets and decorations, a 250 square metre ice rink, a carousel and a lit up boat, and it runs from 9 December 2026 to 7 January 2027, with the official opening planned for 12 December. Dates can still change, so check with the Municipality of Thessaloniki before you fly.
Beyond the market, walk through the covered Modiano market for festive treats, and be in Ladadika on Christmas Eve, when local bands go from street to street singing the kalanda. The Thessaloniki Concert Hall usually has a full Christmas programme of ballet and concerts, which makes a good plan for a cold evening.
The Christmas table in the north of Greece is its own thing. Pork with celery in an egg and lemon sauce and lahanodolmades, cabbage leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice, are the classic Christmas dishes of Macedonia, and many families still make both. For dessert, Thessaloniki is the city of trigona Panoramatos, crisp filo cones filled with cream, and of tsoureki and kourabiedes from its old pastry shops. If you are eating out, the tavernas of Ladadika and the old town of Ano Poli are the most atmospheric choice. Book ahead for 24, 25 and 31 December, when many restaurants serve set festive menus and the best tables go weeks in advance.
On the shore of Lake Pamvotis, Ioannina combines a misty lakeside, an Ottoman-era castle and an old town lit up for the holidays. Take the boat to the little island in the lake, try Epirus pies and tsipouro by the fire, and drive up to the stone villages of Zagori for a winter walk. The 5-star Grand Serai is the classic place to stay. More in our Ioannina travel guide, or see holiday hotel offers for Ioannina.
Christmas in Ioannina is quieter than in Thessaloniki but full of character. The old town inside the castle walls and the lakeside promenade are decorated for the season, and in recent years brass bands and clarinets have played through the old town streets over the holidays. Eat the Epirus way, with pies, trout from the lake and tsipouro, and keep a day for the snowy stone villages of Zagori, such as Monodendri and Papingo. Ioannina has its own airport with domestic flights from Athens, or it is around four and a half hours by car.
The mythical mountain of the Centaurs is one of the best Christmas destinations in Greece. Portaria and Makrinitsa, with their stone mansions and cobbled squares, are decorated for the season, the Agriolefkes ski centre is close by, and tavernas serve spetsofai and tsipouro. Below the mountain, the port city of Volos adds a lit-up waterfront, Christmas markets and a children’s Santa village. Maritsa’s Hotel & Suites in Portaria’s main square is a popular boutique choice. See holiday hotel offers for Pelion.
Often called the “Switzerland of Greece”, Karpenisi sits among fir forests below Mount Tymfristos. Ski or snowshoe at the Velouchi ski centre, wander the stone villages of Megalo Chorio and Mikro Chorio, visit Proussos Monastery and warm up with kontosouvli and trahana soup. The 5-star Montana Hotel & Spa, a few minutes from town, is a favourite for families. See holiday hotel offers for Karpenisi.
The heart of Christmas in Karpenisi is Markos Botsaris Square, where the town tree goes up every December and the lighting night brings bands, carols and families out into the cold. Megalo Chorio and Mikro Chorio are lit up too, and their tavernas and kafeneia are the place to warm up after a day at Velouchi, which is a short drive above the town. Karpenisi is around three and a half hours by car from Athens, and the road climbs into snow country in the last stretch, so check the forecast and carry chains in a hire car.
Greece’s biggest ski area is just over two hours from Athens. Arachova, the “Mykonos of winter”, is the stylish base, with chalets, wine bars and a busy main street, while Delphi is a 15-minute drive away for a quiet morning among the ruins. See holiday hotel offers for Parnassos.
A family-friendly ski centre on Mount Helmos, the Odontotos rack railway through the Vouraikos Gorge and the Monastery of Agia Lavra, where the 1821 revolution is said to have begun, make Kalavryta a mix of snow and history. See holiday hotel offers for Kalavryta.
On the slopes of Mount Ziria, the three villages of Upper, Middle and Lower Trikala are a romantic, low-key choice: stone chalets with fireplaces, local wine and rakomelo, mountain walks and the small Ziria ski centre. Pleiadon Gi Mountain Resort & Spa is one of the best-known stays. See holiday hotel offers for Trikala Korinthias.
The Byzantine ghost town of Mystras, a UNESCO World Heritage Site below Mount Taygetos, is magical on a crisp winter morning, with its churches and palaces almost to yourself. Stay at Euphoria Retreat, a wellness spa two kilometres from the site, and eat rooster with hilopites and honey-soaked diples in the villages around Sparta.
Surrounded by the Agrafa mountains, Plastiras Lake is all calm water, fir forests and cosy guesthouses, with Koroni Monastery and the village of Kalyvia Pezoulas nearby. Down on the plain, Karditsa adds a festive main square and an ice rink in Pafsilipo Park. See holiday hotel offers for Plastiras Lake.
For a quiet, authentic Christmas, the forested mountains above Nafpaktos offer rivers, hiking trails and hillside villages such as Ano Chora, with guesthouses and fireplaces. Combine it with a day on the Venetian harbour of Nafpaktos. See holiday hotel offers for Mountainous Nafpaktia.
Bathing in warm thermal water with snow on the trees is one of the most memorable things you can do in Greece in winter. Loutra Pozar in Pella has open-air pools below Mount Kaimaktsalan and a ski centre nearby. Edipsos on the island of Evia, about two and a half hours from Athens, has spa hotels such as the historic Thermae Sylla. See holiday hotel offers for Loutra Pozar.
Kastoria, on Lake Orestiada, has Byzantine churches and mansions and a famous carnival-like festival, the Ragoutsaria, from 6 to 8 January. Metsovo, high in the Pindus, is known for its smoked cheese, wine and stone houses. Dimitsana, in the mountains of Arcadia, is a cobbled village above the Lousios Gorge that is perfect for walkers.
Athens, the islands and the south usually see daytime temperatures of around 10 to 15°C in December, with sunny spells and some rainy days. Thessaloniki and the north are colder, and the mountain destinations in this guide regularly drop below freezing, with snow most likely from late December to February. Ski centres open when there is enough snow, usually from mid-December, so check their websites before you go. Pack layers, waterproof shoes and, for the mountains, proper winter boots.
Greek schools are normally closed from just before Christmas until after Epiphany, so mountain hotels are busiest between 24 December and 6 January. Book early for those dates.
Most trips start with a direct flight from London to Athens or Thessaloniki. A practical rule: decide your dates first, then book the part that is hardest to replace, which for most people is the flight. Compare Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton rather than assuming one airport is cheapest, and check the baggage rules, because Christmas means gifts and a cheap fare stops being cheap once you add a hold bag each way. Flights around 20 to 23 December and the return weekend in early January sell out first.
Next comes the onward leg. The mountain destinations in this guide are two to four hours by car from Athens or Thessaloniki, so a hire car or a pre-booked transfer is the easiest option in winter, especially after a late arrival with children. For an island, check whether there is a direct flight in winter or whether you need to connect through Athens and take a ferry. Ferry timetables are reduced in winter and bad weather can delay or cancel sailings, so leave some slack in any plan that relies on a boat.
Book accommodation last, but not late. If you are not staying with family, hotels in Athens, Thessaloniki and the ski areas fill up for the school holidays between 24 December and 6 January.
Booking it yourself works well for a simple return flight. It gets harder with a family, several legs, or a mix of flights, ferries and hotels, and that is where a Greek speaking travel agency earns its place. Vozis Travel, a UK based travel agency and tour operator, handles flights, ferry tickets, hotels, holiday packages, car hire, travel insurance and airport transfers, in Greek or English.
Greek List member: Vozis Travel Ltd, Bletchley, Milton Keynes. Flights, ferries, hotels, packages and transfers with Greek and English support. Prefer not to fly? Read our guide to London to Greece by train.
Yes, if you want traditions, food and mountain scenery rather than beaches. Cities are mild and quiet, the mountains are snowy and festive, and prices outside 24 December to 6 January are lower than in summer.
Your best chances of snow are in the mountains: Arachova and Parnassos, Karpenisi, Kalavryta, Pelion, Metsovo and the villages around Ioannina. Snow is never guaranteed, so check the forecast before you travel.
Crete, Rhodes, Corfu and the bigger islands stay lived-in all year, but many hotels and tavernas on smaller islands close for winter and ferries run reduced timetables. For a festive atmosphere, the mainland is usually a better bet.
As early as you can. Flights from London for the days before Christmas and the early January return go first, followed by the best-placed mountain hotels.
Yes. In 2026 the city’s Christmas village is at Ancient Agora Square, close to Aristotelous Square, with around 50 wooden huts, an ice rink and a carousel. Local press reports it runs from 9 December 2026 to 7 January 2027, with the official opening planned for 12 December.
Staying in London this year? See the Greek Christmas parties in London 2026 and all Greek events in the UK.
Evangelos Kasapakis
