Discover the best events taking place in Athens during the month of October.
As autumn sets in, Athens comes alive with a variety of cultural events to relish. From open-air music concerts under the starry sky to marvelous art exhibitions and festivals, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Embrace the season and immerse yourself in the cultural richness with our top picks for this month.
Vegan Life Festival Athens 2023
Europe’s most popular vegan festival is back! Since 2016, Vegan Life Festival has been drawing crowds from all over the continent. With two days packed with exciting stuff- you’ll have the opportunity to attend hands-on cooking workshops, insightful panels, a vegan products bazaar, live music, and even a speed dating event for a chance to make some new pals who share your passion for cruelty-free eats. But Vegan Life Festival isn’t just about having a good time – the organisation also has a strong focus on animal rights and initiatives that collect food for those in need.
Entry: Free
Date & Time: 1 October, 11 am- 11pm
Αddress: Peiraios 100, Athens, cultural venue of “Technopolis”
“Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead”
This theatrical play is part crime, part thriller and part comedy. The new production of the iconic Complicité theatre group is based on the multi-translated novel by Nobel Prize for Literature laureate Olga Tokarczuk. Created and directed by Simon McBurney, it questions why is the killing of animals a sport and a hobby and that of humans a murder. A thought-provoking, wry, and otherworldly murder mystery tale about the cosmos, poetry, and the limitations and possibilities of activism has audiences captivated. The performance is in English with Greek surtitles.
Entry: €10-€60
Date 4-7 October, Wednesday-Friday 8.30 pm, Saturday 2.30 pm & 8.30 pm
Tickets: tickets.onassis.org
Αddress: Onassis Stegi 107-109 Syggrou Avenue 1745 Athens, Greece
Website: onassis.org
Seong-Jin Cho at the Athens Concert Hall
For the talented Seong-Jin Cho, winning the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition most important piano competition in the world – was just the springboard to begin his brilliant career, gaining global fame and becoming the first pianist from his country to do so. The South Korean classical pianist begins another new season at the Athens Concert Hall for a highly acclaimed solo recital that is dominated by two benchmark works of the piano repertoire: Ravel’s imposing Miroirs and Liszt’s explosive Dante Fantasia.
Entry: Ticket prices: €11 – €60
Date & Time: 25 October, 8.30 pm
Address: The Athens Concert Hall (Megaron), 115 Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, Athens, 115 21
Website: megaron.gr
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Dmitri Shostakovich
The Greek National Opera is bringing back one of the most outstanding productions to have graced its stage in recent years. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, an iconic opera of the 20th century and a breathtaking Dmitri Shostakovich masterpiece– is returning to the Stavros Niarchos Hall this month. Conducting is Fabrizio Ventura, while the production’s staging is by Fanny Ardant, working with an all-star international creative team. This timeless masterpiece distinctly sets itself apart as it tackles the place of women within pre-revolutionary rural Russia and captures the audience from start to finish.
Entry: €10-€90
Date 21, 24, 27, 31 October, Performance times: 7.30 pm, Sunday 6.30 pm
Tickets: ticketservice.gr
Αddress: Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Syggrou Avenue 364, 17674 Kallithea
Website: nationalopera.gr
Homecoming | Cycladic treasures on their return journey
The highly anticipated exhibition “Homecoming. Cycladic treasures on their return journey” will include a display of 15 antiquities for the first time worldwide. Presented by the Museum of Cycladic Art in collaboration with the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports and this is the first step of the historic agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Museum of Cycladic Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (The Met), that foresees the gradual return to Greece of 161 Early Cycladic antiquities of the unique archaeological value of the American collector Leonard Stern. Following this, the entire collection will be exhibited at The Met, before the final return of the entirety of these antiquities to Greece.
Entry: €6
Date & Time: 1-31 October, daily except Tuesdays
Tickets: cycladic.gr
Αddress: Stathatos Mansion Vasilissis Sofias ave. & 1, Irodotou str., Athens
Website: cycladic.gr
Image by Paris Tavitian © Museum of Cycladic Art
