Nightlife in Athens
Nightlife in Athens – The capital of Greece is also the Greek capital of entertainment. You’re looking for bars and clubs that will be open till the following morning even on week nights? You feel like having dinner after midnight? You want to dance all night long to the rhythms of both Greek and international music? You plan to spend the night out with your better half, maybe romancing in the moonlight by a worldwide famous monument? You want to enjoy international cultural events, or go to classical or modern music concerts in winter or summertime venues?
While Mykonos is the island to party on while visiting Greece, that doesn’t mean there’s no fun to be had on the mainland. Don’t underestimate Athens’ nightlife scene. The options are endless: techno-blasting superclubs that are open ‘til sunrise, chilled-out live music venues serving up local beers, or craft cocktail bars that are the perfect mix of trendy and relaxed. Whatever your vibe, you’ll find a place for you in Athens. It’s a pretty big city, so it’s probably best to break down Athens’ nightlife by neighbourhood. Club-hoppers should hit up the areas of Gazi and Monastiraki, where you’ll find huge venues hosting international DJs and the streets packed with partiers. If you’re more about trendy bars, the neighbourhood of Exarchia is a hip hotspot with a huge array of small bars and a growing food scene. Hipsters and cool kids will fit right in on a night out in Koukaki, where you’ll find live music venues and chill bars frequented by young locals.
You really can’t go wrong no matter where you choose to end up, as each area is home to a ton of places, perfect for a night of bar and club crawling. So when it comes to Athens nightlife, here’s everything you need to know.
Gazi
Gazi used to be an industrial neighbourhood, but the factories have been converted into music venues, and the huge gas works has been turned into a museum and cultural centre called “Technopolis”. Tucked in with the clubs you’ll find small bars with strong drinks, live music, and all around good vibes. We’re going to do a special deep dive into this neighbourhood because, chances are, if you’re a hardcore partier (or just want to check out the Greek party scene), you’ll end up here. Gazi is where you’ll find the kind of giant clubs you see in movies. Think giant confetti cannons, famous DJs, multi-storey dancefloors, and music so loud you can’t hear anything else. Enjoy your nights out in the hottest destination in Athens: you’ll find all kinds of restaurants, nightclubs, cafes, bars, night clubs, interesting places for theatre performances, cinemas, art galleries, mezedopoleia (serving a variety of mezedes meaning titbits), souvlaki eateries, live shows and loud music performed in Technopolis. Take the metro line 3 and get off at Kerameikos station. Further from the Acropolis, Hoxton is a cozy bar located in the lively downtown neighborhood of Gazi. It attracts mainly locals, as foreigners don’t know about the area as much as they know about other districts, such as Monastiraki. Ciel, adjacent to the Metropolitan Cathedral, offers amazing views of the historic district. Located away from the noise of downtown Athens in the Alsos Papagou park, Piu Verde is a short walk away from the Ethniki Amyna metro station, which is a mere 10-minute ride from Syntagma. Lindsay Lohan’s Athenian club is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. It’s one of the city’s biggest clubs, frequented by girls in heels and men drenched in cologne. Lohan is definitely a location for a fun night out if you’re prepared for some extreme clubbing. It’s loud and sweaty, with booming music and house dancers armed with sparklers and confetti cannons. It’s a pricey establishment, so maybe pre-drink before you get there. There’s a bunch of shows coming up, including a hip-hop night in October – keep an eye on their Facebook page for details. Closest metro: Kerameikos Bios is one of the trendiest places in Athens among young locals at the moment. Part live music venue, part theatre, part rooftop bar with Acropolis views, there’s always something going on here to occupy your night. It’s technically in the neighbourhood of Metaxourgeio, but is still a stone’s throw from Gazi. They have themed DJ sets every week so be sure to check out what’s happening when you’re in town.
This explosion of new tastes and addresses still can’t take the excitement off of the more spacious Gazi. The nomadic Meet Market, a collective of local independent creatives is often found at the impressive Technopolis industrial park, by the metro station, Kerameikos, on the weekends. There you can sway with the groovy beats of Black Athena, or get swayed by the handmade chocolates of Chocolart, the ceramics and porcelains (with themes from Greek history among others) of Vastdesign, the jewelry of Skinny Legs and the tees-like-a-summer-breeze of Lust Decade.
Closest metro: Kerameikos or Thēseiou. Somehow Gazaki Bar manages to be both upbeat and laid back. A rooftop bar that’s been open for ages, it’s frequented by locals and travelers alike. The music is good enough to dance to, but not so loud that you can’t chat with your mates. It doesn’t have some of the pretentiousness that comes with other bars in the area, so it’s a good place for a low-key night.
Monastiraki and Psyrri
Monastiraki is an area with an oriental ambiance: low buildings, narrow cobbled streets, a flea market, and almost no cars. Explore its vintage bars, stylish restaurants, old-fashioned cafes, tavernas and shops. Have a memorable night out in Psyrri listening to live Greek music, while enjoying your meal. You’ll find a rooftop bar called 360 with — as the name suggests — full-circled views of the downtown area, and A For Athens Cocktail Bar, which offers more of the same. Also worth checking out is TAF / The Art Foundation, an old-fashioned outdoor bar (covered in the winter, though) hosting DJs with a love of jazz. The venue also hosts a gallery, shop, and rooms that can be rented by artists looking for a space to explore their creativity. If you’re fond of the underground techno music vibe, then Six d.o.g.s. is the club for you. A huge warehouse-style space, it’s a little more alternative than the big clubs you’ll find in Gazi. By day it’s a cultural centre and cafe space with exhibitions and live music, and at night it pumps out great music with a heaving dancefloor and chilled outdoor garden. With live music and DJs on a high rotation, they just re-opened for the winter season and have a ton of interesting acts on the cards. For the last 10 years, DYBBUK has been the hottest place to experience Athens nightlife. It’s vibrant and loud, with a young, slightly glamorous crowd. It’s renown for always having good music, and often hosts well-known DJs from around the world. DYBBUK is flashy, with sparklers and dancers and lasers, a European superclub at its finest.
Exarcheia
No visit to Athens is complete without a trip to Exarchia. Famously known as the “anarchist district,” the neighborhood has long been home to Athens’ artists, activists and intellectuals. It’s also the site of the Polytechnic University, where a student uprising helped bring down a military junta in the 1970s. Travelers often come to check out the area’s incredible street art, but that’s not all Exarchia has to offer. During the day you can browse the many record, comic and book stores, as well as take in a gallery show at Hot Wheels or CHEAPART, but it’s nighttime when this area really comes alive.
There are so many bars and tavernas in Exarchia — usually with crowded tables that spill over onto the sidewalk — that your problem isn’t going to be finding a place to have a drink, but deciding which one to choose from.
Bouzoukia Clubs
If you love to dance or stand on tables — maybe even both at the same time — the bouzoukia are where you belong. A type of nightclub, bouzouki (a musical instrument used to play Greek music) clubs are home to Greek folk and dance music with live performances all weekend, as well as on certain weekdays. A popular tradition at the bouzoukia is throwing flowers onto the stage where the singer is performing — as opposed to the tradition of breaking plates, a practice that’s becoming increasingly obsolete.
Some renowned clubs worth a visit are:
- Fantasia: A large club that hosts some of the biggest names in Greek music and has been establishing itself as an essential weekend destination since 2014.
- Estate: A venue that has been on the rise since two-time Eurovision entrant Sakis Rouvas started to make regular appearances in late 2017.
- Iera Odos: A club where various genres of Greek music are played rather than only modern Greek dance hits, so you can sit back and just enjoy the music.
- Frangelico: The place to be if you want to dance the night away to the beat of Greek music until the small hours of the morning.
Athens Riviera
The last destination that should definitely be on your list is coastal Athens, otherwise known as the Athens Riviera. While some bouzouki clubs are on the Riviera, the best way to enjoy your time there is by making a beeline to the local beach bars or clubs. That way you can watch the waves come in as the sun comes up and dip your toes into the cool sand and fully relish in the relaxed ambience of this beachside paradise. A combination of sand and pebbles covers the beach, while seats in different shapes are dotted around it, providing the perfect escape to catch a breath away from the crowd on the dancefloor. And what better way to end your night than to watch the sunrise over the seemingly infinite sea with some background music drifting down from the DJ booth?
One of the most iconic spots in the area is Island, a restaurant and club situated on a rock where you’re so close to the water you can actually hear the lapping of the waves. The Peñarrubia Lounge is a busy lounge bar offering a bit of a different experience, as it’s located right in front of the beach with a roomy garden and hammocks scattered across the grass. The 2019 opening of Lohan Seaside has added quite a few events to the itineraries of Athenians from all over the city as well, with its huge parties and the picturesque scenery surrounding it.
