Athens has been home to some of Europe’s prettiest rooftop bars for decades, but it’s only in more recent years that the scene has flourished. These are nine of the best rooftop bars in Athens for 2026.
I moved to Athens in 2018, and over the last eight years have seen the rooftop-bar concept, something that was once reserved solely for the terraces of heritage properties, blossom throughout the city. Today, it seems, there’s a rooftop bar for every mood and budget, ranging from small IYKYK local joints to the big and bold bars that have become a must-do experience in the Greek capital.
The 2,500-year-old Parthenon backdrop is, of course, one of the main draws (for tourists and locals alike), but there’s more to the rooftop bars of Athens than this. Summers in Athens are hot – hotter than you might ever imagine if you haven’t experienced it yourself – so as the sun begins to set, the city comes alive with the chatter of friends reconnecting. And a rooftop bar, somewhere where ice-cold cocktails flow and a whisper of a cool breeze might provide some respite, is the perfect place to do so.
Traditional or modern, upbeat or low-key, each rooftop bar in Athens has its own identity. These are some of the best to book for your next visit.
Taratsa
You might think you’ve come to the wrong address when you arrive at Taratsa’s nondescript door, wedged between a post office and a street kiosk on Mitropolis Street – evident in the photo message I received from the friend I met here on my last visit, which read: “In here?” My reply was a simple “Yes” and a photo of the Acropolis view. And what a view it is; overlooking the terracotta roofs of Plaka and the Parthenon, this is easily up there with the best. Both the dishes by chef Alex Karakatsanis and the cocktail menu, curated by nearby The Bar In Front Of the Bar, are Greek-Levantine inspired. “I have a deep love for Middle Eastern cuisines and have incorporated many elements from them into my cooking,” Karakatsanis tells us, sharing that his “grandmother was originally from Istanbul, and my wife is half Lebanese”. The bar-adjacent stools are the place to sit for a drink; order the Fattoush cocktail mixed with tsipouro, smoked grenadine, parsley and mint, which is not only tasty, but unlike anything else in the city. The best seats in the house overlook the views, where you can also taste Karakatsanis’ dishes, like short-rib Greek shawarma, grilled kebab with pitta and oven-cooked eggplant with tahini, hazelnut and onion.
