Okupa on Psaromiligkou in Kerameikos is the ground-floor listening bar of the Okupa urban hub, with vintage 70s decor, an analog sound system spinning afro-funk and world disco and a cocktail programme built for the room.
Tip: Walk-in for the bar; the outside terrace runs in summer with a live band. Kerameikos Metro L3 is two blocks. The DJ programme runs late on weekends.
Address: Psaromiligkou 9, Athina 105 53, Athens
Cantina Social on Leokoriou in Psyrri is the hidden after-hours bar reached through a covered passage off the street, with cheap drinks, old industrial machines as decor and a DJ programme that runs until early morning.
Tip: Hard to find; take the unmarked passage from Leokoriou into the courtyard. Cash bar is fastest; Monastiraki Metro is the closest stop.
Spiti Art Bar on Evpatridon in Kerameikos is the listening-and-live-music room programming jazz, gypsy jazz, flamenco and the occasional rebetiko night across a five-year run, with vinyl between sets and art exhibitions on the walls.
Tip: Live concerts most nights, ticketed via the venue; arrive 30 minutes before the set. Kerameikos Metro L3 is three blocks. The room is small, book ahead.
Brettos on Kydathineon in Plaka has run since 1909 as Athens' oldest distillery and one of Europe's oldest bars, with a backlit wall of multi-hued bottles and house-made ouzo, brandy, cherry and mastic liqueurs from old Smyrna recipes.
Tip: The back-bar wall of glowing bottles is the photo seat; order the house ouzo or the cherry liqueur on ice. Open daily 10:00 to 02:00; walk in.
Au Revoir on Patision Avenue in Kypseli has run since 1958 as the city's oldest cocktail bar, an Aristomenis Provelegios interior unchanged through the decades and the room that drew Frank Sinatra on a 1960s Athens visit.
Tip: Cash-only bar; the green-leather banquettes and the original 1950s decor are intact. Victoria Metro L1 is the closest stop; the room is small, arrive early.
Off the Chain on Zoodochou Pigis in Exarchia is the indie after-hours bar that opens after the rest of the neighbourhood closes, with heavy rock, metal and indie programming and free entry into the small hours.
Tip: Doors after the other Exarchia bars close; the rock-and-metal programme runs to dawn. Cash bar is faster; Omonia Metro is the closest stop.
Cantina Social on Leokoriou in Psyrri is the hidden after-hours bar reached through a covered passage off the street, with cheap drinks, old industrial machines as decor and a DJ programme that runs until early morning.
Tip: Hard to find; take the unmarked passage from Leokoriou into the courtyard. Cash bar is fastest; Monastiraki Metro is the closest stop.
Six d.o.g.s. on Avramiotou off Athinas in Monastiraki runs a bar, gallery and live-music venue with a hidden back garden, open 365 days a year and one of the canonical late-night stops in central Athens.
Tip: The garden is the warm-weather seat; the indoor stage runs DJ and live programming. Monastiraki Metro is two blocks; concerts ticketed via the venue Instagram.