The Best Rooftop Bars in Athens

A for Athens is the most direct Acropolis view in the city and remains the benchmark that every other rooftop bar gets measured against. The rooftop sits on the sixth floor of a boutique hotel and puts the Parthenon at eye level rather than in the distance. The cocktail list is solid without being remarkable — the Greek Mule with mastiha liqueur is the right call — but you are here for the view, and that view delivers completely. Book ahead for sunset; arrive early if you do not have a reservation.

Order: Greek Mule with mastiha liqueur, ginger beer, and lime — the local variation on the Moscow original.

360 Cocktail Bar on Monastiraki Square offers the widest panorama in central Athens — Acropolis on one side, Lycabettus Hill on the other, the Agora spread below. The drinks programme has improved significantly over the past two years; the cocktail list now includes Greek-spirit-forward drinks that justify the prices independently of the view. The sundowner hour between 7 and 9pm is the optimal window: light is good, temperatures are tolerable, and the bar has not yet reached full tourist capacity.

Order: Sundowner Spritz with Assyrtiko wine and local citrus liqueur — ask what they are using this season.

The Galaxy Bar on the top floor of the Hilton Athens offers the city's most polished rooftop cocktail experience. The pool terrace has 360-degree views that take in both the Acropolis and the sea on clear evenings. The cocktail programme is professionally executed with a Greek-spirits focus — ouzo, mastiha, tsipouro — presented in contemporary formats rather than tourist-facing simplifications. Prices reflect the hotel context but the quality matches them.

Order: Galaxy Martini with mastiha-infused gin and dry Greek vermouth — a house signature that works.

Bios occupies a former industrial building in Kerameikos and operates a rooftop bar above its cinema, gallery, and performance spaces. The crowd is Athens' creative and academic community; the drinks are affordable and the atmosphere is genuinely different from anything in Monastiraki. The Acropolis is visible from the terrace but at a respectful distance rather than in-your-face. A better option for those who find the tourist circuit exhausting and want to drink alongside people who actually live here.

Order: House aperitivo with local wine and bitter liqueur — served on the terrace at sunset.

Balthazar is the bar that upper Athens professionals treat as their living room extension — a garden and terrace bar in Ambelokipi that operates year-round and has a cocktail programme calibrated to repeat visitors rather than first-timers. The drinks are consistent, the music stays at conversation-possible levels, and the crowd is mixed age in a way that Monastiraki's rooftops are not. The seasonal spritz menu is excellent and competitively priced for the quality.

Order: Seasonal Spritz — ask what base they are using and let the bartender guide you.

Ciel operates on a rooftop in Kolonaki with Lycabettus Hill as its backdrop and the fashionable neighbourhood below. It attracts the city's design, media, and fashion community and has a cocktail list that reflects that audience: technically precise, visually considered, and priced appropriately for the postcode. The Bellini variations here — made with Greek stone fruit rather than peach — are among the best in the city and tell you something about how seriously the bar takes local produce.

Order: Greek Bellini with fresh fig or apricot depending on season — do not order the standard peach version.

Aleria occupies a neoclassical mansion in Metaxourgeio — a neighbourhood that has gentrified around it — and operates a terrace bar above its restaurant. The cocktail programme takes Greek spirits as a starting point rather than an afterthought: aged tsipouro, mastiha-based digestifs, and house-made bitter liqueurs from foraged Greek botanicals. The Greek Old Fashioned using aged tsipouro and orange bitters has become a signature that bartenders at other Athens bars now reference.

Order: Greek Old Fashioned with aged tsipouro, Demerara, and house orange bitters.

Oniro sits on top of the MET hotel near Omonoia Square with views that sweep east towards Hymettus mountain and south towards the Acropolis. The rooftop is less known than its Monastiraki counterparts and correspondingly quieter and more manageable. The cocktail list emphasises Greek wines and ouzo in contemporary formats; the ouzo sour is made with proper Plomari ouzo and is genuinely good rather than the tourist-facing curiosity it sounds like.

Order: Ouzo Sour with Plomari ouzo, citrus, and egg white — surprisingly elegant when made correctly.

Interni in Glyfada is technically outside central Athens but the tram connection makes it accessible. The venue operates across a beach club, restaurant, and upper terrace with Saronic Gulf views. The cocktail programme is contemporary Mediterranean: Greek gin, citrus, fresh herbs from the adjacent garden, and wine-based aperitifs built around local varieties. The seafront setting at dusk is genuinely different from anything available in the city centre and worth the journey on a warm evening.

Order: Mediterranean Gin Fizz with Greek gin, cucumber, fresh dill, and Aegean tonic water.