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Nightlife in Athens, Bouzoukia live music stages bars and clubs

Athens and its surrounding suburbs have a very active night life. Especially in September when the Athenians are coming back from the greek islands having still fresh memories from the wild nightlife and the beach parties, they continue the clubbing in many upmarket Athens bars and clubs especially around  Plaka, Gazi, Psyri to the north suburbs and south to Athens riviera in Glyfada.

Like almost every big city in Europe, Athens has everything to offer for the young and wild as well as for the older generations. The young ones prefer clubbing in numerous bars the so called “barakia” in Greek (barakia are pub style places with loud mainstream music or latest Greek modern music) and clubs in many areas of Athens, while the older generations will prefer the famous Bouzoukia (live Greek music clubs) where sometimes a bottle of Whisky will cost you an arm and a leg.

Bouzouki night clubs

The Bouzouki night clubs a few decades back was a place mostly visited by the working class and the underground world and they where the places where the Rebetika songs where sang. After the second world war and there was a slow increase in the standard of living and Bouzoukia became famous even for the middle classes.

In those years almost every Greek film had almost a half an hour with a scene at the bouzoukia with famous Greek singers and bouzouki players of the time presenting their songs. George Zambetas was even writing songs for each specific film.

The Greek cinema has been in those days the bigger promotion of the nightlife in Athens and the Greek popular music Laika and the films of the Greek cinema where the main entertainment for all ages during the 50’s and 60’s.

The new type of those clubs though, has nothing to do with the old ones . Light effects, loud music, ballets, fancy clothes and expensive prices. In the old Bouzoukia you could enjoy the most famous singers and bouzouki players with the whole family with a kilo of retsina and some lamb chops or a bottle of 3 stars cheap cognac, today you must pay over a hundred euro for a bottle of whisky, some fruits and nuts. That’s why many Greeks when go to bouzoukia usually they will share the bill. As an alternative to bouzoukia there are many live music stages with modern Greek music and many restaurants and taverns that have a couple of musicians, usually a bouzouki and one guitar player where you can enjoy all kinds of Greek music while dinning. Unfortunately live music in those places you will find mostly on weekends.

Stage shows

One type of nightlife entertainment that you wont find easy in Athens are the Cabarets with strip shows, this kind of clubs where famous until the 70’s mostly in the former red light district of Piraeus the famous Troumba. Since the close down of the area and its transformation as a business centre those Cabarets where closed. A few strip shows clubs though are located in Sygrou avenue (Nea Smyrni) , Poseidonos Avenue and Haidari.

For the tourists the main places of night life is the area of Plaka and the area of Psiri and Gazi near the Acropolis and near Pireos street, in Plaka, once the centre of the Athenian nightlife from the begging of the 20th century, still some restaurants offer syrtaki and bouzouki shows mainly for the tourists.

Night out in Psyri

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 life, another place of nightlife with many bars and upmarket restaurants is the Thission area , mostly for the younger generations and the area of Gazi in Pireos street.

A good magazine about knowing events, places, clubs, restaurants and all kind of entertainment in Athens is the Athinorama. Within this magazine you will find all the addresses and telephones of all kind of entertainment like bars, clubs, restaurants, theatres, music halls etch.

Though the Television has almost vanished the Greek Cinemas slowly but steadily more and more movies attract the cinema audients of Athens. There are many multi screen theatres in many areas of Athens like the “Village world” Cinemas in Marousi and Faliro and in Rentis at the junction of Rali and Thivon street.

During the summer there are many open air concerts and festivals held on the Lycabettus theatre, the Rocks theatre and even in the Olympic stadium with world famous artists.

Plaka by night

The vast majority of tourists make a beeline for the Plaka district as the sun goes down. The old Turkish quarter is awash with tavernas and fast-food souvlaki joints and you’ll have to run the gauntlet of pushy waiters who throw themselves into your path, determined to “persuade” you into their particular establishment.

Be firm and take the time to check out a few restaurants before you make your choice as standards and prices vary considerably. Some tavernas will offer inducements such as a free carafe of wine

Greeks tend to sit down to their evening meal relatively late (9 or 10pm) so find yourself a bar with a roof terrace where you can watch the sun go down on the Acropolis while you sip your aperitif. Its changing hues are a truly awe-inspiring sight.

After you’ve eaten these roof terraces are a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the sight of the Acropolis lit up by night while listening to some traditional bouzouki music.

Plaka is delightful but crowded, “touristy” and over-priced so for the more independent traveller the Monastiraki district is an interesting and affordable option for an evening meal. Lines of tavernas, largely frequented by Greeks rather than tourists, offer good quality fare at exceptionally low prices in the streets around the main square, Plateia Monastirakou.

If you head for the more unfashionable areas such as Omonia you’ll get a decent meal for even less money – but watch out for pickpockets and be prepared to be confronted by prostitutes and some rather unsavoury types late at night.

Dining out in Athens

If you haven’t already done it by day, take a trip up Lykavittos Hill, either on foot or via the funicular railway. There’s a restaurant at the top giving fabulous views of the city and Acropolis. The tiny chapel of Agios Giorgios, at the summit, is lit up at night and the sight of that alone will make your journey worthwhile. The open-air Lykavittos Theatre is used for jazz and rock concerts during the Athens Festival.

The festival, held annually between June and September, is one of Europe’s biggest summer festivals and consists of a series of concerts as well as theatrical, opera and dance performances by top Greek and international artists.

The focus of the festival is the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, constructed on the Acropolis by a wealthy Roman in the year 161 AD. The theatre is only open to the public during performances.

Athens has a plentiful supply of music bars, rock and jazz venues and discos to choose from. Head for one of the many rembetika clubs to hear this traditional Greek music (a kind of Greek-style American blues with the added twist of a bouzouki!).

Best known clubs

One of the best known clubs is Rembetiki Stoa Athanaton in Sofokleous near the meat market a little way to the north of the Monastiraki flea market. This is the place to go for quality rembetika which purists will enjoy more than the tourist orientated Greek music and folk dancing to be found in the bars and restaurants of the Plaka district.

Bars and clubbing

The young ones prefer the small bars, those are pub style places with loud mainstream music or latest Greek modern music. The most popular outing of the Athenians though, are the famous Bouzoukia place. Those clubs a few decades back was 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 entertainment for all ages.

There are numerous bars and clubs with mainstream, hip hop, house and rock music, well known DJ’s , Latin and Ethnic clubs with Latin music. In Kolonaki you will find many sophisticated bars and clubs.

athens by nightThe new type of live music places though, has nothing to do with the old ones. Light effects, loud music, ballets, fancy clothes and expensive prices.

In the old Bouzoukia you could enjoy the most famous singers and bouzouki players with the whole family with a kilo of retsina and some lamb chops or a bottle of 3 stars cheap cognac, today you must pay an arm and leg for a bottle of whisky, some fruits and nuts.

That’s why many Greeks when they will go to the big stages with famous Greek artists, usually they will share the bill. 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 traditional Greek music while dinning. Live music in those places and in Athens generally you will find mostly Fridays and Saturdays.

The main spots of nightlife

athens-night-lifeFor the tourists that travel in Greece and want to get to know the local way of life, the main places of night activity is the area of Plaka and the area of Psiri, Gazi and Thisseion near and around the Acropolis, in Plaka, once the centre of the Athenian nightlife still some restaurants offer syrtaki and bouzouki shows for the tourists. 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 is the Thission area , mostly for the younger generations.

A good magazine about knowing events, places, clubs, restaurants and all kind of entertainment in Athens is the Athinorama (www.athinorama.gr) . Within this magazine you will find all the addresses and telephones of all of the above businesses like bars, clubs, restaurants, theatres, music halls etch.

Floor shows

If you want a taste of the new style of Greek floor show try Asteria in Glyfada at 2 G.Lambraki street, another one is at the centre of Athens in 48 Panepistimiou street at the former REX theatre with floor show and famous Greek singers like in Asteria. In both places the price for a bottle of whisky cost between 160-180 euro. For more humble occasions you can try taverns with live Greek music like the good old taverns in Plaka .

Dancing clubs

barsThe Club Venue one of the IN clubs of Athens is located in 130 Pireos street. It is build in 3 levels and every Saturday has party with celebrity DJ’s

Plus-X club is located in Kolonaki at 37 Patraiarhou Ioakeim street. Build in 2 levels with good DJ’s and rock mostly music

Salon Fashion Club is another trendy club in Athens at the Athens Tower in Ampelokipoi, 5 gelou Pyri street . You can enjoy dancing parties on Wednesdays with mainstream and house music.

Plastik bar is located at the area of Gazi next to the Keramikos metro station, at 12 Dekeleon steet. Enjoy dancing and live music with free entrance.

danceBAROUGE another trendy club in Gazi with celebrity DJ’s and mainstream music, 4 Andronikou and Tzaferi street Gkazi.

Disco Boom Boom is one of the oldest discos in Athens located at Tzitzifies in Thisseos and Poseidonos street.

Cubanita is a place with authentic Cuban atmosphere and live Cuban music and dance, the club is located in Psyrri square at 28 Karaiskaki street.

Ritmos del Mundo, an authentic club in Kerameikos with Mexican and Latin music in a wonderful building with neoclassical style, 88 Agisilaou street Kerameikos

Bars with food and music

T5 Bar Tsakalov 5, Kolonaki,

The T5 has become a hot spot on the pedestrian street of Tsakalov. It is housed on the ground floor of the shopping center and is one of the most well-kept all day bars in Kolonaki. It has gained fanatical guests and always has a cheerful atmosphere. Suitable for after shopping or after office coffee or drink, or food, with a choice from the sushi menu or with a plate of cheese or cold cuts with the kitchen open until midnight.

Rehab Theseos 16, Syntagma
Exotic cosmopolitan atmosphere and psychedelic elegant decoration reminiscent of the lobby of an art deco hotel in Miami in the 1930s, a cocktail bar in 70s New York or a colonial style bar in Shanghai in the 00s. A card with exemplary cocktails, which presses solidly in compositions with rum (with labels from Cuba to Guatemala) and an aquarium with rare fish behind the bar

Clumsies Praxitelous 30, Athens Center

The team behind Clumsies’s well-kept space shares the same strong view of the hospitality and sense of intimacy that an all-day bar should convey to its guests. The day can start there, the place is bathed in natural light, while the atmosphere changes as time passes and people gather for their night out. In the house of the Clumsies there is “The Room”, a space with fireplace, library, billiards and vinyls that can accommodate up to 10 people. There the service is personal and ritual, the guests enjoy the special experience of the Clumsies with a list of special cocktails and unique flavors available only for them.

Drunk Sinatra Thiseos 16, Syntagma
The bar that introduced the concept of high volume in the historic center, unfolding first the tangle of the great spring of the area. Based on the triptych flirtation, great music (from swing and big band to electronica and exotic pop) and a homely party atmosphere, he transformed the gallery of Thiseos Street into a unique and charmingly mysterious entertainment pole that is a point of reference. From the first moment you understand that this is a classic bar.

Gin Joint Christou Lada 1, Karytsi square
Gin Joint is a bar in the center neighborhood that wants to serve you just a drink, a gin or a cocktail of your choice. After all, the essence of the work of a bar, according to the owners Dimitris Kiakos and Christina Moatsou, is to create beautiful conditions so that each visitor feels comfortable and safe to enjoy his drink. Music that “hugs” you, smiling bartender and a scene that seems to have come out of speakeasy shops compose the experience of Gin Joint.

athens kolonakiBorsalino Kolokotroni 59

One of the freshest and most talked about arrivals of the year in Kolokotroni with vintage Italian references in the decoration and a strong bar under the supervision of Giannis Korovesis. Borsalino has a very remarkable list of cocktails but also selected food suggestions (signed by Michalis Nourloglou) to accompany your drink.

360 ° Cocktail Bar Kolokotroni 3, Center
With a unique view of the Acropolis and the square from the floor windows and the large terrace. Industrial style and refined environment with intimate atmosphere, with a very good cocktail list and Mediterranean cuisine with Greek references. Daily from morning for coffee and lunch. The tones rise at night with nice music and a cheerful atmosphere.
Hephaestus 2, Monastiraki Square

A for Athens Miaouli 2-4, Monastiraki

An urban terrace with stunning views of the Acropolis, Plaka and Monastiraki Square for one of the most popular cocktail spots in the city. Looking at the Acropolis, one can dine, enjoy a good distillate or some fine wine labels from the Greek vineyard.

Baba Au Rum Kleitiou 6, Athens

A bar that loves quality cocktails and the magic that emerges when fine spirits from around the world are mixed, with fresh herbs and spices. Inspired by the pioneering movements of Avant Garde and Futurism, the talented Baba Au Rum team develops the cocktail story, always respecting its past, and shares it with all those who know how to appreciate quality and creativity. The bar continues to serve exclusively the drinks that the team personally takes care of and has stood out for their uniqueness and quality.

Live music stages

The live music clubs with famous Greek singers usually change their program every season, during the summer most of them are in the Athens Riviera at Poseidonos Avenue.

Kentro Athinon, Petrou Ralli and Pireos 142 , live Greek music with famous Greek singers (This winter with Mitropanos, Lidakis )

Anodos Stage another famous live music stage in 183 Pireos street, this season with Kostas Tournas, Giannis Kotsiras (pass the flame) Lakis Papadopoulos and others.

Live bouzoukia and folk music

IIFIGENEIA, 201 Sygrou Avenue, live Bouzouki music.

ALLI FASI ,121 Konstantinoupoleos street, live bouzoukia

VICTORIA, at Victorias square in Athens, live Greek popular music (Laika).

ENNEA OGDOA, 40 Alexandras Avenue, live Greek music.

STOA ATHANATON, if you like the traditional rebetika music this is the place, right at the centre of Athens between Omonia and Monastiraki at 19 Sofokleous street.

Taverns with Greek live music

To Perivoli tou Ouranou at 19 Lysicratous street near Hadrian’s Arch.

Sissyfos at Mnisikleous street 31.

Allegro, 71 Pireos street and Agion Asomaton, with famous Greek popular music that became famous in the old Greek movies.