Nightlife in Athens

Greece’s capital has a very active nightlife. Like every other big city in Europe Athens has everything to offer for every age. The young ones prefer the small bars, the so-called “Barakia” in Greek. Those are pub style places with loud mainstream music or the latest Greek modern music. As an alternative to Bouzoukia and live Greek music clubs, there are many restaurants and taverns that have a couple of musicians, usually a bouzouki and one guitar and you can enjoy Greek music while dining. Live music in those places in Athens generally you will find mostly on Fridays and Saturdays.The main places of nightlife attraction and activity are, the area of Plaka, the area of Psiri and Thission near and around the Acropolis. In Plaka, (once the center of the Athenian nightlife attractions) still some restaurants offer Syrtaki and Bouzouki shows for the visitors. Psyrri a former scruffy area of any kind of handicraft shops next to Monastiraki flea market, became during the late 90’s the replacement of Plaka with numerous restaurants, taverns, and bars attracting a huge part of the Athens night outing, another place of nightlife with many bars and upmarket restaurants are the Thission area.Athens is just as lively at night as it is during the day, perhaps even more so. Make the most of the vibrant cultural scene, history and scenic evening views with our guide here to enjoy the attraction in Athens at night.We divided for your convenience the Nightlife of Athens in 5 categories. Romantic, Classical, Modern, Old School, and Greek music, that cover all ages and tastes.

Romantic

Whether you have already visited the historical center under the broad daylight or not, we highly suggest you take a night stroll around Athens as well. Without the heat of the sun, but with the beautifully illuminated paved pedestrian streets that almost seem to sparkle instead, it is such a unique and picturesque scenery, that it looks like it has been taken straight out of a fairy tale. This can be an ideal activity for couples in Athens, with the place being incredibly atmospheric and romantic. It is an experience that, in our humble opinion, no one visiting Greece should miss.

Enjoy a musical event at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.
Athenians have been watching performances underneath Parthenon for about 2,000 years, and now you can too! Book online your ticket for a concert on a summer evening and try not to get too distracted by the views over ancient Athens.
Take the cable car to the top of Lycabettus hill.
The view is magnificent, especially during the sunset. You can visit the little Greek orthodox church of St. George at the top and underneath you can enjoy your dinner or just have a drink at Orizontes restaurant, admiring the stunning view of the city,
Observe the stars and the universe at the National Observatory of Athens.
It's the oldest research institution in Greece (founded in 1842). Atop the Hill of the Nymphs, with an uncluttered view of the Parthenon, the beautiful building was designed by the Danish architect Theophilos Hansen. It’s an impressive piece of work, but don’t miss out on the Astrogeophysics Museum, housing clocks, telescopes and other 19th-century instruments.
Watch a movie at an open-air cinema.
Athens has dozens of open-air cinemas, but the most enchanting are found nestled beneath the Acropolis. Get a taste of old-world movie charm at Cine Thisio which first opened in 1935. Aside from popcorn and soft drinks, the snack bar also offers traditional Greek products to enjoy with your movie, such as home-made spoon sweets, gourmet Greek fish roe (avgotaraho), wine and tsipouro.
Even older is Cine Paris which began operating in 1920 and has a wonderful view of the Acropolis. In Greece, all foreign films (except children’s films) are shown in their original languages with Greek subtitles. As long as rainy weather holds off most open air cinemas remain open throughout September.
There are plenty of open-air cinemas in the suburbs as well. Choose the one that is near you or according to the movie, although here the experience counts.
Enjoy the view from a roof-top bar.
There is nothing more amazing than seeing the entire town from above a quiet place. You can choose a bar and enjoy the stunning views of the city along with good background music, and a nice atmosphere. Located on the rooftop of the Hilton Hotel in Athens, the Galaxy Bar is a must visit for the sunset! Other two options are A for Athens and 360, both located in Monastiraki square. Besides those three, there are numerous roof-top bars and restaurants, where you can both dine or just have a drink and enjoy the night view of Athens.
Dance Night on the beach till sunrise
It really sounds pretty astonishing to spend a night under the stars, dancing to good music, right? Just imagine how pleasant the water looks at night when the moon reflects in it. The beach is lovely, very clean, and with lots of sunbeds and umbrellas. They also serve delicious food along with drinks of your desire and you can come here during the day as well. There are many all-day bars that are transformed to night beach bars when the sun sets, along the seaside of Athens riviera. A couple of names to give you an idea are: Ark, Balux, Island, Bolivar and so on… all different, for all ages and wallets of course.

Classical

If you love classical music and you would prefer to spend a night watching an opera, ancient greek theater or a violin concert, you have the following options in Athens.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus,
an amazing open ancient theater that dates from the 2nd century AD and has a capacity of 5.000 spectators. Besides the lower VIP seats that are quite expensive, tickets are affordable for everyone. Because the seats are not numbered (except of the VIP ones) you should enter the theater at least 30-45’ earlier, in order to find a seat of your choice. Keep in mind that marble seats are not very comfortable, although nowadays they all have a pillow-seat, and because it is an open theater it only functions from the beginning of June until the beginning of October. In case you are lucky and there is also a full moon on top, then this will be the experience of a lifetime. You can check the program and book your tickets here.
Megaron, The Athens Concert Hall.
Megaron, The Athens Concert Hall www.megaron.gr The inspiration behind the creation of a major cultural center was the great singer Alexandra Trianti, the founder of the Friends of Music Society. The Society commissioned designs for the Concert Hall from top Greek and foreign architects, and specialists in acoustics. The first help to finance construction of the building came from Dimitris Mitropoulos, who offered the proceeds of concerts by the New York Philharmonic, which he conducted in Athens.The Athens Concert Hall offers a comprehensive range of facilities, designed to the very highest specifications and one of the most impressive venues of its kind anywhere in the world. It offers a forum for all sorts of cultural activities – both artistic and educational.
Greek National Opera, at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
The Greek National Opera was established in 1939. From early on, its program included operetta and dance, in addition to the opera. Inaugurating a new period in its long history, the GNO is now settled in its new home at the SNFCC complex. Its new facilities enable it to further develop its wide range of activities as an organization for education and the arts, including opera, ballet, experimental projects, shows for children, educational programs, as well as training the next generation of dancers and developing public benefit projects. With its wonderful acoustics, fine ambiance, and advanced specifications, the Stavros Niarchos Hall and the Alternative Stage – a versatile space for experimentation and research – along with state-of-the-art auxiliary spaces, enable the GNO to play an ever more important role promoting the arts in Greece.

Folklore

Dora Stratou Greek Dances Theater
In Greek folk dance, steps are relatively simple but the style of execution varies from place to place and is difficult to reproduce. It takes an accomplished dancer years of dancing with good dancers who possess the local style and with good music, to become imbued with it. The leader of the line in a chain dance has the most important role, as his understanding of the idiom is transmitted to the musicians and to the other dancers.

While most folk dance troupes around the world have learned their dances from dance masters or choreographers, this ensemble has built up its repertoire by inviting groups of villagers to perform on stage. As each village was presented, the troupe’s dancers learned the dances by dancing with the villagers. These original appearances were filmed and serve today as a reference to check whether dances are still executed in the genuine style.

About 80 different villages, islands or regions can be presented, each one with its particular costume, music and dances. For comparison, an average folk dance group in Greece has a tenth of this repertoire. The total number of dances in the repertoire is over 400.

Because dances are presented as authentically as possible, in the same manner and style as they have been brought by the villagers, the troupe has no choreographer. Senior dancers perform the tasks of artistic direction and rehearsal organization. New dancers hone the fine points of a particular local style in the traditional way: dancing during rehearsals alongside older dancers. There is no major dance company in the world which can boast such a feature, and it is another source of pride.
There are also some restaurants, in Plaka mainly, that offer folklore dances while you enjoy your lunch or dinner, but they are more touristy, and they cannot be compared to the authentic and professional presence of Dora Stratou above.

Modern

There are countless bars and nightclubs in Athens with the mainstream, hip hop, house and rock music, well-known DJs, Latin and Ethnic clubs with Latin music, all can easily be found and experienced.

Some popular dance clubs in the city center of Athens are:

Skullbar, Dybbuk, Astron, Teddy Boy, Lohan, Shamone, Voodoo, Asylo, Romantso and Oddity Club.

Gay and Lesbian clubs are:

Noiz, S-Cape and Sodade2.

Rock clubs are :

Intrepid Fox, Death Disco and Off the Chain

Old school

There are two discotheques, with old time dance music and big dance floors, where you can show your dance figures and burn some calories the fun way. Boom Boom at Kallithea and Disco Ball at Kolonaki.

Greek music

There is no such explanation in words for a hangover in Greek which says a lot about the culture and how Greeks like to enjoy a drink; slowly, with a few nibbles or meze to share over several hours. In fact, the latest statistics have revealed new drinking venues have more than doubled over the last 5 years in Greece. Athens nightlife activities, much like the food scene, has evolved into a world-class affair and after you have visited one or two places, you can’t help but think the city’s revival is well underway. There are also some places called Rempetadika, where you can enjoy the bouzouki, a traditional Greek musical instrument along with some great drinks or cocktails and food. Some examples in the city center are Mousikes Diadromes, Pontiki, Astrofeghia and Arhontiko tou Saranti.The most popular outing of the Athenians though, is the famous Bouzoukia. Those clubs a few decades back were a place for the proletariat and the lower classes. Since the middle sixties, the Greek live music clubs with the promotion of the Greek popular music Laika and the films of the Greek cinema have become one of the main entertainments for all ages. The old custom of smashing plates next to the singer stopped a couple of decades ago, as it was proven to be quite dangerous and it was replaced with flowers, that nowadays they are thrown in such big quantities that sometimes literally cover half of the popular singer’s body. Another category is the Greek Music Halls where you can enjoy famous Greek singers in smaller clubs than Bouzoukia, with a couple of drinks and a plate of fruits or a bowl of nuts. As both categories, Bouzoukia and Music Halls are numerous in Athens and most of them are gathered in or around the city center, we will give you a couple of the most popular Greek singers and where they sing, as an example.

Antonis Remos - Nox
Sakis Rouvas - Teatro Athens
Elena Paparizou - Votanikos
Nikos Economopoulos - Fantasia
Natassa Bofiliou - Vox
Giorgos Mazonakis - Kentro Athinon
Natassa Theodoridou - Akti Pireos
Peggy Zina - Baraonda
Anna Vissi - Hotel Ermou
Nikos Vertis - Yton
Despina Vandi - Enastron
Konstantinos Argiros - Teatro Athens