26 Best Performing Arts in Greece

This rooftop-garden movie theater, which offers Dolby Digital sound, is the oldest (dating from 1920) and most romantic in Athens. It's located on pedestrianized Kydathinaion Street, which also means it's close to many hotels and tavernas. In the lobby there's a store selling vintage film posters. It is open from May to October. Most films are in English (with Greek subtitles).

Films at this open-air theater, among the oldest in Athens (dating from 1935), come complete with a view of the Acropolis. It's on the Unification of Archaeological Sites walkway and conveniently offers tables among the seating, for your film-munchies spread. In fact, the bar sells homemade cheese pie, sour cherry juice, and tsipouro accompanied with bottarga fish roe from Messolonghi.

The country's leading folk dance company performs exhilarating and sublime Greek folk dances (from all regions) in eye-catching, authentic costumes in programs that change every two weeks. Performances are held Friday through Sunday from the beginning of June through to September.

World-class Greek and international artists take the stage at the Megaron Mousikis to perform in concerts and opera from September through June. Information and tickets are available weekdays 10–6 and Saturday 10–2. Prices range from €12 to €90; there's a substantial discount for students and those 8 to 18 years old. Tickets go on sale a few weeks in advance, and many events sell out within hours.

Each November, the best films by new directors from around the world are screened and awarded prizes at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Southeast Europe's most noted cinematic festival, it attracts well-known regional talent and some internationally aclaimed stars. Films are usually subtitled, and tickets can be hard to come by. In March, there's also an international documentary film festival.

A must-do in summer, especially for film lovers, is to see a movie at an open-air cinema. There are usually two showtimes (around 8 and 11 pm, the later one usually at lower volume, depending on the neighborhood). Call ahead or check the website to see what's playing—some screen oldies and foreign art films, and others run the latest from Hollywood. Most films are subtitled, but note that animated movies are almost always dubbed. Alex is the most central theater.

Apokriés—what Greeks call their Carnival celebrations—mark the period preceding Lent and ending on the night before "Clean Monday," the beginning of Lent for Eastern Orthodox and Catholics. These costume-and-parade affairs are particularly colorful (and often bawdy) in Northern Greece. You are welcome to join in the fun in Thessaloniki and other towns. Sohos, 32 km (20 miles) northeast of Thessaloniki, hosts a festive event in which people cavort in animal hides with sheep bells around their waists and phallic headdresses. In Naoussa, 112 km (70 miles) west of Thessaloniki, some participants wear foustanellas (short, pleated white kilts), special masks, and chains of gold coins across their chests, which they shake to "awaken the Earth." The whole town dons costumes and takes to the streets behind brass marching bands, which have a tradition of playing New Orleans–style jazz.

In the theater at Epidaurus, this festival offers memorable performances from late June through August, Friday and Saturday only, at 9 pm. Productions in the main theater are of ancient Greek drama in modern Greek, many presented by the national theater troupe. Actors are so expressive (or often wear ancient masks to signal the mood) that you can enjoy the performance even if you don't know a word of Greek. You can also see opera productions in the small theater. Get to the site early (and bring a picnic lunch or have a drink or a light meal at the decent Xenia Café on-site), because watching the sun set behind the mountains and fields of olives and pines is unforgettable. You can buy tickets at the Festival Box Office in Athens (at Panepistimiou 39), by phone, or online, and a short time before performance at the theater box office. Many tour operators in Athens and Nafplion offer tours that include a performance at Epidaurus. On the days of performances, four or five buses run between Nafplion and the theater, and there's service back to Nafplion after the play. Look for buses that say "Theater" or "Epidaurus," not "Nea Epidaurus" or "Archea Epidaurus." Buses also run to and from Athens on days of performances.

Big acts fill what was originally the main Athens 2004 Games arena with music. Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, and Madonna have performed here—the latter actually holds the arena record, with 75,637 people attending her 2008 show.

This state-of-the-art performance center specializes in slick song-and-dance acts from around the world, occasionally geared towards children, as well as events.

Sit in the ancient stadium of Delphi or at the Frynichos theater under the stars and watch everything from the National Beijing Opera Theater's The Bacchae to the tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides, and even folk and traditional music improvisations at the Summer Arts Festival, organized by the European Cultural Center of Delphi. All performances, which begin around 8:30 pm, are open to the public and charge a small fee.

St. Dimitrios's feast day is celebrated on October 26. Its secular adjunct, the Dimitria Festival, has developed into a major series of cultural events that include theater, dance, art exhibits, and musical performances. They are held from September to December at venues around Thessaloniki.

The Ejekt Festival, which brings together global pop, rock, and electronica bands, usually takes place every June in one of the Olympic venues in the southern suburb of Faliro.

Performances by well-known Greek performers and ancient Greek theater classics are staged in an attractively remodeled old quarry, now known as the Theatro Vrahon Melina Merkouri (and its sister stage nearby, the Anna Synodinou). The festival begins in early June and lasts until the end of September every year; most performances start at 9 pm. Buy tickets (€20–€100) at the theater before the show.

More than 1,000 participants from Greece and some 30 countries descend on the Helexpo International Trade Fair to promote their wares—from gadgets to tourism products. An important event in Greek politics, the prime minister traditionally makes the annual state-of-the-economy speech from the fair, which is held in mid-September at the Helexpo fairgrounds. Hotel accommodations are very difficult to find during this period (as well as November, when the city hosts the International Thessaloniki Film Festival).

Like Ticketmaster in the United States, Hunter Agency sells all sorts of performing arts and popular music concert tickets.

If you happen to be in Galaxidi at the start of Greek Orthodox Lent, Kathara Deftera, duck. Locals observe the holiday with flour fights in the town's streets, a custom dating back to the 18th century. The common baking flour is tinted with food dye and by the end of the day everyone and everything in sight—buildings, cars, shrubs—is dusted with a rainbow of colors that match spring's bright palette. The custom has pagan roots: every year the dead were thought to be allowed to leave Hades for a day and return to Earth; if they had a good time, a good crop was assured. Remember to wear your old, unwanted T-shirt and jeans for the day—nobody will ask for your permission before they throw!

The National Theater presents plays, ballets, and special performances of visiting artists year-round.

The specialty of this theater (capacity: 5,000), set on a pinnacle of Mt. Lycabettus, is popular concerts; past performers have included Bryan Ferry, Marianne Faithful, Pink Martini, and Cesaria Evora. Since buses travel only as far as the bottom of the hill, either take a taxi, or buy a one-way ticket on the funicular and then walk about 10 minutes to the theater. Check local listings for scheduled concerts during the summer months.

The Megaron Moussikis Thessaloniki is a large venue that hosts ballet, opera, and other high-brow musical and cultural events. Graced by international and local orchestras (including the Municipal Orchestra of Thessaloniki), there are classical, folk, and jazz nights, as well as seminars and lectures.

The Onassis Cultural Centre hosts events from across the whole spectrum of the arts, mainly in their highly contemporary version, from theater, dance, and music to performances of the written word. Inside the airy rectangular shell are two amphitheaters, a Greek bistro (Hytra Apla), an award-winning restaurant, a rooftop bar (in summer), and exhibition spaces that occupy more than 18,000 square meters and can be seen bustling with activity from October to June.

If you're in Patras in late January to February, you're in for a treat: the carnival, which lasts for several weeks before the start of Lent, is celebrated with masquerade balls, fireworks, and the Sunday Grand Parade competition for the best costume. Room rates can double or even triple during this time.

Patras holds a lively summer arts festival with concerts and dance performances at the Roman odeon. It usually runs from mid-June to early October.

Inexpensive classical or jazz music concerts are held throughout the year at this conservatory. Tickets cost about €12.

You can buy tickets for popular concerts and performing arts events at this electronics store chain with convenient locations in Central Athens.

An alternative cultural center located in a 1960s concrete block that used to be a printing plant for popular magazine Romantso. Come here for a drink at the postindustrial minimalist bar, to attend a yoga session, a talk, or to watch a film at the auditorium (check the listings). Upstairs are "incubators" of emerging companies/start-ups.