Sun hats become a must-have accessory for tourists visiting the Acropolis
Amid soaring summer heat, hats have become an essential item for tourists visiting Athens' Acropolis, with vendors reporting a sharp rise in demand. Craftspeople and shop owners describe growing sales of everything from cheap paper hats to handmade straw designs.
This season in Athens, nearly every tourist climbing up to the Acropolis can be seen wearing some kind of headgear - from straw sunhats and panamas to baseball caps. Vendors in the city center say hat sales have become widespread, appearing almost everywhere.
Greece recorded a record number of visitors in 2025, with about 4.6 million people visiting the Acropolis, while the country as a whole welcomed 38 million tourists last year, the most recent year for which such data is available. Tours at the site last several hours, with air temperatures reaching around 35 degrees Celsius and very little shade available. Even a horse harnessed to a carriage at the foot of the Acropolis was seen wearing a brown panama-style hat with cutouts for its ears.
Tourists say headgear has become essential. One Australian visitor said he had already turned red from sun exposure without a hat, adding that people today are far more aware of the need to protect themselves from the sun.
From cheap paper hats to handcrafted pieces
A kiosk owner near Syntagma Square says hat sales have risen considerably in recent years. Simple models start at around 6 euros, while more stylish souvenir hats cost up to 20 euros. Elsewhere, cheap, almost disposable hats made from pressed paper pulp are also sold.
More expensive options exist as well - a local hat maker uses molds and presses nearly a century old to craft straw hats in her basement workshop, with prices starting around 50 euros and rising above 100 euros for more elaborate designs. She notes that attitudes toward hats have changed: in the past, customers would try them on jokingly, but now they choose more seriously and often leave the shop wearing them immediately.
Amid the extreme heat and tourist influx, Greek health organizations welcome the growing public awareness of the dangers of UV radiation and heatstroke. Red Cross volunteers near the Acropolis hand out sunscreen, water and informational leaflets to tourists, along with red hats.
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