Athens is a lively city, and entertainment on offer varies between the historic and the modern.

Traditional Greek nights are standard tourist fare but are still worthwhile to get a flavour of Greek culture, and are undeniably good fun. Look out for dedicated evenings involving Greek dancing and cuisine.

Most of the major organised entertainment events coincide with the high-peak tourist season over the summer months. The Athens Festival takes place from June to October, and amongst the attractions on offer are open-air events centred on Athens’ most famous landmarks. If you come out of season choice is more limited, although all the attractions of a modern city are on offer year round.

The Athens Guide is available free of charge from the tourist office and major hotels. It includes information in both Greek and English on entertainment and nightlife as well as containing detailed maps of Athens. For up-to-date information on what’s on, contact the tourist office, Tel: +30 210-331-0392 or Tel: +30 210-870-7000.

Music

The best place to catch Greek folk music and dancing is Filopappos Hill from May to October, when the acclaimed Dora Stratou Dance Company stage nightly performances of traditional entertaiment. Performances: Tue-Sat 21h30, Sun 20h15. Tel: +30 210-324-4395.

Tavernas on Mnissiklleos in the Plaka district also often have live Greek music shows, although many are set up specifically for bus tour groups and as a result are very touristy.

One of the main venues for classical performances is the Athens Concert Hall with its year-round programme of music. Bookings are usually taken three weeks before each performance. Vas Sofias, Ilissia. Tel: +30 210-728-2333.

Another popular venue is the Pallas Theatre, which hosts jazz, rock and classical concerts. Tel: +30 210-322-4434.
For smaller rock and pop gigs head for the bars in Exarhia. Just wander around and see what takes your fancy - there’s usually something on in one of the bars.

Theatre

Athens boasts a lively theatre scene, but most performances are in Greek so unless you know the work (or the language) well you may flounder.

The English-language Athens News is a good source of information on venues and programmes, and indicates which shows are in English.

Opera

The main venue for opera is the Olympia Theatre at Akadimias 61. This is the home of the Greek National Opera Company (Ethniki Lyriki Skini). Tel: +30 210-361-2461 for details of performances.

The Greek National Opera also performs at the Acropolis Theatre (Ippokratous 9-11. Tel: +30 210-364-3700) and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Dionysiou Aeropagitou, Acropolis. Tel: +30 210-323-2771).

Cinema

The latest Hollywood blockbusters and domestic films are both widely shown in the city. US films are usually screened in English with Greek subtitles.

Central cinemas include Apollon Renault (Stadiou 19. Tel: +30 210-323-6811 and Asty (Korai 4. Tel: +30 210-322-1925).

Football

Athens is football mad with half-a-dozen teams playing in the Greek national leagues. The big city rivals are AEK, Olympiakos (Piraeus) and Panathinaikos, all top teams in the Greek league.

Olympiakos is based at the Karaiskaki Stadium (Piraeus. Tel: +30-210-414-3000) and Panathinaikos at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium (Alexandras, Gyzi. Tel: +30 210-664-7160).

Nightlife

There is no shortage of late night bars and nightclubs in Athens. When planning a night out, it’s worth bearing in mind that Athenians don’t tend to go out much before midnight, so if you decide to hit the town around 21h00, you may find it distinctly lacking in life. Cafés and bars are mostly open until at least 02h00, and nightclubs until around 07h00. Also note that most clubs based in the city centre from October to May up sticks and move to open-air venues by the sea during the summer, so you’ll need to check where nights are being held if visiting between May and October. Many places are also open all day, every day during the summer, as opposed to generally being open just on weekend nights during the winter months.

Kalua Club
Amerikis 6, Syntagma Square
Tel: +30 210-360-8304
Playing mainly house and R&B, Kalua attracts Athens’s glamorous crowd: this is somewhere where it’s worth dressing to impress. The club is located a few minutes away from Syntagma Square from September to May, moving to Porto Rafti, South East of Athens during the summer ((Tel: +30 229-907-5415) when music is played all day long with a clubby atmosphere during the night.

Stavlos
Irakleidon 10, Thissio
Tel: +30 210-346-7206
Popular across all age groups and attracting large crowds, Stavlos has occasional live bands as well as regular club nights. Its garden is a great spot to head for during the day. From the end of April to October, the club is known as “Stavlos on the Road” and moves to Arditou 1, close to the Panathinaikon Stadium.

Lava Bore
Fillelinon 25, Syntagma Square
Tel: +30 210-324-5335
Lava Bore plays a real mix of tunes, from disco to R&B, and has some of the best DJs in Athens. Don’t miss the happy hour from 22h00 to 23h30. The venue is likely to change its location during the summer, so double check with the tourist office or the club itself.

Exo
Markou Moussourou 1, Mets
Tel: +30 210-923-5818
Super trendy club offering great views over the Acropolis from its roof terrace. Open until the early hours, Exo is one of the best places to party. There’s also a restaurant here serving international food.

Special Events

Most of the popular Greek festivals are of a religious nature such as saints’ feastdays. Many festivals are celebrated on the eve of the actual event so you may miss the celebrations if you turn up on the day itself.

January
In Greece, New Year’s Day is known as the feast of Ayios Vassilios or St Basil’s Day. On January 6, Greece celebrates the Baptism of Christ - “Epiphany”. At the city’s port of Piraeus a cross is thrown in to the sea, to be recovered by local youths diving in.

March/April
The most important religious festival in the Athens calendar, and a wonderful time to visit Greece, is Easter. A ceremony of Christ’s resurrection followed by fireworks and a candlelit parade takes place on Saturday night. The Lent fast is broken early on Sunday morning with a traditional feast of Majeritsa soup. Festivities continue throughout the day. In one tradition, hard-boiled eggs, painted red on Holy Thursday, are knocked together and the person with the last remaining uncracked egg is said to be lucky.

June
The Athens Festival runs from June to October. It features theatre performances in the ancient open-air Herodes Atticus Odeon. Performances include opera, dance, ballet, modern and ancient theatre, jazz and classical music and begin at 21h00 (20h30 during September). For details and tickets contact the Athens Festival box office. Tel: +30 210-928-2900.

July
Open-air performances of Greek drama are performed during July and August in the ancient theatre at Epidaurus, famous for its acoustics and outstanding beauty. Performances start at 21h00 and tickets can be bought from the Athens Festival box office. Tel: +30 210-928-2900.

October
On October 28, Greece remembers “Ochi Day“, (”Ochi” meaning “No” in Greek) referring to the day on which Prime Minister Metaxas said “No” to the Italian invasion of Albania, heralding the start of Greece’s involvement in World War Two. It is celebrated with huge military parades in Syntagma Square and throughout the city.

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