Nightlife in Athens

Athens drinks late, and it drinks in several different registers. Rooftops around Monastiraki trade on the floodlit Acropolis, Plaka keeps bars that have been pouring since before the First World War, and the courtyards of Petralona and Koukaki fill up with people who never go near the centre. A single evening can move through all three, and the walk between them is short.

A for Athens

A for Athens occupies the roof of the hotel of the same name, directly above Monastiraki Square and next to the metro station. There are two levels: a bar and restaurant floor with partial views, and the terrace above it, which looks straight across the rooftops of Monastiraki to the Parthenon. It is one of the most photographed views in the city, which means the terrace fills early on summer evenings and a booking is sensible.

• The view: the Acropolis face on, with Ermou Street and the old bazaar quarter below.
• The room: contemporary and comfortable rather than grand, and it works equally for a drink before dinner or a long evening.
• The drinks: a cocktail list built around Greek spirits and produce, alongside a full food menu.

The Clumsies

The Clumsies, on Praxitelous Street in the commercial centre, is the bar that put Athens on the international drinks map. Its founders converted a run-down three-storey building into a bar, restaurant and private room, complete with menus printed to be read under UV light. It has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2015 and climbed as high as third in the world in 2020.

• The drinks: technically ambitious but built from Greek and Mediterranean ingredients, from regional botanicals to seasonal produce.
• The room: high ceilings, plants and a mix of vintage and modern furniture spread over three floors.
• The crowd: a mix of Athenians and visitors, busy from early evening, loudest at the ground-floor bar.

Brettos

Brettos, at Kydathinaion 41 in Plaka, has been in the same family since 1909 and is generally described as the oldest distillery in Athens. It still makes ouzo and brandy on the premises, and the founder's hand-operated still is on show inside. The back wall, stacked floor to ceiling with backlit bottles in every colour, is the reason most people photograph the place before they order anything.

What to Drink There

• Ouzo and brandy distilled in the building.
• More than thirty flavoured liqueurs, including cherry, peppermint, citrus and mastiha, the resin liqueur of Chios.
• Greek wines and beers, served at the counter, at the few small tables inside, or outside on the pedestrianised street.

It is a small room and it gets crowded, but it is a working distillery bar rather than a reconstruction of one, and the prices are ordinary Plaka prices.

Upupa Epops

Upupa Epops sits in Kato Petralona, a residential quarter southwest of the Acropolis that most visitors never reach. It occupies a renovated 1930s house, and the courtyard, tiled in black and white and furnished with mismatched antiques, is where people sit. It runs all day, from coffee and brunch through to cocktails, and it gives a fair picture of how Athenians in their own neighbourhoods actually spend an evening: slowly, outdoors, at a table.

Planning the Evening

Athenian nights start late. Bars fill after ten and the busiest hours are between midnight and three, particularly from May to October when everything moves outside. Monastiraki, Psyrri and the streets around Praxitelous are walkable from one another; Plaka is a few minutes further; Petralona is a short taxi or a stop on Line 1. The marinas at Alimos and Zea are half an hour from the centre by road, and many charter guests combine their days at sea with an evening here.