The “Common Quiet Hours” rule—a law designating a period during which excessively loud noise activities are prohibited, similar to the siesta period common in many cultures—took effect in Greece for winter on October 1st.
According to the regulation, which covers the hours between 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm, and 10 pm and 7.30 am the next morning, citizens are not allowed to disturb the peace by engaging in any activity that could be deemed as generating excessive noise levels.
The Common Quiet Hours rules apply to all citizens, as well as businesses.
Among the activities prohibited, under the pain of penalty, which could include up to five months in prison, are the following:
- The operation of any musical instrument or device, such as a radio, tape recorder, or television, at high volume; loud shouting; noisy dancing; and any other loud activity in homes or other private spaces (in residential areas or in public spaces).
- Noisy games in cafes, billiard halls, or other public venues, as well as loud conversations and shouting by patrons in these places.
- Noisy conversations and arguments at vehicle stations (buses, taxis, etc.); loading or unloading of goods to or from trucks that create noise; and noisy operation of vehicle engines while stationary.
The use of sirens or other sound devices or security systems without an emergency reason, as well as testing their operation.
