Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
Sorry! We don't have any recommendations for Athens right now.
Despite demanding working hours, significantly tighter budgets, and family obligations, Athenians simply refuse to stay home, and will always find good reasons to sit out with friends at a bar until the middle of the night. Athens's heady nightlife starts late. Most bars and clubs don't get hopping until midnight and they stay open at the very least until 3 am. Drink prices can be rather steep (about €9–€13), but the pours are generous, and in recent years the cocktails have become exciting and sophisticated. Often there is a cover charge on weekends at the most popular clubs, which also have bouncers (aptly called "face-control" by Greeks because they tend to let only the "lookers" in). For a uniquely Greek evening, visit a club featuring rembetika music, a type of blues, or the popular bouzoukia (clubs with live bouzouki, a stringed instrument, music). Few clubs take credit cards for drinks.
Nightclubs in Greece migrate with the seasons. From October through May, they're in vast, throbbing venues in Central Athens and the northern suburbs; from June through September, many relocate to luxurious digs on the south coast for moonlit beach views. The same spaces are used from year to year, but owners and names tend to bounce around. Before heading out, check local listings or talk to your hotel concierge, especially during the summer. One way to avoid both lines and cover charges—since partying doesn't get going until after 1 am—is to make an earlier dinner reservation at one of the many clubs that have restaurants as well.
With a menu of more than 70 cocktails and an extensive wine list, there is something for everyone at this rooftop bar in the heart of lively Monastiraki Square. An unexpected bonus is the magical view of the Acropolis.
Cool architects and graphic designers, arty students and hipster DJs, revolutionaries and experimental philosophers: they all hang out in the cavernous basement of this Bauhaus building in the Kerameikos neighborhood, part of the greater Gazi district. Expect to hear the best electronica music in town. In summer, relish the view of the Acropolis from the postmodern, neon-lighted roof terrace. A handful of "multispace" imitators have emerged, offering offbeat film/video and music events in painfully hip industrial spaces—but Bios remains the standard.
With walls adorned with brightly lit bottles in all colors of the spectrum, Brettos is mainly popular among tourists who have seen photos of it over the years. Locals who still choose to come here do so to relish the memories of the oldest distillery in town (going strong since 1909) and the second-oldest bar in the whole of Europe. The huge barrels store head-spinning spirits produced on the premises even today—ouzo, cognac, liqueurs (like top picks cinnamon or mango), tsipouro, and more. Order a mezedes platter to accompany your beverage of choice.
Now in its twentieth year, this gay-friendly bar-club-lounge attracts a standing-room-only crowd every weekend. The draw is the great music, the joyous vibe, and the very fact that it's in Gazi, where a number of LGBT-friendly spots are located.
Sign up for Travel Tips & News
Thank you for your interest!
