Current Time in Athens

Greece is one of the EU countries on Eastern European Time, along with Finland, the Baltic states, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus. Because the EU fixes the change at 1:00 AM UTC, the clocks in Athens jump at 3:00 AM local time, an hour later on the clock than in Paris but in the same instant.

On the spring night the hour from 3:00 to 4:00 AM simply does not exist in Athens, and on the autumn night the hour from 3:00 to 4:00 AM happens twice. Night ferries and overnight flights keep their departure times, so a crossing that night may seem an hour shorter or longer on the clock.

Inside the EU the gap never moves: Athens is always one hour ahead of Berlin and two ahead of London. Istanbul is the city that surprises people. Turkey stays on UTC+3 all year, so it is one hour ahead of Athens in winter and level with it in summer.

Cairo also uses Eastern European Time but changes on its own dates, at the end of April and the end of October, so for a few weeks each spring Athens is an hour ahead of Cairo; the Cairo clock shows Egypt's dates.

Greek business hours often run later into the evening than in northern Europe, and many shops close for a few hours in the afternoon. When you plan a call from London or Paris, an early afternoon slot in Western Europe usually falls in the middle of the Athens afternoon, two or one hour later on the clock.