Newsletter December 2019

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It’s December and Athens has put on its best festive coat. Streets and squares are aglow with seasonal sparkle; cafes and bars are abuzz with locals raising a glass to the most sociable time of the year. This Christmas, Athens is spinning the classics. From reloaded Yuletide plays and amplified cocktails to space age light shows. Cap it all off by watching the sky explode with fireworks over the Acropolis on New Year’s Eve to the beat of a free outdoor party thrown by the city.

Christmas comes early in Athens - with the feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6 - and stays until Epiphany on January 6, so there’s a whole month of festivities to enjoy. From bakeries brimming with buttery biscuits and street markets plying traditional treats, to good luck rituals for the year ahead, here’s how Athenians do Christmas. Read more

Gone are the days when Athenian bartenders stuck to classic cocktails. Now, they enhance them with local elixirs and ingredients - from the wild herbs of Crete to pistachios from Aegina - to create masterful cocktails that are the toast of the town. Read more

• Celebrate the festive season in style at one of Athens’ Michelin-starred restaurants, or splurge on a special tasting menu at a fine-dining restaurant or five-star hotel.
• Make the most of extended shopping hours. Scour the city’s contemporary design shops to pick up cool collectibles, wearable art – and a quintessentially Athenian attitude.
• Dive into the dazzling world of free Christmas fun at culture hub SNFCC. There’s everything from dancing fountains and live concerts to futuristic light parks and ice skating. 

A Christmas Carol
Stir up those seasonal spirits at a fresh new musical version of Charles Dickens’ timeless tale of redemption by hot British playwright Jack Thorne.
15 November – 12 January

Atlas Athens
Take three European cities; blend their unique soundscapes in real time; then sit back to enjoy an immersive sound spectacle that breaches the bounds of geography.
13 December

Christmas Meet Market
Put the fun in your festive chores and score Christmas gifts and Greek goodies galore at this bumper edition of Athens' Meet Market.
14 December - 22 December

Bicep DJ Set
An euphoric night out awaits fans of electronic dance beats as Belfast duo Bicep fires up 90s rave vibes at their first Athens gig. Move fast; their shows always sell out.
14 December

Lara Fabian
Canadian-Belgian chanteuse Lara Fabian marks her 50th birthday with a performance of high notes from a 30-year career, along with tunes from her latest LP, Papillon.
15 December

Swan Lake
Sanity and madness do battle in Konstantinos Rigos’ modern and otherworldly rendering of Tchaikovsky’s tumultuous tragedy, performed by the Greek National Opera Ballet.
22 December - 31 December

New Year’s Eve Concert
Blast into 2020 with fireworks and hot Greek acts at a sizzling free gig thrown by the City of Athens in Syntagma Square.
31 December

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