Cafes, bars, cool locations to wander about in.

Cafes
Not so much a thirst-quencher, more a way of life.

Image Courtesy of wikitravel.org

In Kolonaki Square, the only place to see and be seen is Da Capo, at 1 Tsalkalof St, which not only serves the best coffee, but divine little lunchette-type snacks, and is the coolest spot of the multiple-entry Kolonaki café scene.  To act like a true Insider, don’t forget to dump your car keys (or equivalent) on a table to reserve it, blithely ignoring them as you go and queue for the self-service cappuccino freddo – all of which will mark you out as a local, or someone who knows.  Ask for it sketa (no sugar) or metrio (some).  If you just go and sit down, you get a table, but you will wait a long time for your coffee, as there is no table service!

Useful link:  www.answers.com/topic/kolonaki

Or wander down the adjacent Tsakaloff “coffee shop street”, to explore the tiny pedestrian streets of Roma, and soak up the atmosphere of contemporary, upmarket Athens. 

Check out nearby Skoufa street, with the wonderful old intellectuals’ hangout of Filion, next to the church of Dionyssos, where the artists and writers of Kolonaki hang, and which is an old-time classic.

Pairidaeza Cafe/Bar in the heart of the centre of town is ideal for a coffee while browsing Ermou and surrounding streets or for an early drink after shopping. The guys at the bar make mean cocktails at good prices and they also have home-made daily specials for lunch or a nibble with drinks.  Worth a visit!  3 Parnassou street, Karytsi Square tel. 210 3210233

For great pastries, try……

•  La Cigale (on El. Venizelou street in Nea Erithrea and other locations),
    whose specialty called La Cigale is an ice cream cake covered in savoyard
    biscuits, almonds and caramel - utterly delicious and totally irresistible!

•  Fresh (on El. Venizelou street in Nea Erithrea, Kriezotou street in Kolonaki
    and other locations) serves trendier, more French style pastries, really
    inventive and beautifully presented.

Bars

•  Periscope bar on Haritos and Ploutarchou in Kolonaki, for an end-of-the
    day/beginning-of-the-evening drink

•  Bios, on Pireos St trendy art scene with occasional performances/dj
    nights/exhibitions.

•  Nixon, in Keramikos, a cinema/bar/restaurant, serving quality food and drink
    in comfortable, opulent, slightly baroque surroundings.

•  Booze, a London style trendy, featuring high ceilings, long bar, wooden pub
    tables, sofas + armchairs etc, located near Syndgma, so very central for
    the metro, hotels, Kolonaki wanderings.

•  Skoufaki, in Kolonaki, on Skoufa St, is the “old reliable” - good music,
    chilled atmosphere and always busy. People gather here day or night-
    either at the bar on the little tables inside and outside on the pavement.

•  Jazz in Jazz on Dinokratous St in Kolonaki is great for a whisky in the
    winter. Small and cosy with many types of scotch to choose from. But
    most worth it for the décor, which features original jazz memorabilia (from
    posters of the greats to an old type writer and a very old pair of shoes!).
    The owner is always about to add a personal touch of eccentricity too.

•  Bar-hop in Gazi, taking in the vibe of the pedestrian Avramiotou St.

Or check out the Aphroditi Refresh cinema in Gazi, located at 7-9 Andronikou St, for summer open air movies.

 

Late Night Hangouts

Greece has some issues to resolve over bootlegged alcohol, and the results can be unpleasantly devastating, so ChI’s alter their drinking preferences by location and guesstimate on safety for consumption.  A rule of thumb is always ask for named brands, preferably the more expensive ones.

ChI’s favourite place to go out drinking and dancing in Athens is called Bar Guru Bar - (though everyone just calls it “Guru”).

Guru is an Athens night-life classic, with great, original décor, which takes on multiple personalities as the night wears on. By early evening it is the best Thai/pan-Asian restaurant in town (reservation a must) and from around 22h, the bar with its amazing cocktails and sexy barmen (yesss!) opens up and the place starts to fill up.  And the top floor morphs into a specialist jazz hangout called Jazz Upstairs, with its own bar that hosts a wide variety of different events each week with a special jazz interest feature.

At the bar, the yummy lychee martinis are a must, as well as the usual caipirinha and mojito’s.  Guru is small (but perfectly formed?) and when the music gets going, despite the lack of space, dancing is till dawn.

The music is very eclectic – on a single night you can hear everything from reaggae, motown hits to a few rock classics – but all great to dance to.

Finally, the top floor has been transformed into a special venue www.bargurubar.gr  

Located at 10 Plateia Theatrou (Theatrou Square) – It’s not easy to find if you don’t know it, but is worth the effort.  In Psyrri, near Platia Theatrou and near the main Athens food market known as the Agora.  In downtown Athens. Metro: Monastiraki (Athinas street exit) Tel 210 3246530.

The Alexander Bar at the Grande Bretagne Hotel on Syndagma Square is a quiet classic, voted the best hotel bar in the world by Forbes magazine!  On Fridays and Saturdays its stays open till one a.m. and is one of the most romantic drinkings spots in Athens. Dim lights, plush leather seats and a soft piano are the perfect setting for immaculate cocktails and hard-to-find single malts, all served by the most professional and friendly of bar-tenders.

Galaxy Bar – (absolutely not to be confused with the same-name Galaxy bar at the top of the Hilton – that’s for the tourists, this is for very ChI locals!) Tucked away in an arcade just of Stadiou street near Syntagma square, this is a popular bar with a style reminiscent of old movies with the uber-confidente barman that people pour out their souls (but not wallets) to. 

Galaxy offers cheap but “clean” drinks -  poured by a man who knows his job very well and offers a good selection of snacks to accompany your drinks.  Space is limited and this is a great place for an early and or quiet drink - so go early to find a stool to sit on!  Location:  As you come on to Stadiou from Syntagma Square, turn right into the first arcade you find and then right again.

 

Wandering About

From Syndagma, opposite the Grande Bretagne, walk down Voukourestiou st, through Kolonaki up to Lykabettos (the hill at the top)

Elsewhere in the city, explore the old student area of Exarchia, where in summer you can watch classic old and avante garde films in open air cinemas, in the original language (not a given in Greece).

Or take in Plaka and Monastiraki, the Covent Garden equivalent, to use another London metaphor.

 

Cinemas & Theatres

There are many old cinema theatres in Athens that still have a wonderful “old Athens vibe” and have been maintained faithfully in the style of the 50s and 60s. 

Recently there has been a real surge of the American style multiplexes - best for action packed blockbusters because they are constantly full of screaming teenagers and they have no intervals, unlike the old-style movie houses.

If you insist on going to a multiplex, go for real comfort and watch a movie in the gold class screens at Village Centre cinemas in The Mall (in Marousi). 

It costs more (about 20 euros in 2007), but you get your own armchair and there is apparently lots of quite good food to order. Luckily, films are not dubbed at all so even if you do not know Greek, if you know English you are not cut off from going to the movies!

Most Greek neighbour hoods have a local cinema and these are always interesting. 

For good old Athenian classics (some revamped though) try:

•  Attikon/Appollon cinemas on 19 Stadiou street just of Syntagma square.
    Good movies, great seats.

•  Odeon Opera cinema on Akademias Street , near omonoia and right next to
    the National Opera

•  Asti cinema, 4 Korai street,  right outside Panepistimio tube station,
    between Panepistimiou street and Stadiou street – studenty, art-house-y,
    always plays the most controversial films. Slightly seedy.

•  Embassy cinema on Patriarchou Ioacheim street in Kolonaki. Where all the
    upscale elderlies of Kolonaki go to watch period dramas and romance-
    comedies (“rom-coms”), classic old theatre, a quieter audience.  (Be
    warned - Greeks are noisy – even in cinemas!)

•  Alphaville at the end of Mavromichali street near Alexandras avenue.
    Always avant-garde films and in the summer it is a real joy because they
    play the great old classics by Bergman, Visconti, Pasolini and co.

One of the best things about Greece in the summer is the open-air cinema tradition, that despite decreasing movie-goer numbers, is still around.

There’s nothing like sitting outside with the crickets, sipping a cold beer and having a ciggie while watching the latest release! The seats are often uncomfortable but it’s definitely worth it.

Again, most neighbourhoods have on of these two but some of the classic ones downtown are:

•  Refresh Dexameni in Kolonaki, on Dexameni square. They like to play
    French films and generally few action movies, more quality stuff.

•  Athinaia on Haritos street in Kolonaki – a small cinema but the best tiropita
    (cheese pie) ever - they bring them out during the interval.

The summer at the movies can be a little boring for some because new releases slow down a bit but for anyone interested in art-house classics of the 50s and 60s it’s an amazing opportunity to see them on the big-screen! So, keep a look out because cinema owners in central Athens often bring these out of the woodworks in summer.

•  The Pallas Theatre.  Newly renovated, this amazing theatre on
    Voukourestiou street in Syntagma/Kolonaki preserves its original art deco
    decoration and ambiance and is shaping up to be a great venue - one of
    the few that hosts events in other languages. 

 

Athens Beaches

A lot of ChI Athenians snub the beaches in and around the city, and they have a point in that they get so incredibly overcrowded and noisy that the experience it can be offputting.

Quieter beaches cost more (a lot of urban beaches are paying-only)

Some of these are:

•  Gold Beach at Grand Resort Lagonissi in Lagonissi. This is the beach that
    is on the road where you turn into for the Hotel. Not to be confused with
    the hotel beach (which is reportedly nice but costs about 50 euros a head.
    Lots of chairs, good music that’s not too loud and clean bathrooms and bar.
    There is a small paid parking lot, and an entrance fee – more expensive on
    weekends. Sandy beach.

•  Asteras beach in Vouliagmeni.  A classic for wealthy Athenians.  Metres
    and metres of sand but it gets really packed, so is best to visit on weekdays
    if possible. Entrance fee payable, and parking is very limited. 

In between the free or entrance-fee beaches you will find when driving along the coast of southern Athens, there are many even more beautiful coves and beaches that are really worth it. If you don’t mind not having an umbrella and a chair, or bring your own,  then absolutely go for these – they start after Vouliagmeni. 

 

“Keep an extra bathing suit in your car.  The sea is always closer than you think”. 

Seen in Carouzos men and women’s clothing – lots of lovely linen stuff - on Joachim, in Kolonaki.