One morning at the hotel
I was staying at we had an enjoyable discussion about which countries nightlife
starts later? Greece or Spain's?
What prompted the discussion was the club Pierros which doesn't open until midnight, doesn't get busy until 2am and goes on till dawn. The Mykonian owner of my hotel said no Greek worth his salt would turn up before midnight for any night out and that "the trouble with you northern European countries (he pointed at myself and a Berliner friend), is that you start too early". A Turkish guest made the point that that's fine when you are sixteen, but what about when you are thirty-six? You don't want to hang around half the night waiting for the bars to start at that age? True, he grudgingly admitted, even he doesn't go down into Mykonos Town as much now that he is approaching thirty. Perhaps if they started earlier they would get even more custom.
What prompted the discussion was the club Pierros which doesn't open until midnight, doesn't get busy until 2am and goes on till dawn. The Mykonian owner of my hotel said no Greek worth his salt would turn up before midnight for any night out and that "the trouble with you northern European countries (he pointed at myself and a Berliner friend), is that you start too early". A Turkish guest made the point that that's fine when you are sixteen, but what about when you are thirty-six? You don't want to hang around half the night waiting for the bars to start at that age? True, he grudgingly admitted, even he doesn't go down into Mykonos Town as much now that he is approaching thirty. Perhaps if they started earlier they would get even more custom.
But this is Greece and everything has to be fashionably late and on Mykonos more so. Pierros isn't just a club in the Greek islands, it probably is the most famous gay club in the world. It's been going since the sixties where Athens turned a blind eye to Mykonos emerging as a bohemian destination. First of all it is difficult to find, and your best bet is to latch on to someone already going there. It stands in the warren of lanes just south of Taxi Square. The easiest way is from the waterfront. The alley next to the ferry ticket office leads five yards in, then walk past the jewellery and icon shop to the newly named "Pierros Square".
This is absolutely tiny square and each of its three exits lead deeper into the maze of Mykonos Town. "Pierros" is on the northern side and is a three storey Mykonian building with seating outside. For its first 14 hours of life it is just a simple bar not much different from any other on the island. It has the usual Mykonian whitewashed staircases and balconies as well as blue shutters and doors so prevalent in this part of town. About 11pm people start to trickle in and by 1am there are so many gay men (and their straight friends) that the square and surrounding alleys are full to bursting. Inside is dance floor/bar with mirrored walls and those cheesy holiday hits that you wouldn't dance to unless you had probably far too many ouzos. And ouzo is once again your best bet for "Pierros" as it is about 4 euros compared with 6 euros for a beer and 10 euros for a cocktail.
And who won the argument between Spain and Greece? Well, we said Greece... but mainly to keep the hotel owner happy. After all he would be cooking our breakfast.
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