Shopping hours are a somewhat complicated matter in
Greece as they vary according to the type of business. The
list below covers the main areas but bear in mind that this is subject
to sudden arbitrary and often incomprehensible changes in the law.
Generally the hours between 2.00pm and 5.30pm are dedicated to lunch and
the sacred afternoon siesta, especially in the hot summer. Tourist shops
may stay open, so do many kiosks, all
the supermarkets, main post-offices and telephone offices.
Apart from kiosks, sweet shops, florists and many tourist shops everything
is closed on Sundays.
Supermarkets
Open at 8.00 am and close at 8.00 pm in winter and 9.00 pm from April to end
of October. Saturday they close at 6.00 pm and are closed on Sundays and
holidays.
All shops (with the
exception of the ones listed separately)
Shops open around 9.00 am and close around 1.30 or 2.00 pm Monday to Saturday.
On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday they are also open from around 6.00
pm to 9.00 pm. Always closed on Sundays and holidays.
Offices (with the
exception of the ones listed separately)
Most offices keep the same times as shops but they are often closed on Saturday.
Petrol stations
Generally open throughout the day until evening Monday to Saturday. Only very
few are open after 10.00 pm. On Sundays and holidays some are open and some
are closed so you may have to drive a bit before you find an open one.
Post-offices
The main post-offices are open Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm and
Saturday 8.00 till 2.00 pm. Other post-offices will generally be open from
8.00 till 2.00 only from Monday to Friday.
Telephone offices
The main phone office in Chania is open from very early morning to midnight
for international calls, telegrams (who needs this nowadays?) and similar
services. The administrative offices of OTE are open in the morning only.
Pharmacies
Pharmacies keep normal shop hours Monday to Friday. They are closed on Saturdays.
If you need a chemist on closing days or at night you can see which one is
open (there are generally a few in larger towns) in the list displayed in
the window of every pharmacy. The list is in Greek however. The best solution
is probably to take a taxi to the nearest one. An alternative is to find
the open pharmacy online (for
Chania only).
Kiosks
There is almost always a kiosk open somewhere, night and day, at least in the
cities
Tourist shops
Tourist shops are not requested by law to keep normal shop hours so the opening
times vary widely. They will often stay open later in the evening (11.00
pm) and will also open on Sundays. This applies to the tourist seaon only.
Garages
Most mechanics work from around 8.00 pm to 4.00 pm Mondays to Friday. Some
open on Saturday morning as well.
|
