Athens has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, moderately rainy winters and hot, sunny summers. From December to mid-March, there may be cold spells with rain and sometimes even snow. Summer is hot and sunny with a minimum of rain except for the occasional thunderstorm. In July and August, the temperature quite often reaches 35/36 °C (95/97 °F), and can get as high as 40 °C (104 °F).

Athens is on Eastern European time: Two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, 7 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, and 1 hour ahead of Central European Time.