Greece Event Calendar

The festivals worth planning a trip around. Dates follow their traditional pattern; confirm the exact days before booking travel.

Athens Epidaurus Festival

Athens and Epidaurus · Every summer, roughly June through August; running since 1955

The Athens Epidaurus Festival is Greece's great summer arts festival, running since 1955. Ancient drama, opera, dance and concerts play in the two most storied venues in the country: the Odeon of Herodes Atticus under the Acropolis, and the ancient theatre of Epidaurus in the Peloponnese.

The Epidaurus performances, tragedies under the stars in the 4th-century BC theatre, are the ones to plan a trip around. Book tickets on the festival's official site; the famous productions sell out.

The King Carnival float in Georgiou I Square, Patras

Patras Carnival

Patras, Western Greece · Mid-January through Clean Monday (start of Lent); every year for 180+ years

The Patras Carnival (Patrino Karnavali) is the largest carnival in Greece and one of the largest in Europe, running for more than 180 years. The season opens on January 17 with a ceremony in Georgiou I Square and runs through Clean Monday, the first day of Lent.

The final weekend is the peak: the night parade on Saturday, the Grand Parade with satirical floats on Sunday, and the burning of the Carnival King at the harbor. Book accommodation early: the city fills up.

Athens Marathon. The Authentic

Marathon to Athens · Early November, every year

The Athens Marathon runs the original route: from the town of Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, 42.195 km along the course of the legend of Pheidippides and the first Olympic marathon of 1896.

Even for non-runners, race weekend is worth being in Athens for: the finish inside the marble stadium is one of sport's great spectacles. Registration opens months ahead and the shorter races sell out.

Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Thessaloniki · November, every year

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival is the major film festival of the Balkans, held every November with screenings centered on the Olympion on Aristotelous Square and the port warehouses.

Its roots go back to the Week of Greek Cinema in 1960; the Golden Alexander is its top prize. The city is at its liveliest during the ten days.

Ohi Day

Nationwide; the great parade is in Thessaloniki · October 28, every year

Ohi Day (the 'Day of No') is Greece's national day, marking October 28, 1940, when Greece rejected Mussolini's ultimatum and entered World War II. It is a public holiday with military and student parades in every town.

The great military parade is in Thessaloniki. Expect closed streets, flags everywhere and a genuinely felt patriotism; museums are free and open.

Orthodox Easter

Nationwide · Holy Week; the date moves every year (spring)

Orthodox Easter is the biggest religious feast in Greece, and its date moves every year, usually falling after Western Easter. Holy Week builds through the Epitaphios processions of Good Friday to the midnight Resurrection service on Saturday night.

At midnight, the priest's 'Christos Anesti' is answered with fireworks and the cracking of red eggs. Sunday is the lamb feast. Corfu's Easter, with the pot-smashing of Holy Saturday, is the famous one; Hydra, Patmos and the villages have their own rites. Confirm the year's dates before booking.

Kalamata International Dance Festival

Kalamata, Peloponnese · Every July, about ten days; running since 1995

The Kalamata International Dance Festival is Greece's great contemporary dance festival, run by the city's International Dance Centre (founded 1995) with support from the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Kalamata. International companies and choreographers perform at the Kalamata Dance Megaron, with free open-air performances in the main square and dance events in other Peloponnesian cities.

It usually runs for about ten days in mid to late July. Many of the outdoor performances are free; the theatre performances sell through the festival site.

Xanthi Carnival

Xanthi, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace · February or March every year, with the three-week Apokries season; the 2026 edition was the 61st

The Xanthi Carnival, the Thracian Folklore Festivals, is one of Greece's great carnivals: weeks of events run by the Municipality of Xanthi, ending with the grand parade and the burning of the Carnival King. The dates move with Orthodox Easter, falling in February or March.

The old town is the heart of it: tobacco-merchant mansions, lantern-lit lanes and folklore troupes from across the Balkans. It is the main reason to visit northern Greece in late winter.

The Byzantine tower at Nea Fokea, Kassandra

Sani Festival

Sani, Chalkidiki, Central Macedonia · Every summer, roughly mid-July to mid-August; running since 1992

The Sani Festival brings international artists to Sani Hill on the Kassandra peninsula: rooted in jazz (the first edition was in 1992), the program now spans jazz, classical, world music, pop and Greek music, in an open-air amphitheater over the Aegean.

It runs across several weeks from mid-July to mid-August. Book the big-name nights ahead; the hill setting is one of the great festival venues in Greece.

Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival

Thessaloniki · Every March; the 2026 edition was the 28th

The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival is one of Europe's leading documentary festivals, founded in 1999 and organized by the same institution as the November film festival. Screenings center on the Olympion on Aristotelous Square and the restored warehouses of the port.

The Golden Alexander winner earns an Academy Award-qualifying spot. It is the film-lover's reason to visit Thessaloniki in early spring.

Ifestia

Santorini, South Aegean · Every year in late summer, usually August; confirm the date

Ifestia is Santorini's volcano festival: a celebration of the island's volcanic origins organized by the Municipality of Thira, ending with a spectacular fireworks display over the caldera that reenacts the Minoan eruption.

The date moves year to year (usually August, sometimes September), so confirm before planning around it. Watch from Fira or Oia, or from a boat on the caldera.

A Byzantine mosaic inside the Palace of the Grand Master, Rhodes

Medieval Rose Festival

Rhodes old town, South Aegean · Every year in late May; running since 2006

The Medieval Rose Festival turns the walled old town of Rhodes into a medieval fair for several days each late May: knights, parades, jousting, archery, reenactments of the Knights of St. John era and markets inside the walls and around the Palace of the Grand Master.

It is the best reason to visit Rhodes in spring, before the summer crowds arrive.

Molyvos International Music Festival

Molyvos, Lesbos, North Aegean · Every August; founded in 2015

The Molyvos International Music Festival is one of Greece's most prestigious classical music events: young international soloists join established names for chamber concerts in the Byzantine castle above Molyvos, plus free 'musical moments' around the village.

It runs for about a week every August. The castle concerts are the essential ticket; the village pop-ups are free.

Yakinthia

Anogeia, Crete · Every July, usually the first days of the month

Yakinthia is the mountain arts festival of Anogeia: concerts, theatre and dance around the chapel of Agios Yakinthos on the slopes of Mount Psiloritis, blending Cretan musical tradition with the music of Greece and the Mediterranean.

It runs for a few days around the saint's feast day in early July. The setting, over 1,200 metres up with the summit behind, is half the experience.

Matala Beach Festival

Matala, Crete · Every June, three days; running since 2011

The Matala Beach Festival revives the village's 1960s hippie legend: three days of free concerts on the beach under the famous caves, with street art, workshops and a market. It has grown into one of Europe's biggest free music festivals.

It runs Friday to Sunday in June. Book accommodation early: Matala is small and fills completely.

Miaoulia

Hydra, Attica · Every year in the last week of June

Miaoulia is Hydra's great festival: a week of events honoring Admiral Andreas Miaoulis and the island's role in the Greek War of Independence, ending with fireworks and the reenactment of the burning of the Ottoman flagship in the harbor.

It is the island's largest annual event; hotels and restaurants book out well in advance.

Palamidi and Nafplio from the Argolic Gulf

Nafplio Festival

Nafplio, Peloponnese · Every year at the end of June, about ten days; running since 1991

The Nafplio Festival is one of Greece's great classical music festivals: ten days of concerts at the end of June in the town's historic venues, from Palamidi fortress and the Bourtzi to the Vouleftikon, the first Hellenic parliament. It has been honored by the Hellenic Association of Music Critics.

Combine it with the Epidaurus performances nearby for a full Peloponnesian music week.

Check the best time to visit before you plan ›