The first thing you should know about going gay in Greece is that there are no laws against it, yippee! The age of consent in Greece (between two guys) is 15 or 17 in some places and that confusion is kind of typical of Greek bureaucracy. But as long as the cute guy you find is over 17 and consenting you should be o.k. Having said that if there is a huge difference in your ages, for example if he is 15 and you’re 40, then you could run in to trouble, so beware.
But you will also tend to find in Greece that being gay isn’t talked about much. It’s a kind of culture where what you do behind closed doors is up to you but they’d rather you didn’t flaunt it in public. It’s still a fairly macho society and, although it goes on, most guys you meet will tell you they are bi-sexual rather than risk being ‘outed’ to their straight friends and family.
But in Athens you’ll find plenty of places to go where young gay guys meet up and you’ll feel at home and safe. Here is a run down of some of the bars, clubs and places that are geared towards a younger, 18 – 30 crowd.
Almodovar is a bar that’s open from 11.30 to 3.30 every night and caters for a mainly young crowd. If those hours sound kind of late to you then you have to remember that, in Greece, folk like to go out late. A standard day consists of working in the morning, early, taking a long siesta in the afternoon (usually between 2 and 5 when everything more or less closes) and then eating late, at around nine in the evening. After that it’s party time for the young set and things don’t really get going until midnight. This is due to the heat, particularly in the summer. By the way, try and avoid Athens in August, it’s horrible!
Sodade describes itself as the most famous night club in Greece and is well worth a look on your trip. It’s a nightclub that caters for boys and girls and opens its doors at 11.30 at night, not closing them again until seven in the morning. It has a cool website (in several languages) at www.sodade.gr where you can view some images and see what’s on.
There are around 10 gay café-bars and clubs in Athens and most of them cater for a mixed aged crowd; to find younger guys you’ll need to go to the two I mentioned above or take pot luck at the others. Having said that, most guys who are openly out on the Greek gay scene tend to be younger and more enlightened or ‘Westernised’, the older man will probably stay at home or go to a cruising ground.
If you’re not into late night clubs then Interni might suit you. This is a café/restaurant that opens from three to nine in the afternoons and is a great place to chill out. If you want something more steamy then try the Athens Relax Sauna, a gay sauna with private rooms and a bar that’s open from noon until seven p.m. It has private rooms as well as all the usual sauna facilities. The Intercontinental Hotel is also a well known sauna but this one caters for a mixed crowd, so proceed with caution.
And for the really sexed up guys among you who enjoy a spot of outside cruising and sex you could try the National Gardens Park (open from six a.m. to six p.m.), Omonia Square in the afternoon and evening in front of the Neon Café, or the beaches in the Vouliagmeni area 20 km to the west of the city centre. In all these places take extra care who you go with and where. One thing’s for certain in Greece, you don’t want to be arrested for having outdoor sex.
Almodovar
60 Konstantinoupoleos Street (Gazi area)
Sodade
Triptolemou Street (Gazi area)
Interni
152 Ermou Street (Gazi area)
Athens Relax Sauna
8 Xouthou Street (Omonia Square)
Hotel Intercontinental
89 – 93 Syggoru Avenue
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