Where to amp up the romance in Athens? 8 Fool-proof Date Nights

Pyrronos 5, 11636, Pagrati, Athens, Greece, tel. : +30 2107 564 021.

WHEN: Until May 28, 2023.

WHERE: EMST, Kallirois Avenue, tel: +30 211 101 9000, www.emst.gr

Chocolate Fest, OSY Bus Depot, Ermou 1 and Peiraos, Gazi. Book here. 

4. Karaoke serenade at Athens Sports Bar

Can’t put into words how you feel? Then use someone else’s.  Bonnie Tyler, the Bangles, Robert Smith… Rock out with your other half and dust off your best big love ballad at Athens’ most popular and long-running karaoke night at the Athens Sports Bar, about two-minutes walk from the Acropolis metro, in Koukaki. Hosted by the fabulous Fisher Brothers, every Thursday from 8pm, the evening is much loved by both locals and overseas visitors for its infectious party vibe and friendly, non-judgey atmosphere. A great place to make new friends.

5. Star gazing at the Athens Observatory

National Observatory of Athens. Image: Theofanis Matsopoulos

It worked for Sebastian and Mia (in La La Land). Give your love an interstellar boost with a dazzling observation of the night sky at the National Observatory of Athens using the mighty Doridis telescope. Housed in a building made of marble from the island of Aegina, the Doridis telescope is a refractor with a lens of 40cm in diameter and has a length of 5m. Surely, inducing some celestial charm into your earthly pursuits is the way to seal your romance.

6. A Golden Ticket for Magic Mike’s Last Dance

Feeling frisky? Treat your other half to a Gold Class cinema date to see the steamy new Soderbergh film Magic Mike’s Last Dance. The Channing Tatum-led stripper saga sees Mike (Tatum) fall head over heels for Max Mendoza (Salma Hayek), a wealthy single mother who wishes to stage the mother of all strip shows at her estranged husband’s London theatre. And she wants Mike to help choreograph it, thereby realizing his, and their, potential. With Channing and Salma setting the tone for your evening, all you need to do is order a bottle of wine and some movie treats to share during the screening. They’ll be delivered by a waiter as you recline on your ridiculously comfy, super-sized La-z-Boys. Once you’ve gone Gold Class, you’ll never look back. It’s a bit like turning left instead of right as you enter the aeroplane. And at just €20 a ticket, well worth the ride.

For Gold Class Screening Times for Magic Mike, visit HERE

7. Take a romantic stroll through Anafiotika – Athens’ little Greek island …

Romantic Anafiotika. Image: Shutterstock

This gorgeous and tranquil oasis, nestled coyly between the steep walls of the Acropolis and the hustle-bustle of Plaka below gets our heart strings twanged every single time. There are no tavernas or souvenir shops in Anafiotika. Just an enchanting labyrinth of twisty cobbled lanes so narrow in places, that you’ll have no choice but to cosy up just to get through! Anafiotika (which means “little Anafi”) is dotted with the kinds of ramshackle white-washed cottages you’ll see on many Cycladic islands, complete with the obligatory instagram touches: bougainvillea, turquoise doors, bright potted plants and cats slumbering on window sills. Built in the mid 19th century by carpenters and masons summoned by King Otto I from the Cycladic island of Anafi, Anafiotika is a real slice of island village life amid the concrete contours of the capital. Get deliberately lost while you listen to the lively sounds of the city below. You’ll find Anafiotika by following the signs up the hillside from Dionyssiou Aregopagitou Street, next to the Theatre of Dionysos.

8. The Best Things In Life Are Free!

The view from Lycabettus just after sunset. Image: Heracles Kritikos, Shutterstock

Greek sunsets are the stuff of pure poetry. Happiest of all, they don’t cost a penny. Whether you’re “Town” or “Country”, Athens delivers enough Hollywood-worthy sunsets to cast a rosy glow over any Date Night, so grab a bottle of bubbly and let the sun go down on you.

For City Lovers:

Climb the city’s tallest hill, Lycabettus, where you’ll both be rewarded with a spectacular view reaching down to the sea. You might even catch sight of some “Mamma Mia-style” nuptials at the 19th century Saint George chapel, perched on the summit – a popular wedding spot. Meanwhile, on Greek national holidays, on the south-facing slope, two cannons fire 21 times at sunrise and sunset. (But you could always pretend you’d organized them all by yourself!).

For Coast Lovers:

Cape Sounion, 70km from Athens, offers the most rousing seascape imaginable. Perched upon the Attiki headland, nearly 60m above sea level, rest the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon, erected in the Golden Age of Pericles, around 440BC. Discover the nightly symphony of nature that made English poet Lord Byron swoon (his graffiti can still be read among the ancient Doric pillars).