Marrying in Athens
Athens offers a ceremony terrace with the Parthenon in view, in a city that has hosted important occasions for 2,500 years. Athens Venizelos Airport is among the best connected in Greece, which makes the city the most practical Greek choice for guests from outside Europe.
Wedding geography splits between the city and the Athens Riviera. In the city, neoclassical mansions in Kolonaki and Plaka, rooftop terraces in Monastiraki and converted industrial buildings in Psyrri and Metaxourgeio give the backdrop. The Riviera runs south along the Saronic Gulf through Glyfada, Vouliagmeni and Varkiza, with hotel estates and private beach clubs.
The practical case is year-round access and the option of a city ceremony with a coastal reception on the same day. Athens does not depend on the island season, and the Riviera hotels open for ten months of the year.
The seasons
- Best
- Shoulder
- Peak
- Quieter
5 Star view Our reading of the wedding year, from the months below.
- Best months
- April to June and September to November
- Shoulder season
- February to March and December
- Peak season
- July and August
Athens has a milder climate than the islands and a longer workable season. Spring, from April to June, is widely seen as best. September and October suit the Riviera, with a warm sea, fewer crowds and good autumn light for photographs. July and August are hot in the city interior, regularly above 38 degrees Celsius, so Riviera venues work better than city terraces. Winter suits city-format weddings.
Daylight and sunset
The bar runs from sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month. A ceremony is usually timed an hour or two before the sunset shown.
Calculated From the coordinates of Athens, local time, for 2027.
Ramadan and Eid
For couples and guests who observe them, the dates to plan a wedding around.
| Year | Ramadan | Eid al-Fitr | Eid al-Adha |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 8 Feb to 8 Mar | 9 Mar | 16 May |
| 2028 | 28 Jan to 25 Feb | 26 Feb | 5 May |
Calculated From the Umm al-Qura calendar. The observed dates follow the sighting of the moon and can fall a day either side.
The areas of Athens
Acropolis and Plaka
The historic centre below the Acropolis. Properties in Plaka and Monastiraki have terraces looking straight at the rock. The Acropolis is a protected UNESCO site and cannot be hired, but nearby properties give the strongest backdrop for an outdoor ceremony.
Kolonaki and Lycabettus
A residential district below Lycabettus, the highest point in the city. Neoclassical mansions are available for exclusive hire, and a chapel on the summit can host ceremonies with city views.
Athens Riviera (Vouliagmeni and Glyfada)
The coast running south along the Saronic Gulf, a drive from the airport. Hotel estates and a lake complex at Vouliagmeni make up the coastal wedding market, with clear water and pine-covered headlands.
Sounion peninsula
The headland at the southern tip of Attica, where the fifth-century BC Temple of Poseidon stands on a cliff above the Aegean. Several properties nearby use it as a backdrop, though it is harder to reach than the Riviera.
What venues are like
Rooftop terrace venue
The defining Athens city format: a terrace in Monastiraki, Plaka or Thissio with direct sight lines to the illuminated Acropolis, the city lights below and the Aegean horizon on clear days.
Neoclassical mansion
Nineteenth-century properties in Kolonaki, Kifissia and Psychiko, available for exclusive hire. They combine European classical revival design with a Greek urban character.
Riviera hotel estate
The hotel estates of Vouliagmeni and Glyfada, including a large one set in a peninsula pine forest, combine full resort infrastructure with direct sea access.
Airports and transfers
- Athens Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) Direct year-round flights from major UK airports with British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair and the Greek carriers. It is Athens's only civilian airport, so all arrivals route through it.
- Thessaloniki Macedonia (SKG)
- Heraklion Nikos Kazantzakis (HER)
- Chania Ioannis Daskalogiannis (CHQ)
- Santorini Thira (JTR)
- Mykonos (JMK)
- Rhodes Diagoras (RHO)
- Corfu Ioannis Kapodistrias (CFU)
- Zakynthos Dionysios Solomos (ZTH)
Athens Venizelos is the hub airport of Greece and the connection point for domestic island flights. The Riviera is a short road transfer, and the city centre is reached by metro on Line 3 or by road.
Marrying legally in Greece
Foreign couples marry in a civil ceremony at a Greek municipality. Residents abroad send the municipality a marriage licence or certificate of no impediment from their own country, with birth certificates and passport copies, apostilled and translated into Greek, and the municipality then fixes the date and time of the ceremony.
- 1Two months before, as a planning guide
Send the documents to the municipality
Choose the municipality where the ceremony will be held and send it, in person or by email, the licence or certificate of no impediment issued in your own country (naming both spouses and its period of validity), a recent birth certificate, a family status certificate where your country issues one, and a passport copy. Foreign documents must be originals, carry the Hague Apostille (or consular certification for other countries) and be translated into Greek by an accepted translator.
- 2Once the file is checked
Fix the date and licence
The municipality checks and signs the file and agrees the date and time of the ceremony with you. Under the national procedure the licence is granted by the mayor once a one-week objection period has passed without objection, and it is valid for 6 months.
- 3The day
The civil ceremony
Held by the municipality. The marriage is then registered with the Greek civil registry.
- Residency
- not required for the civil ceremony at a municipality that accepts non-residents
- Home-country paper
- licence or certificate of no impediment naming both spouses
- Documents
- apostilled, originals, translated into Greek
- Objection period
- 1 week
- Licence validity
- 6 months
Already married at home?5 Star view
Many couples complete the legal or religious marriage in their own country and hold the celebration here. A ceremony with no legal effect needs none of the steps above: the venue and the planner arrange it.
Who needs a visa
Travelling from the United States
American citizens visit Greece without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period under Schengen rules. The European Union's ETIAS travel authorisation will be required of visa-exempt visitors, Americans included, once it is operating; it is not yet operating and no start date has been announced.
Travelling from the United Kingdom
British passport holders visit Greece without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area. The passport must have been issued less than 10 years before arrival and be valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave. The European Union's Entry/Exit System registers fingerprints and a photograph at the border on a first visit.
Other nationalities
EU and EEA nationals need no visa. Other nationalities check with the Greek embassy or consulate in their country.
Reference National Registry of Administrative Public Services (en.mitos.gov.gr): issue of a marriage licence for foreign residents in Greece, read 2026-10-21. Municipality of Chania civil marriages office: documents for foreigners residing abroad (September 2023), read 2026-10-21. gov.uk: Greece entry requirements, read 2026-10-21. Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu), read 2026-10-21. Checked 21 October 2026. Rules change: confirm with the authority that will marry you before you book.
Accommodation
Athens combines grand historic hotels in the centre with boutique design hotels in Monastiraki, Psiri and Koukaki around the Acropolis.
At the table
Athens dining runs from traditional taverna cooking to contemporary Greek cuisine, with rooftop restaurants around the Acropolis and lively street-food markets.
Mezze and fresh fish in Monastiraki
The lanes around Monastiraki square and the ancient Agora are lined with mezze restaurants serving grilled halloumi, spanakopita, grilled sardines and taramasalata. It suits a relaxed rehearsal dinner.
Rooftop dining
Rooftop restaurants in central Athens look to the Acropolis, most striking in the evening when the monument is lit.
Souvlaki
Street souvlaki, wrapped in warm pita with tomato, onion and tzatziki, is best from the grill shops of Monastiraki and Psiri, open late into the night.
Athenian coffee culture
What planners tell couples
Getting there
Athens Venizelos has direct scheduled flights from London Heathrow, Gatwick and other UK and European airports all year, and the metro links it to the city centre.
Athens as a wedding destination
Athens suits couples who want a cultural city setting rather than a beach or island. A civil ceremony needs documents filed in advance with the relevant municipality.
The Acropolis and archaeology
The Acropolis, the ancient Agora, the Temple of Hephaestus and the National Archaeological Museum can fill several days around the wedding. In summer, early morning visits avoid the crowds and the heat.
City heat in summer
Outdoor ceremonies in July and August belong in the early evening, with shade, cold water and good ventilation for guests.
