Athens is by no means New York, Berlin or Amsterdam in this matter. It has, however, come a long way during the last ten years, more though on the entertainment side of things rather than on the actual acceptance of homosexuality. It seems that the gay community of the city takes a less assertive approach than gay people in other western countries have done in the past. This is because Greek society is still overarchingly conservative, dominated by the Greek Orthodox Church, which (though periodically facing incidents of homosexuality within its own ranks) still adamantly opposes the introduction of same-sex marriages in Greece.
As a visitor, though, you tend to be looking to have a good time rather than resolve the hang-ups of Greek society and you won’t find yourself short of a wide array of gay bars, clubs and, what’s more, gay restaurants to choose from.
A whole trendy nightlife area, Gazi, has been dubbed the ‘gay village’ by the homosexual community, although it is not exclusively so (see our listings pages)