What visitors actually notice is the gap between the statute and the room they are standing in, which varies by place, by season and by time of night. This page sets out both, because knowing only one of them leads to the wrong expectation in either direction.
What the ban covers
Enclosed public spaces, broadly drawn: restaurants, bars, cafes, hotel lobbies, workplaces both public and private, and public transport. If it has a roof and walls and members of the public are in it, assume the ban applies.
Vaping counts. E-cigarettes are explicitly included, which surprises visitors who assume the rules were written before vaping existed. They were not; the current framework names it.
Outdoors is different. The outdoor tables of a taverna or cafe are not an enclosed space and smoking there is permitted. In practice that is where almost all smoking in Greece happens, and it is why so much of Greek social life is on a terrace.
The penalties fall on both sides
Worth knowing because it shapes how staff behave. There are fines for the individual smoking, and considerably larger ones for the venue that allows it.
That asymmetry is the mechanism. A bar owner has far more at stake than a customer does, which is why a venue that is being careful will ask you to step outside rather than ignore it, and why enforcement tightens wherever inspections are more likely.
We do not print the fine amounts. Reported figures vary between sources and we have not read a statutory schedule, and a wrong number on a legal page is worse than no number.
Where enforcement is real, and where it is not
This is the honest part, and it is the reason most travel pages on this subject mislead.
Stricter: Athens, Thessaloniki, the busy island resorts in peak season, hotels, and anywhere likely to be inspected. Assume the law is the law.
Looser: family-run tavernas off the main routes, late at night, out of season, and in villages. The habit is deeply rooted and widely tolerated in places where nobody is checking.
Neither observation is permission. The law does not vary by village, only the chance of anyone enforcing it does, and a visitor who lights up indoors on the basis that a local did is taking someone else’s risk.
What this means in practice
If you smoke: sit outside, which is where the tables are anyway, and do not assume an ashtray on an indoor table means the ban has been lifted.
If you do not smoke: an outdoor table in Greece is a smoking table, and there is no separate section on a terrace. If that matters to you, sit indoors, which is now the reliably smoke-free option and a reversal of how this used to work.
With children: the same. Indoors is the enforced space.
Buying, and where
Tobacco is sold at kiosks, the small street-corner periptera, at supermarkets and at dedicated shops. Kiosks are the everyday source and they are open long hours, including on days when other shops are shut.
Siesta and opening hours covers the wider rhythm of when things are open, which catches visitors out more often than tobacco does.
Where this leaves you
Smoking and vaping are banned in enclosed public spaces across Greece, with fines on both the smoker and the venue. Outdoor tables are legal and are where it happens. Enforcement is real in cities, hotels and resorts and patchy in villages and late at night, which is an observation rather than an invitation. If you want a smoke-free meal, the indoor room is now the safer bet, which is the opposite of what most visitors expect.
Quick answers
Can you smoke in restaurants in Greece?
Not indoors. Smoking and vaping are banned in enclosed public spaces including restaurants, bars, cafes and hotel lobbies. Outdoor tables are permitted, which is where almost all smoking in Greece takes place.
Is vaping banned in Greece too?
Yes. E-cigarettes are explicitly covered by the same rules that ban smoking in enclosed public spaces, so vaping indoors in a bar, cafe, restaurant or hotel lobby is not permitted.
Is the smoking ban actually enforced in Greece?
It varies. Enforcement is real in Athens, Thessaloniki, hotels and the busy island resorts in season. In family-run tavernas off the main routes, late at night and out of season it is often ignored. The law does not change by location; only the likelihood of enforcement does.
Where do you buy cigarettes in Greece?
At kiosks, the small street-corner periptera, as well as supermarkets and dedicated tobacco shops. Kiosks keep long hours and are open on days when other shops are closed.