World City Guide

Nightlife

Athens has a lively nightlife scene that takes place in the streets as well as in the hundreds of bars, tavernas and clubs throughout the city. Bars open until around 0400 and nightclubs until 0400 or 0600. The legal drinking age in bars and clubs is 18 years. Prices vary although punters can expect to pay around ¬6 for a beer or ¬8 for a whisky. Admission prices vary dramatically from place to place, often increasing at the weekend. Greeks tend to dress informally but stylishly for a night out.

Winter is the best time to enjoy the full range of after-dark entertainment, as many establishments move to the coast during the summer. For an authentic Athenian evening, find a bar or club offering bouzouki or rembétika music. Alternatively, numerous nightclubs and bars cater for international tastes. These are to be found mainly in the Syntagma, Thissio, Psirri and Kolonáki areas of central Athens, as well as in the suburbs, such as Kifissia, Glyfada, Vouliagméni, Voula and Varkiza.

Kathimerini (website: www.ekathimerini), an English-language insert available with the Herald Tribune, provides information on what’s on in Athens.

Bars: The most ‘happening’ area of town is Psirri, with its once down-at-heel workshops now being renovated to create trendy bars and restaurants. Here, Soul, Evripidou 65, tops the league in terms of atmosphere, with a cocktail bar, lounge and restaurant in a stunning courtyard with deep red walls and lush planting, plus a dance floor upstairs. A five-minute walk away, Bee, on the corner of Miaouli and Themidos, still in Psirri, also combines drinking, dining and music, pulling in a mixed gay crowd.

To rub shoulders with the Athenian elite, try the upmarket area of Kolonaki. Business visitors favour Central, Platia Kolonki 14 (see Restaurants), while those in search of something more colourful should check out Mommy, Delphon 4, a glamorous bar-restaurant with 70s décor and a young, rich, trendy clientele.

For a drink under the stars with an Acropolis view, try the open-air cafes lining Apostolou Pavlou in Thissio and Adrianou near Monastiraki.

Casinos: An hour’s drive west of Athens, in Loutraki, lies Loutraki Casino, Posseido 48, Loutraki (website: www.clubhotelloutraki.gr), a glittering modern establishment that claims to be one of the largest casinos in Europe. In contrast, on Mount Párnitha, the Parnes Casino operates in old-fashioned style from the Mont Parnes Hotel, 2 Karageorgi Servias (tel: 210 242 1234). A mountain cable car carries visitors up to the hotel, day and night. Evening dress and a valid passport are required for both establishments.

Clubs: The city’s most exclusive nightclub, frequented by rich and glamorous under-40s, is Privilege at Deligianni 50 and Georganta in Kifissia, a smart suburb north of the city centre. Its former premises, in Psirri, are now occupied by the other big Athenian club, Venue (website: www.venue-athens.com) at Ag Eleoussis and Kakourgodikiou, close to Monastiráki metro station. During summer, most of the big clubs, including these two, move out to the beach.

Live Music: For the best jazz in town, visit Halfnote Jazz Club, Trivonianou 17, Mets. Rock music enthusiasts might prefer the more informal Rodon, Marni 24, Omonia, staging live concerts. Many of Greece’s top bouzouki stars play at Diogenis Studio, Singrou 259, Nea Smirni. To hear authentic rembétika (blues sung by immigrants from Asia Minor who came to Greece in 1920s), try the notorious Stoa Athanaton in the arcade inside the Central Market.