Practical information : Going out Ionian Islands
Timetable
Greeks go out late, often on Fridays and Saturdays, and usually from 10pm onwards... only to return early in the morning. In the evening, we live to the rhythm of the moon! Open-air summer cinemas usually open around 10-11 p.m., as it has to be pitch-dark for the screening. Clubs and nightclubs open around midnight and stay open until the early hours of the morning, around 5am-6am, depending on how busy they are.
Budget & Tips
Going out doesn't have to be expensive. Many students (among others) take a drink to go and happily line the sidewalks of concert venues. Summer cinemas cost between €5 and €8 a show, depending on the day. The reduced rate is usually applied on Mondays.
To be booked
Apart from festival shows, cinema and concert tickets are usually booked online in advance.
Night transport
On the islands, everything is generally accessible on foot. Otherwise, it's sometimes possible (and usually not very expensive) to take a cab back to your hotel.
Age restrictions
Children are often welcome (and even present) at parties and open-air cinemas, for example. There is no legal drinking age in Greece. To drink and consume alcohol in a café or public place, you need to be 18, but this law is not widely enforced, and no one will ask for ID when a young person orders a glass of alcohol.
What's very local
There's no set dress code when it comes to going out, but you'll soon notice that many chic Greeks like to dress up to go out, whether it's to an exhibition, a concert or a club. Elsewhere, in bars and taverns, Greeks have a great sense of party, and any occasion is a good one for getting together and dancing the night away. And if you happen to come across a christening or a wedding, you'll often see all generations eating, drinking, dancing and singing the night away.
Smokers
Fine weather and outdoor cafés limit the problem in summer. Since the anti-smoking law in public spaces was enacted in 2008, some bad habits have slowly dissipated. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the new Conservative Prime Minister elected in July 2019, has promised that the law will be enforced from now on. Since his election, fines have been introduced to charge both establishments and customers who fail to comply with the law.
Tourist traps
Nothing to report apart from the usual - and relatively international - recommendations in bars. In other words, be careful what you drink if you are offered a drink. This warning is especially true in the seaside resorts of Corfu, popular with young Englishmen, where alcohol can sometimes be a little too abundant.