Aussie life in Athens: community, footy, Anzac

In Athens, hearing an Aussie accent at the next table isn't unusual. Greece has long had a large Australian community, and much of it has a Greek surname.

The short version

Greece has long had a big Australian population, mostly Greek-Australians who returned or grew up between the two countries. An older estimate put it at around 135,000 people, but no reliable current count exists [3].
The Australian Embassy in Athens holds an Anzac Day service each year at the Phaleron War Cemetery, open to the public [1].
That cemetery holds 584 Australians who died in the Greek campaign of the Second World War [2].
AFL games mostly land in the early morning Athens time. Cricket in Greece is centred on Corfu [4].
The fastest way to meet other Aussies is through each other. Join Cooee Greece, our Facebook group for Australians in Greece, at /join/.

Who the Aussies in Athens are

The Australian community in Greece is unusual. In London or Dubai, Aussies are mostly young professionals on two-year stints. In Athens, the picture is more mixed:

Greek-Australians who moved "back". Children and grandchildren of the postwar migrants who settled in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Many hold both passports. Some came in the 1970s and 80s, others during the Greek crisis years, and plenty more since.
Retirees. People who worked in Australia, then retired to Greece. The Australia–Greece social security agreement, in force since 2008, lets periods of Australian residence and Greek insurance be combined towards an age pension [5].
Young Aussies on a working holiday. The Greece–Australia work and holiday visa offers up to 12 months for 18 to 31-year-olds [6].
Remote workers and partners. Aussies who married into Greek families, or who brought their laptop for a year and stayed.

Wikipedia cites an estimate of around 135,000 Australians in Greece, mostly in Athens, but it comes from a 2001 survey and nobody publishes a current figure [3]. What you'll notice on the ground is simpler: Melbourne accents in Glyfada cafés, Australian flags on balconies during the Ashes, and older Athenians who'll tell you about the cousin in Oakleigh or Marrickville.

Anzac Day in Athens

For many Australians in Greece, Anzac Day is the one fixed date on the calendar. The Australian Embassy holds a commemorative service each year at the Phaleron War Cemetery, run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, in the southern suburb of Alimos. In 2026 it started at 10am on 25 April, with guests asked to arrive by 9:40am, and it was open to the public [1].

The 2026 service was hosted by the Australian Ambassador and attended by Greek Government and military representatives, the New Zealand Honorary Consul, veterans' groups including the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee, members of the Greek-Australian and Greek-New Zealand communities, and students from Athens schools [2]. The cemetery holds 584 Australians and 731 New Zealanders who died in the wartime campaign in Greece [2].

A few tips if you're going for the first time:

Check the embassy's website and social media in early April for the year's time and any registration.
Bring ID. It's a formal event with government guests.
Allow time for traffic on the coastal road. The tram along the coast is an option.
Wear your medals or a family member's on the right side if you're a descendant.

Anzac links don't stop in Athens. The island of Lemnos was the base for the Gallipoli campaign, and Crete holds its own commemorations each May for the 1941 battle, which the embassy has supported in the past [1].

Footy, cricket and the time difference

Here's the reality of following Aussie sport from Athens: you'll be up early. From early April, when Melbourne leaves daylight saving and Athens is on summer time, Athens is seven hours behind Melbourne. A 1:45pm Saturday bounce at the MCG becomes 6:45am in Athens, and a twilight game is a late breakfast. The Grand Final, a mid-afternoon Melbourne start, lands at breakfast time on a Saturday.

Home Tests in December and January are tougher. With Melbourne on daylight saving and Athens on winter time, the gap grows to nine hours, so a morning start in Melbourne or Sydney means first ball in the small hours in Athens. Perth Tests start a few hours later Athens time. Perfect if you're a night owl. Tests in England are easy, since London is only two hours behind.

Time of year	Athens is behind Sydney and Melbourne by
January to the last Sunday in March	9 hours
Last Sunday in March to the first Sunday in April	8 hours
First Sunday in April to the first Sunday in October	7 hours
First Sunday in October to the last Sunday in October	8 hours
Last Sunday in October to December	9 hours

The gap moves because Australia and Greece switch daylight saving at different times. Brisbane has no daylight saving, so from Athens it is 7 hours ahead in the Greek summer and 8 hours ahead in the Greek winter.

Playing, not just watching

Cricket. Greece has an organised cricket scene. The Hellenic Cricket Federation, founded in 1996, is based in Corfu, where almost all teams play. There are a few clubs in Athens and Ioannina, and Greece is an affiliate member of the ICC [4]. If you can hold a bat, ask around; Athens clubs may be glad of another player.
Aussie rules. There's no established league in Athens that we could verify. Kick-to-kick in a park is easy to organise, though.
Rugby and Greek football. Rugby has a small following. Football, on the other hand, is a religion in Athens. Pick a club (Panathinaikos, AEK or Olympiacos in nearby Piraeus) carefully. Your new Greek friends will judge you.

A taste of home

Athens is a city where Australians eat extremely well, so homesickness tends to be specific rather than general.

Vegemite and Tim Tams are the usual requests. They can be hard to find and pricey when you do, so stock up on trips home or ask for care packages.
Flat whites are no longer exotic. Athens's specialty coffee scene has grown fast, though locals still swear by a freddo espresso in summer.
Barbecues translate easily. A Greek psistaria (grill house) is basically your local snag-and-souvlaki shop, and lamb on the spit at Easter is a better party than most Australia Day gatherings.
Australia Day falls in the middle of the Athens winter. Expect indoor gatherings rather than beach cricket.

We're not listing specific businesses here because they come and go. Ask other Aussies for current favourites.

Staying connected to Australia

Living in Athens doesn't mean leaving Australia behind. A few practical links:

Embassy. The Australian Embassy is at Level 2, 5 Hatziyianni Mexi Street, Athens, phone +30 210 870 4000 [1]. Register for consular updates on Smartraveller.
Driving. The embassy says Australian driver licences have been recognised in Greece since November 2021, so visitors no longer need an International Driving Permit [1].
Voting. You can stay on the Australian electoral roll while you're overseas. See our guide to voting from overseas.
Greek connections. Greece has been working on digital consular services for people living between the two countries, with a "digital consulate" already running and further tools expected by the end of 2027 [7].

Making friends beyond the Aussie bubble

It's easy to slip into a comfortable Greek-Australian circle and never stretch further. Don't. A few ways in:

Learn Greek properly. Even the basics change how people treat you. Municipal and university language programmes are a good start.
Join a neighbourhood activity. Volunteering, a choir, a dance class. Greeks socialise around food and long conversations, not formal networking.
Say yes to the name-day invite. Name days can be as big as birthdays. Bring sweets.
Go to the laiki. Your weekly street market is where you'll learn the neighbourhood's gossip, if not its grammar.
Find your fellow Aussies. Our Facebook group is where people swap tips on everything from footy streams to tax numbers.

Aussie life in Athens: Anzac Day, early-morning footy and a city full of cousins