Half Note Jazz Club on Trivonianou behind the First Cemetery in Mets has been the Athens jazz reference since 1979, founded by Nickos Sachpasidis and now booking international touring jazz artists in an intimate basement room.
Tip: Ticketed concerts most nights; the room is small, book ahead for the headline set. Closed during summer when programming moves outdoors.
Address: Trivonianou 17, Athina 116 36, Athens
Klimataria on Plateia Theatrou is the 1927 family-run taverna where rebetiko legend Markos Vamvakaris once played, still hosting live rebetiko Wednesday through Sunday alongside slow-braised lamb and gigandes plaki.
Tip: Live music Wed and Thu at 21:30, Fri 22:00, Sat 22:30; reservations recommended at weekends. Musicians often sit among the tables and take requests.
Booze Cooperativa on Kolokotroni in Psyrri has run since 1989 as Athens' first alternative art collective, with a multi-story neoclassical building housing a music venue, gallery, workspace and cafe-bar across its floors.
Tip: Cafe by day, art space by evening, live and DJ programme by night; check the venue site for the calendar. Syntagma and Monastiraki metros both walkable.
A for Athens on Miaouli at the corner of Monastiraki Square runs the canonical rooftop bar in the city, with an open-air terrace looking straight at the Acropolis and full cocktail and snack service from breakfast to late night.
Tip: Sunset is the photo seat; arrive 17:00 to grab a rail view of the rock. The bar runs until early morning hours; lunch and dinner downstairs at the hotel restaurant.
Couleur Locale on Normanou in Monastiraki sits across the 2nd and 3rd floors above a hidden arcade, with a year-round terrace looking at the Acropolis, a Mediterranean tapas carte and a craft cocktail and coffee programme.
Tip: Hidden in the alleys off Monastiraki Square; ride the small elevator to the second floor. The terrace is the photo seat; book ahead for sunset Friday and Saturday.
360 Cocktail Bar on the corner of Ifaistou and Monastiraki Square runs a multi-level terrace with panoramic Acropolis views, a long cocktail list and a fine-dining floor below, open from morning coffee to late-night drinks.
Tip: Walk-in for the rooftop bar; reservations only for the downstairs dining room. The corner west-facing seats catch the sunset on the Parthenon.
The Clumsies on Praxitelous near Syntagma is the all-day cocktail bar by Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis Kyritsis, ranked on the World's 50 Best Bars every year since 2015 with a UV-light cocktail list and an upstairs private room called The Room.
Tip: Walk in for the ground-floor bar; reservations required for The Room upstairs. The Mediterranean Gimlet is the canonical pour; signature menus rewritten yearly.