Athens weather by month & the best time to visit
🇬🇷 Greece · major coastal city · Mediterranean climate
The best time to visit Athens is August — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 95/100), with June and May close behind. Athens averages about 2,907 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 32°C / 90°F and roughly 8 mm of rain in August.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,907
- Sunniest month
- August
- Peak score
- 95/100
- Rain / year
- 500 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 10 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 27°C / 81°F
- Population
- 3.2M
- Elevation
- 81 m
When is the best time to visit Athens?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Athens is August, then June and May. The dullest month is January (28/100, 66 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Athens?
Athens gets a lot of sun: around 2,907 hours a year. 67 Sunshine Score points separate August (95) from January (28), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #18 of 40 destinations in Greece for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,896 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around December, carries about 44% of the annual 500 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28 | 12° / 54°F | 7° / 45°F | 66 mm | 2 | 16° / 61°F |
| February | 36 | 13° / 55°F | 7° / 45°F | 58 mm | 3 | 15° / 59°F |
| March | 58 | 16° / 61°F | 9° / 48°F | 53 mm | 4 | 15° / 59°F |
| April | 83 | 19° / 66°F | 11° / 52°F | 30 mm | 6 | 17° / 63°F |
| May | 92 | 25° / 77°F | 16° / 61°F | 21 mm | 7 | 18° / 64°F |
| June | 93 | 30° / 86°F | 20° / 68°F | 20 mm | 9 | 23° / 73°F |
| July | 85 | 33° / 91°F | 23° / 73°F | 11 mm | 10 | 26° / 79°F |
| August | 95 | 32° / 90°F | 23° / 73°F | 8 mm | 9 | 27° / 81°F |
| September | 91 | 28° / 82°F | 20° / 68°F | 29 mm | 7 | 25° / 77°F |
| October | 87 | 23° / 73°F | 16° / 61°F | 49 mm | 4 | 23° / 73°F |
| November | 70 | 18° / 64°F | 12° / 54°F | 69 mm | 2 | 20° / 68°F |
| December | 40 | 14° / 57°F | 9° / 48°F | 86 mm | 1 | 17° / 63°F |
Sea temperature in Athens by month
The sea off Athens is warmest in August at around 27°C / 81°F, and coolest in February at 15°C / 59°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly 5 months a year. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Athens on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Mykonos Greece · 136 km · best in Jul · 2,897 h sun/yr
- Skiathos Greece · 143 km · best in Aug · 2,524 h sun/yr
- Kalamata Greece · 195 km · best in May · 2,737 h sun/yr
- Santorini Greece · 218 km · best in Jun · 3,012 h sun/yr
- Patras Greece · 222 km · best in Jul · 2,829 h sun/yr
- Samos Greece · 262 km · best in Jul · 3,081 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Syros Greece · 105 km · 2,874 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Skiros Greece · 124 km · 2,653 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Paros Greece · 145 km · 2,895 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Milos Greece · 146 km · 3,031 h sun/yr · best in Jul
Head-to-head
How Athens compares month by month: Athens vs Kalamata · Athens vs Mykonos · Athens vs Skiathos · all comparisons
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