Greek Independence Day

Booking a hotel near Syntagma early

Book early and book central. The 25 March holiday hands many Greek families a long weekend, and the rooms that make parade morning easy are the first to go: the hotels lining the north side of Syntagma Square along King George I Street, and those in the streets between the square and the National Gardens. Being able to walk to the route matters more than usual this week, because the stations closest to it can shut for part of the morning.

Two days cover it well. Arrive on 24 March, when schoolchildren march through the centre and the mood is lighter, then give the morning of the 25th to the military parade. The afternoon is quiet. Schools and many businesses are closed, families head home for lunch, and the city slows right down.

With more time, pair Athens with an island. Tinos holds a large festival at the church of Panagia Evangelistria on the same day, and ferries for it leave from Piraeus, which line 3 links directly with the airport. For other places to fit around the holiday, our Greece travel guide is a sensible starting point.

The student and military parades on 24 and 25 March

The build-up starts a day early. On 24 March the student parade usually takes over central Athens, with pupils in traditional costume carrying flags, a custom kept in towns and villages across Greece since 1936. It is the gentler of the two days, and finding a clear view is easier.

The 25th opens with the wreath. Before any unit moves, the President lays a wreath before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, below the Hellenic Parliament on Syntagma Square. The march itself sets off in mid-morning on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue. Army, navy and air force units take part, women marching alongside men, alongside the fire service and the police, passing the square and the Parliament before carrying on along Panepistimiou Street beside the Academy of Athens.

Start times shift a little from year to year. The city's traffic notices give the closures and timings, so read them before you set out. Annunciation liturgies run in churches all over the country that morning as well.

The revolution, the Annunciation and the holiday meal

Two feasts share this date. One is political: the start in 1821 of the revolt against Ottoman rule that produced the modern Greek state. The other is the Orthodox Feast of the Annunciation, the announcement of good news, and that coincidence helped fix the day in the national calendar. A royal decree under King Otto made it a national holiday in 1838, and Athens staged its first official celebration that same year.

The sequence runs like this. The Filiki Eteria, a secret society, laid the groundwork. Alexander Ypsilantis opened the campaign in Iasi on 24 February 1821. By tradition Bishop Germanos then raised the standard of revolt at Agia Lavra monastery in the Peloponnese, and the region rose on 25 March. A proclamation issued that day by the Messenian Senate became the formal notice sent to foreign governments.

Lunch keeps the church calendar in view. The holiday falls in Lent, so many families sit down to bakaliaros, fried salt cod, with skordalia, a pungent garlic dip. If you see it on a taverna board that day, order it.