In Greece, you can safely drink tap water in large, urban areas. The top Greek cities with safe and clean drinking water are:
- Athens
- Thessaloniki
- Piraeus
- Patras
- Larissa
- Heraklion
However, you might dislike the taste because the water in these regions is hard.
In less populated areas, Greece has less-developed regions where the infrastructure, such as its municipal water systems, may have lower quality than those other areas.
The following sites were helpful when assessing the quality of Greece’s drinking water.
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- WISE – The Freshwater Information System for Europe
- EYDAP – Athens Water Supply and Sewerage
- EYATH Water and Sanitation Services
Read on for more details, including the top 3 Greek cities for clean drinking water, who regulates Greek water, water sources, how it is treated, and the benefits of using a water filter when visiting Greece.
Is Greece’s Tap Water Safe to Drink?
Yes, tap water is safe to drink in most of Greece’s urban and tourist centers. You can go ahead and ask for carafes of tap water at restaurants and cafes in these locations.
However, we advise you to do this only in parts of the country connected to municipal water treatment networks.
Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Piraeus, Larissa, Heraklion, and other such populated areas will have regulated, safe tap water that you can drink, but it may have an unpleasant taste due to chlorination.
In less populated areas, away from the water networks, you can use the water for cooking, washing, and brushing your teeth, but drinking it is not recommended without proper filtration.
Less populated areas, including rural Crete and the Aegean islands, use aquifers and groundwater. These water sources face problems of pollution and seawater intrusion.
Water from local wells runs through older pipes and can be hard to regulate, adding further reason to use a filter when using local tap water.
Top 3 Greek Cities With the Cleanest Water
1. Athens
As the largest population center, hosting just under a third of the population, Athens takes the number one spot for the city with the cleanest water in Greece.
Athens’ water comes from a well-regulated reservoir, Lake Marathon, where the “parent water” is clean and treated with an extensive filtration process.
2. Thessaloniki
An international commission evaluated Thessaloniki’s water and found it clean and potable despite high limescale levels.
Greece’s second city uses treatment centers to add chlorine to its water. This chlorination improves its cleanliness but makes it taste more sour than other water.
The tap water, despite the taste, is clean and safe to drink. While some of Thessaloniki’s natives have negative views of the tap water due to the taste, you can drink it without any worries.
3. Piraeus
Piraeus is a beautiful port city that is part of the Athens metropolitan network and linked to the same water network as the capital.
Some visitors stay in Piraeus to escape the bustle and noise of central Athens while enjoying many of the same advantages, including clean, drinkable tap water that the entire Attika region enjoys.
Who Regulates Water in Greece?
The European Union and the Greek government regulate tap water in Greece.
The Greek government’s Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Interior operate water networks, treatment centers, and testing centers.
They test and check the water according to the 2020 European Union Drinking Water directive, which stipulates that pollutant concentrations must fall under specific levels for water to be legally called “potable.”
Where Greece Gets Its Water
Greek water comes from four main sources:
- Aquifers
- Rivers
- The Mediterranean Sea, and
- Mountain springs.
Most Greek water – up to eighty percent – is from surface sources.
The Greek mainland uses most of its water from aquifers for irrigation and agriculture. This produces pollution through runoff and contaminates rivers and other aquifers.
Greece’s rivers mostly provide water for irrigation. Other rivers provide the parent water at reservoirs, such as Lake Marathon.
Greece’s islands get their water from the same sources but often face critical shortages. In such situations, some islands acquire water from the ocean and use desalination processes to treat it, which can still result in salty-tasting water.
Poorer parts of Greece also face problems with water distribution. Old pipes are made with lead and asbestos, materials associated with increased risk of cancer.
Consequently, water treatment in Greece has begun to pick up, and the country is working toward replacing old pipes, but the process is slow and expensive.
How Tap Water is Treated in Greece
Many municipal networks use the process of adding chemicals to kill bacteria and filtering the water through sediment and disinfectants. This process, though reliable and safe, can lead to an unpleasant taste.
Other parts of the country use reverse osmosis for purification. On tourist islands such as Santorini, Mykonos, and Crete, the government has responded to water stress by using high-tech desalination technologies to remove harmful sea salt from the water.
This does not remove the salty taste from water, leading many tourists to buy bottled water.
Other parts of Greece possess a developing infrastructure and suffer from pollution caused by agriculture and the water treatment process itself.
Old asbestos pipes have not been replaced and are, unfortunately, contaminating the water during the treatment process. This means that water in areas with older treatment systems is not as safe to drink.
Is Drinking Bottled Water The Safest Option in Greece?
In many regions, particularly around Thessaloniki, all of Attika, and the urban centers, tap water is the safest option.
Though the country may face problems with parts of its water distribution, these regions are in the minority. Most Greeks consume tap water with no problem whatsoever and even prefer it.
Even on the islands or water-stressed regions, bottled water is still not the safest option. Though European Union regulations should, in theory, apply to bottled water in the whole of European Union territory, studies have found several problems with bottled water in Greece, including:
- Bottles stored at high temperatures
- Untracked water bottle labels and sales
- Labels missing chemical concentrations
Consequently, it is impossible to know the chemical concentration levels in bottled water and how safe it is. In many cases, bottled water could be less safe than tap water.
This is why we recommend tap water in urban centers and water filters in areas where you are unsure of the water quality.
Is Greece’s Water Hard or Soft?
Water hardness differs depending on the region and type of environment.
In Northern Greece, such as Macedonia and Thessaloniki, water is hard but safe to drink.
Water in the south, particularly on the island of Crete and other islands with significant limestone deposits, is very hard.
Athens and surrounding Attika have reasonably soft water.
Are Water Filters Necessary in Greece?
While water filters are not strictly necessary in Athens or Thessaloniki, using them may improve the taste of treated tap water in Greece’s large cities by filtering out the chemicals used to treat it.
However, in the parts of Greece suffering from water shortages, namely Crete and the Cyclades, water filters are a major advantage. In these areas, water filters guarantee you safe drinking water from the tap at no additional cost, as opposed to bottled water, which may not be safe and will cost extra.
Additionally, a water filter will lessen your environmental impact, as you will produce no plastic waste in your search for safe drinking water.
Use a Water Filter for Peace of Mind
The safety of tap water in Greece depends on the part of the country. Greek cities like Athens and Thessaloniki have clean tap water.
In less well-connected parts of Greece, such as the Cycladic islands or the rural mainland, tap water may contain contaminants. These more remote areas have geographic, economic, and environmental challenges reflected in the water quality.
The fix is easy – rather than taking a chance on poorly labeled bottled water, do as the locals do and use filters to make tap water drinkable.
If you choose to use a filter, use one that can filter out chlorine and metals for the safest, best quality drinking water.
