The Dark Side of Athens
Today, I’m going to talk about the other side of Greece: the nightlife.
Nightlife in Greece is its own animal. One may think, “Oh, it’s probably just like any other place in Europe.” Well, think again.
In Athens, there is an entire neighborhood designated for clubs and bars, called the Gazi District. Once an industrial area where no one would dare venture, now is thriving after midnight from Wednesday to Sunday.
And this isn’t the only place in Athens where you can find bars and clubs. There are tons of other spots throughout the city, mainly near Syntagma Square and Plaka. These bars tend to be slightly more upscale than the more grimy Gazi District. More young business professionals venture to these bars after work for drinks and a smoke with friends. The drinks are unique and expensive, and these bars usually die down around 2am.
This is not the same in the Gazi District, however. In Gazi, the party only starts at 2am.
One of our favorite clubs to go to was Lohan. This is Lindsay Lohan’s nightclub that strictly plays American music. It is the place to see and be seen as a young person in Athens. It fills up quickly, and most people stay until it closes — around 6am. There are three different bars, dancers, a DJ and some kind of MC/host, and an upper level where people who purchased tables would glare down at the mere peasants below.
There were also tons of other bars in the Gazi district. Some were hard to get into — similar to the US. One time, to get into one of the bars, my friends and I acted like we bought a table. This was a strange situation because the bouncer then decided to walk us to the table (I think he suspected we were lying). We didn’t really know how to play this one off, but we ended up seeing some people who were having fun and acted like we knew them. They played along and we ended up having a great night.
That night was the first time I’ve ever stayed up until 6am out on the town — and will probably be the last. I’m really not sure how they do it.
Yes, I may be writing about this because it was fun being of age in a beautiful, foreign country, and yes, maybe I miss it a lot. But, this does contribute to my conversation of discovering if Athens is truly livable. The nighttime is just as important as the daytime when it comes to this conversation.
The weekend (and most weekday) nights are very important to the Greek people. This is a time to get away from a long work day, get dressed up, go out to see others and to be seen, and get away from the stresses of the economic crisis. Next week I will be talking more about the economic crisis and how it has affected Greek citizens. For now, I’ll just say that Greeks deserve this time to relax and let loose. They have been through a lot, whether it be a major economic crisis or a natural disaster.
Clubs and bars can be where memories (whether good or bad) can be made. Nightlife contributes to the vibe of a city. If a city didn’t have nightlife, in today’s climate, this may seem that the city is not thriving. That its not a place where people want to be. I believe that Nightlife can show the growing success of a city. It’s a place where people want to be, want to have fun, and want to make memories.
