This is a special holiday because it is a national holiday but also a religious one. Greek Orthodox celebrate the annunciation of the Virgin.
In our opinion it is one of the best periods to visit Athens and this year it is even better because the holiday is on a Monday. This long weekend will allow most Greeks to escape the capital leaving room to visitors to enjoy a festive Athens.
Let’s start with the weather:
Temperature is expected to be between 18 and 20oC whereas no rain is forecasted!
Parade
There are two separate parades in the center of Athens. On the 24th schools will parade and on the 25th the military. Due to these events there will be changes in the traffic around Syntagma between 10am and the end of the parade. Particularly, Leoforos Amalias, Leoforos Vasilisis Sofias, Leoforos Geogriou, Leoforos Olgas, Panepistimiou, and Syggrou will be closed. Details here:
https://www.iefimerida.gr/english/25th-march-roads-central-athens-close
On the 25th the parade starts at 11 am but traffic changes will start very early. If you visit the center we recommend you walk and avoid commute long distances. In all reality this is a beautiful day to stay around the center. There are a lot of people and the atmosphere is quite festive.
Museums
Celebrations include also four museums that are free to the public on that day. Acropolis museum, Benaki museum, the National Gallery and the National Historical museum. Check the museums websites for hours.
The dish of the day
Cod is the dish of the day. The most popular version is cod with garlic sauce (our favorite too). Another version is baked in the oven with potatoes and tomato sauce. Eating fish on the 25th of March is actually related to the religious aspect of the day. Eating cod goes back a few centuries when fresh fish was not easily available to parts of the mainland. Preserved cod was a solution for the mainlanders who wanted to follow the tradition on this important for Orthodox Greeks holiday but did not have access to fresh fish.
0 Comments