Athens-Nightlife and Entertainment
Greece is a beautiful European country with a rich history, with exquisite architecture, including centuries-old ruins, wonderful beaches, museums, food, and culture. Athens has a great live music scene. Whether you are looking for rock, jazz and blues or traditional Greek music, there is always a bar or pub hosting a live performance in Athens. In summer live music is confined to festivals and outdoor concerts. May to September try live music tavernas around Plaka and Psyrri. Bouzakia singers are accompanied by costumed dancers prepared to dance till dawn. Bouzouki is derived from the Turkish bozuk and closely related to the Turkish saz and the Asian tanbur the bouzouki was traditionally used for dancing and entertainment at social gatherings. It became a featured instrument in rebetika, a type of improvised early 20th-century music associated with the Greek underworld. Since gaining a wider audience, the bouzouki has become the major popular-music instrument of Greece. An unforgettable experience is a summer's night at one of the outdoor cinemas or theatres. The main event is the Hellenic Festival with staging at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and other venues.
Highlights
Megaron Mousikis -The Athens Concert Hall presents a fantastic winter program of operas and concerts featuring world-class international and Greek performers. The city's state-of-the-art concert hall presents a rich winter program of operas and concerts featuring world-class international and Greek performers. In summer, it has shows in the back garden.
Half Note Jazz Club-Athens' most serious jazz venue is a stylish place that hosts Greek and international musicians. It is not open every night and closes entirely in summer.
National Theatre-One of the city's finest neoclassical buildings hosts contemporary theatre and ancient plays.
Dora Stratou Dance Theatre -Every summer this company performs Greek folk dances, showing off the rich variety of regional costume and musical traditions, at its open-air theatre on the western side of Filopappou Hill.
Fuzz-One of the best midsize music venues in Athens; international acts such ast the Wailers and Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello.
Greek National Opera-The season, which includes classic works and quirkier new ones, runs from November to June. Performances are usually held at the grand Renzo Piano building at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.
Bios- Occupying a Bauhaus apartment building, this multilevel warren has a bar, a basement club, a tiny art-house cinema and a roof deck. Expect live performances, art and new-media exhibitions.
Stoa Athanaton- occupies a hall above the central meat market. You can hear classic rembetika and laika (urban popular music).
Feidiou 2 Music cafe-Traditional music, usually rembetika (blues songs) and other heartfelt tunes, starts around 10pm most nights at this cosy little space on the edge of Exarhia
Vox open-air cinema on Exarhia's main square has been around since 1938; it has the rough-and-ready vibe you'd expect in this neighbourhood
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