The Athens Riviera is the city's best-kept open secret: the coastal tram and buses run from the centre past a string of bays to Vouliagmeni, where pine-fringed coves, beach clubs and a thermal lake do a convincing island impression forty minutes from the Acropolis. Do the Parthenon at opening time, swim by noon, then eat grilled fish in a seaside taverna as the sun drops into the Saronic Gulf. May, June and September give island-warm water without the August exodus.
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No skyline on earth beats a floodlit Parthenon, and Athens has arranged dozens of rooftops around it like theatre seating. The hotel bars of Monastiraki and Syntagma — A for Athens, the Grande Bretagne's terrace — face the rock directly; arrive before dusk to watch the marble turn honey-gold, then stay as the lights snap on. Skip anywhere charging a minimum spend for the view; plenty of equally blessed roofs don't.
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The quiet upset of the world's-best-bar lists: Athens now regularly places multiple rooms in the top ten, led by The Clumsies and Baba Au Rum, both within a short walk of Syntagma. The style is generous and unstuffy — serious technique, zero reverence, Greek spirits like mastiha and tsipouro doing unexpected things. Start at 9pm, which counts as early here, and let the Psyrri district's smaller bars supply the closing chapters.
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