Greece : A Guide To Shopping In Greece

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In this part of our guide to holidays in Greece we focus on shopping and money…

While Greece isn’t known as a great shopping destination, it does offer some fine and unique local products. The country produces good handicrafts, pottery, jewelry, metalwork, knitwear, lace, rugs and leather goods. In addition, its local wines and spirits make distinctive purchases.

Almost all Greek cities have large shopping malls with internationally recognized major retailers and brands. However, prices in these shopping centers are similar to those in other Europe countries, you unless they are holding sales you won’t get any real bargains.

Bargaining is only tolerated in tourist souvenir shops and, sometimes, in family-owned arts and crafts stores. In all other instances, it’s ineffective and offensive. If bargaining is expected, you can expect to get at least 10-20% off of the price, with being able to speak a little Greek likely getting you the lowest possible price.

Value Added Tax (VAT) is charged on most items (this is usually but not always included in the item’s price tag) but some shops offer tax free shopping to non-EU residents. This means that non-EU residents can ask for a VAT refund at their port of exit in the EU. To do so, ask for a VAT voucher before leaving the store and show that along with your items to the customs officer upon departure from the EU.

The official currency is the Euro, and other currencies will not be accepted, but you can easily exchange money in the larger cities and in any tourist destination. Banks usually offer the most favorable exchange rates and automated currency exchange machines tend to offer the worst rates; specialist shops are somewhere in between. When changing money, try to get mostly smaller notes – nothing over a 50 – as many businesses are averse to accepting larger denominations.

ATM machines are ubiquitous. Visa, Mastercard and Eurocard are widely accepted in hotels, retail outlets and travel agencies, but some restaurants and local souvenir shops will not accept them.

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