Early December 1 December
62°F
Typical afternoon high
25% historical wet-day frequency
Greece · City
Athens & Attica
in December.
Is December a good time?
Cool days.
Similar overnight stays to November.
December averages 59°F afternoons and 65°F seas, with about 7 rain days. Later December is typically cooler.
- Afternoons
- 59°F
- Sea
- 65°F
- Visitor demand
- 41%of August peak
Historical Attiki regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers Athens, Acropolis and Cape Sounion; conditions vary within the region.
Overall match
8.0/10 · scores & prioritiesWhat matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
#6 of 12 months here · Balanced mix
Weather7.4/10Very good
CrowdsModerate seasonvs its own year; overnight stays do not measure queues
CostModeratefor Europe; Greece-wide price level
Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.
Plan your December
What to expect.
What should I pack?
Afternoons around 59°F (15°C): light layers; nights around 46°F (8°C): a warm coat. About 10 hours of daylight. About 7 rain days in a typical December.
Can I swim in December?
The sea averages 65°F. Our swimming guide: fresh: fine once you are in. Your comfort will vary. This is open water near the coast, not a beach-specific reading.
Monthly coastal averages from NOAA, 2011–2025. Sea temperature is separate from the weather and Overall scores.
A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights, sea temperature & daylight Show detailsHide details
About 10 hours of daylight.
The sun rises about 07:34 and sets about 17:08 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 46°F (8°C); afternoons reach about 59°F (15°C). Expect rain on about 7 days in a typical December.
Typical afternoon
59°F (15°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Decembers
Night low
46°F (8°C)
average daily minimum
Sea
65°F (18°C)
fresh; open water near the coast, NOAA satellite record 2011–2025
Daylight
9h 34m
on the 15th, computed from latitude
Early, middle or late?
Early or late December?
Early December is typically warmer. The afternoon high averages 62°F on the 1st, versus 57°F on the 31st.
Mid December 15 December
59°F
Typical afternoon high
21% historical wet-day frequency
Late December 31 December
57°F
Typical afternoon high
23% historical wet-day frequency
Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.
Public holidays · 2026: 25 Dec Christmas Day; 26 Dec Glorifying Mother of God.
Daily calendar & holiday datesDecember 2026 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar
December 2026 calendar
Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2026.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 162° | 262° | 362° | 462° | 562° | 662° | |
| 761° | 861° | 961° | 1061° | 1160° | 1260° | 1360° |
| 1460° | 1559° | 1659° | 1759° | 1859° | 1959° | 2059° |
| 2159° | 2258° | 2358° | 2458° | 2557° | 2657° | 2757° |
| 2857° | 2957° | 3057° | 3157° |
Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event
Afternoons cool from about 62°F (17°C) in the first week to 57°F (14°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 17–28%. Local schools are out 24–31 December 2026.
Schools here are off 24–31 December 2026 (Christmas holidays). Public holidays: 25 Dec Christmas Day; 26 Dec Glorifying Mother of God. Elsewhere in December 2026, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: France 39%, Germany 29%, Italy 35%, Spain 32%. (School holidays: official calendar, compiled by Bigfoot Wanders; other countries from OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Crowds, cost and getting there
Visitor season
Will it be busy?
Moderate season. December averages 41% of August's overnight stays per day. Similar overnight stays to November.
Overnight stays across Attiki do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights.
Hotel price season
Will it be cheaper?
About usual. Estimated from national hotel prices and local visitor demand; no measured regional room rate is available.
Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.
Greece as a whole
Below EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 86 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
Recorded US nonstop flights · 2024
Recorded this month
from Newark and New York JFK; 2024 schedule, Eurostat
Year-to-year variation
How much does December vary?
Across the recorded years
In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 54°F (12°C) and 63°F (17°C); in 10 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 59°F (15°C). Rain days ranged from 0 to 12; half the years had 4–10.
Rain days in each December
Rain days
7
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 11 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
9 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no December in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
22 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded DecemberHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
| Year | Afternoon high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 59°F | 5 |
| 2012 | 59°F | 10 |
| 2013 | 56°F | 7 |
| 2014 | 60°F | 12 |
| 2015 | 60°F | 0 |
| 2016 | 54°F | 3 |
| 2017 | 60°F | 4 |
| 2018 | 56°F | 11 |
| 2019 | 60°F | 7 |
| 2020 | 62°F | 8 |
| 2021 | 58°F | 11 |
| 2022 | 63°F | 1 |
| 2023 | 63°F | 8 |
| 2024 | 60°F | 9 |
| 2025 | 61°F | 5 |
Checked against official climate averages for Athens Elliniko. How we check
Compare dates
November, December
or January?
| Typical conditions | Nov | Dec | Jan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 67°F | 59°F | 56°F |
| Sea | 69°F | 65°F | 61°F |
| Rain days | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| Overnight demand | 41% | 41% | 33% |
November: Warmer afternoons and warmer sea than December. November guide →
January: Cooler afternoons and cooler sea than December. Less overnight demand. January guide →
Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues. Sea temperatures are monthly coastal averages.
Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with December Show comparisonHide comparison
Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. December stays as your reference.
November has a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than December, without a substantially busier visitor season.
Your comparison
December or November?
Overnight stays are 41% of the busiest month.
National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest about usual. No measured regional room rate is available.
Read the November guide →| Typical conditions | December | November |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 59°F | 67°F |
| Nights | 46°F | 53°F |
| Sea | 65°F | 69°F |
| Rain days | 7 | 6 |
| Visitor season | Moderate season | Moderate season |
| Overall / 10 | 8.0 | 8.9 |
| Month rank | #6 | #1 |
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
| Month | Overall | Rank | High | Low | Sea | Rain days | Weather | Visitor season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.0 | #8 | 56°F | 43°F | 61°F | 7 | 7.0 | Low season |
| February | 8.0 | #7 | 59°F | 44°F | 60°F | 7 | 7.3 | Moderate season |
| March | 8.3 | #5 | 65°F | 47°F | 60°F | 5 | 8.7 | Moderate season |
| April | 8.6 | #3 | 73°F | 51°F | 62°F | 4 | 10.0 | Busy season |
| May | 8.3 | #4 | 82°F | 58°F | 66°F | 4 | 9.7 | Busy season |
| June | 6.7 | #10 | 91°F | 67°F | 73°F | 3 | 7.5 | Peak season |
| July | 5.9 | #12 | 97°F | 72°F | 78°F | 0 | 6.2 | Peak season |
| August | 6.1 | #11 | 95°F | 72°F | 79°F | 1 | 6.6 | Peak season |
| September | 7.3 | #9 | 88°F | 66°F | 78°F | 2 | 8.4 | Peak season |
| October | 8.7 | #2 | 76°F | 59°F | 74°F | 3 | 10.0 | Moderate season |
| November | 8.9 | #1 | 67°F | 53°F | 69°F | 6 | 9.2 | Moderate season |
| December | 8.0 | #6 | 59°F | 46°F | 65°F | 7 | 7.4 | Moderate season |
Near here
Nearby places in December
Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.
Central Greece & EviaGreece · about 70 miles
Balanced Overall 5.4 · Fair weather, 57°F (14°C) · Low season · Cost moderate
PeloponneseGreece · about 70 miles
Balanced Overall 6.0 · Fair weather, 59°F (15°C) · Low season · Cost cheap
Meteora, Pelion & the SporadesThessaly · Greece · about 140 miles
Balanced Overall 5.0 · Fair weather, 55°F (13°C) · Low season · Cost moderate
Santorini, Mykonos & the Greek islandsGreece · about 170 miles
Balanced Overall 5.7 · Good weather, 63°F (17°C) · Off season · Cost cheap
Corfu & the Ionian IslandsGreece · about 180 miles
Balanced Overall 5.3 · Fair weather, 61°F (16°C) · Off season · Cost cheap
Elsewhere in Europe
Same dates, elsewhere in Europe
Athens & Attica's weather ranks 3 of 41 city regions this month. We found no city regions outside Greece with a weather score at least 1.0 point higher on these dates.
How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details
It's moderate season, 41% of the busiest month and 36% below its average month.The figures cover the whole Attiki region, suburbs included. That means about 22,000 overnight visitors on a typical December night across the region, 35% of them from Greece itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 19,000 more: 83 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.
| Climate suitability (HCI:Urban, 0–100) | 72 |
| How our weather was checked | Official climate averages for Athens Elliniko from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 2°F (1.1°C), night lows within 1°F (0.7°C). |
| Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day | 6 |
| Busiest month here | August · 14 |
| Visitors as share of people present | 0.6% |
| Rank among Europe's regions this month | 34th percentile |
| Domestic share of nights | 35% |
| Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights | 83 |
| Visitor share if every platform night were extra | 1.1% |
| National hotel-price season | Greece historical 2024–2025 index: A little below usual (−9% vs its average month). Not a local room quote. |
| Population used | 3.8 million |
| Statistical region | EL30 · Attiki |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national. Full method · this region's data.