November 17 Protests To Slow Athens, Thessaloniki

Visitors heading to Athens and Thessaloniki around November 17 need to plan for a city that slows down in very specific places, because the annual marches marking the 1973 Athens Polytechnic uprising bring thousands of people, heavy police deployments, and rolling road closures through the core of both cities. A fresh demonstration alert from the U S Mission Greece advises U S government personnel to avoid downtown Athens and Thessaloniki on November 17, highlighting areas around the Polytechnic campus, Exarchia, Omonia, Syntagma, and key downtown squares where marches and anarchist groups often converge.

The underlying travel advisory for Greece remains at Level 1, exercise normal precautions, the lowest rung in the U S State Department system. Australian authorities and other allied advisories still warn that strikes and demonstrations in Greece are common, and that otherwise peaceful events can spill into clashes and tear gas with little warning, especially around politically charged anniversaries. For travelers, this is not a reason to cancel a city break or island routing, but it is a clear signal to treat November 17 as a special operations day, with extra buffers and backup routes for any transfers that cross the protest zones.

Athens Polytechnic Anniversary And March Routes

Background: The November 17 anniversary marks the end of the 1973 Athens Polytechnic uprising, when a student occupation of the Polytechnic campus against the military junta ended in bloodshed after the army sent a tank through the main gate. The fall of the junta the following year turned the date into a national symbol of resistance and democracy, and annual marches have taken place in Athens and other Greek cities ever since.

In Athens, the commemorations typically begin with people filing past the historic campus of the National Technical University of Athens, commonly known as the Polytechnic, in the Exarchia district. From there, a large afternoon march usually forms and moves south along main avenues toward the city center, passing near or through Omonia and Syntagma squares before heading along Vasilissis Sofias Avenue toward the U S Embassy. In Thessaloniki, marches and student gatherings focus on Aristotelous Square and the Kamara area, two of the most central corridors for visitors staying near the waterfront.

Greek authorities routinely respond with a very visible security plan. Recent anniversaries have seen several thousand police officers deployed in Athens alone, backed by drones, helicopters, and water cannon trucks, with officers positioned on rooftops around Exarchia, public buildings, and embassies. Major avenues such as Patission, Panepistimiou, Stadiou, and parts of Vasilissis Sofias often close for hours, and police sometimes shut central metro stations around Syntagma and other nodes while march columns pass or clashes flare.

Most years, the day follows a familiar pattern. Marches start in the early to mid afternoon and remain largely peaceful as family groups, students, and unions walk fixed routes and chant slogans. After dark, particularly around Exarchia and streets close to the Polytechnic, a smaller and more confrontational crowd sometimes remains, and this is when tear gas, petrol bombs, and running clashes with riot police are most likely.

Latest Developments

This year, the U S Mission Greece demonstration alert highlights November 17, 2025, as a day when U S government personnel should avoid downtown Athens and Thessaloniki entirely, and notes that the protests could disrupt traffic and public transport near the march routes. The alert mirrors past messaging that warns U S citizens to be cautious around demonstrations and to move away from any gathering at the first sign of tension.

Local media in Greece are already reporting preplanned traffic regulations in Athens, including staged closures around the Polytechnic, Exarchia, the U S Embassy, and central squares on November 17, with exact timings adjusted in real time as the march progresses. In practice, this means that car, taxi, and bus traffic can grind to a halt in parts of central Athens even while other districts remain relatively normal a few blocks away.

In Thessaloniki, police typically ring key sites such as Aristotelous Square and Kamara with barriers and lines of officers, limiting vehicle access and sometimes diverting buses away from Egnatia Street and the parallel waterfront avenues as the march moves. The city's compact layout means that even a short march can block the most direct routes between central hotels, the train station, and bus links to Thessaloniki Airport.

Travel advisories from multiple governments, including the United States and Australia, emphasize that demonstrations in Greece can disrupt transport and turn violent with little notice, even when they start peacefully. They also stress that demonstrators rarely target tourists, and that the main risk comes from being caught between protesters and riot police or from secondary effects like tear gas drifting into side streets.

Analysis

For most visitors, the November 17 marches are a navigational challenge rather than a direct threat, but the inconvenience can be serious if you have tight connections or fixed ticket times. The key is to keep your plans flexible in the center while protecting critical legs such as flights, ferries, and long distance trains.

If you are flying into or out of Athens International Airport (ATH), the airport itself is unlikely to be directly affected, but your access route might be. On normal days, the metro line between the city center and the airport, the suburban rail, and the Attiki Odos toll highway share the load. On November 17, however, closures near Syntagma or other central stations can push more people onto remaining metro stops, and taxis that would usually cross central avenues may need to detour around roadblocks and march columns.

A practical rule of thumb is to add at least thirty to sixty minutes to any transfer that involves crossing central Athens on November 17. If your flight departs in the late afternoon or evening, consider leaving your hotel earlier in the day, having lunch or a coffee near a less disrupted metro station such as Megaro Moussikis or a suburban rail stop, then riding out to the airport from there, instead of trying to leave Syntagma or Omonia at the last possible moment.

Travelers connecting between central Athens and the port of Piraeus for island ferries should plan similarly conservative timing. Road closures in the center can back up traffic all the way down key corridors, and if march timings shift, what looked clear at midday can clog by late afternoon. Booking earlier ferry departures, or staying in Piraeus the night before an early sailing, can remove the riskiest segments from your schedule.

In Thessaloniki, the main risk is getting stuck in or around Aristotelous Square or the Kamara district when you need to reach the train station, bus terminal, or airport buses. On November 17, build an extra buffer of at least thirty minutes for any transfer that crosses the downtown core, and be prepared to walk a few extra blocks to find taxis on streets that remain open.

Background: Greece has a long culture of street demonstrations, and recent years have seen large protest waves over austerity, transport safety, and international conflicts. Authorities are experienced in managing these events, and central Athens in particular is built to absorb them, with broad avenues designed for marches and a heavily practiced police playbook. That does not remove risk, but it does mean that disruptions tend to follow recognizable patterns along the same streets and squares year after year.

From a safety perspective, the simplest rule is distance. If you see helmeted riot police forming lines, or if you notice tear gas in the air, move several blocks away along side streets and avoid lingering on corners where small groups may confront police. Secure your passport and valuables in an inner pocket, because crowds are a known environment for pickpocketing in Athens, and both U S and Australian advisories flag petty theft as a recurring issue in busy public spaces.

For monitoring, three channels matter most. First, enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, STEP, if you are a U S citizen, so that you receive embassy alerts and can be reached in an emergency. Second, bookmark one or two local English language outlets that cover traffic and protests in real time. Third, use public transport and mapping apps to watch for closure notices or rerouting messages on the day, since metro and tram operators often push alerts through those channels before signs appear in stations.

Final thoughts

The November 17 protests are a fixture of life in Athens and Thessaloniki, and in most years, they remain tightly focused on domestic politics and historical memory. For travelers, the main issue is not broad instability, it is the very practical fact that march routes slice right through central hotel districts, metro interchanges, and the most direct routes to Piraeus and Athens International Airport. Treat November 17 protests in Athens and Thessaloniki as a known obstacle day, build in generous buffers, stay informed through official advisories, and give yourself enough slack that a blocked street or closed station becomes a small story from your trip, not the reason you miss a flight or ferry.

Sources

• Greece Travel Advisory, U S Department of State
• Greece, Country Information, U S Department of State
• Greece Travel Advice, Smartraveller
• Demonstrations In Greece On 17th November 2025, Real Greek Experiences
• High Security Measures And Traffic Regulations In Athens On Nov 17, Keep Talking Greece
• Road Closures, Transport Changes In Athens Ahead Of Polytechnic Uprising Anniversary
• Athens Polytechnic Uprising
• Demonstration Alert, U S Mission Greece, November 17