Athens at Easter

Sydney, Australia
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Athens at Easter
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We would like to experience a Greek Easter in 2011. What would Athens be like over the main Easter period? Are restaurants open? The ancient sites? Museums? or is it all closed?

We had considered Corfu but the costs of hotels are rather high in this period. Does Athens also have higher costs at Easter? Our normal budget is about €100 a night, more or less.

Sydney, Australia
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Come on people, this can't be too hard.

Athens
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HIya!

Well Athens in Easter will be a tad empty, quiet and, IMO, beautiful.

Archaeological sites and museums open after noon on Good Friday and are closed on Easter Sunday. Restaurants will certainly be open with the exception, perhaps, of some small, family run ones in case their owners wish to spend time with their families or visit their home towns/villages.

It's too soon to talk hotel prices, although I'm sure that if you research/book early you'll find something around your budget.

Athens, Greece
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Just to add Lynn, on Easter Saturday and Easter Monday specifically, opening times for arch sites and museum will revert to winter reduced times.

Athens is a huge cosmopolis, similar to Sydney in many ways {regarding pop/size}, there will be places open especially in the historical centre, but it will be unusually quiet as many of the Athenians will be away as Thalia added. If you want to experience some of the religious festivities, you can attend Easter church services on Good Friday and Easter Saturday.

If you and in or around Filipapou/Pnyx Hill {by the Acropolis} on Good Friday then you could attend a very traditional service at 12th c. Byzantine St Dimitris Loumbardiaris, which ends with the procession of the Epitaph along the Acropolis on Apostolou Pavlou, which then meets up with the other one from the beautiful Ag Marina church.

On Easter Saturday, from the Cathedral of Athens in Mitropoleos street, the Archbishop officially announces the rebirth> major fireworks and firecrackers follow.

Alternatively if you decide to leave Athens, make sure you make al the relevant bookings well in advance,

Edited: 11 years ago
Athens, Greece
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Diana – you probably know more about this, and maybe there's a special arrangement for the Easter midnight liturgy – but the Cathedral has been closed for regular services for nearly two years (?) now. You can still go in to light candles, but the regular Sunday liturgy is in Agios Dionysios Church, in Kolonaki. I think some services take place in the tiny Agios Eleutherios, right next to the Cathedral . Another activity which is really worth taking part in is the Agapi (Love) service which used to take place in the Cathedral about midday on Easter Sunday. When we used to come for the UK Easter school holiday we always tried to be in Athens for this: the church is full of priests (literally dozens!) in different coloured robes. Traditionally, the gospel is chanted in lots of different languages - it's wonderful to hear it in Arabic and Latin, and foreign visitors feel involved, too. I think (not sure though) that last year it took place in Agios Dionysios.

Athens
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If I recall correctly, the Good Saturday midnight celebrations take place outside so it doesn't mattter if the Cathedral is closed or open.

Agapi is indeed a very nice ceremony, if you aren't busy preparing the lamb! ;-)

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Thank you all for that input. Planning is in early days at the moment but that gives us an idea of what to expect.

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Oh yes, Thalia, you're quite right – it's a long time since I've seen the midnight festivities in the centre! I'd forgotten the big platform set up outside for the important people – the politicos who used to arrive just before midnight, then drove off almost as soon as their candles were lit. The priests brought the flame out from inside, so the early part of the service started inside, and I guess continued there afterwards, but most people don't stay till the end, and as you say, most visitors are outside. (The Metropol cafe, just across the square from the Cathedral, serves the traditional Mageiritsa soup at midnight!) I hadn't thought about preparing the lamb – but visitors to Athens won't have to do that, so they can go to the midday service, then eat the lamb in a taverna! Magic! In many (most?) churches the Agapi service is on Sunday evening – maybe it's only at midday in the centre?

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hi Nikoletta, the Cathedral has been closed for Sunday service since Jan 2009, when the ongoing renovations {since 1999} extended temporarily within. You are right, Little Mitropoli next to it, at is commonly known is used for Sunday service. Regarding Easter, I doubt it will be used within, although I assume Little Mitropoli will be used.

Athens
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To my knowledge, Agapi is around 11 or noon. Once when I was in Spetses and I didn't have any preparations to do I went to a very nice Monastery, stayed for Agapi, and then returned to find the lamb waiting on the table.

Edited: 11 years ago
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Yes, I always thought it was around noon, because of the one in the Cathedral. Though I guess all the priests were able to be there because it wasn't at the same time in their parishes! Once we'd been to the one in Athens, and later we went to the one at Agios Spyridon in Peiraeus, where we were staying, at about 6.00 pm. It was a bit disappointing! About six people there, including us, and no foreign languages. I guess everyone was sleeping off the lamb! Last year in my own parish here – Agios Artemios – it was at 5.30 pm, and they gave out red eggs afterwards.

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