The 2026 Travel & Taste Awards have crowned Athens as the “Cocktail Culture City of the Year” after defeating top global destinations such as Paris, New York and Mexico City.

The prize will place Athens’ cocktail culture on the international stage and highlight the city’s changing gastronomy and nightlife scene, consolidating Athens as one of the best places in Europe for gastronomy, nightlife and city breaks.

British food and travel magazine Olive, which names destinations and travel experiences that have unique culinary identities, organised the 2026 Travel & Taste Awards.

The organisers noted that Athens was a stand-out for the growth of cocktail culture over the last ten years, with bars starting to use Greek ingredients, local interpretations and new takes on Greek hospitality.

Athens cocktail culture earns international recognition

In recent years, there has been a significant change in the food and beverage landscape in Athens.

The city’s bars have been adopting locally sourced products and Greek flavours and mixology, adding a modern twist to the traditional.

This development has contributed to the city of Athens becoming more than just a place for ancient sites and the Acropolis.

The world’s tourists are becoming more interested in Athens nightlife and Greek gastronomy and drinking culture.

The 2026 award acknowledges the transformation and positions Athens with some of the world’s most famous food & drink destinations.

Athens defeats Paris, New York and Mexico City

The international field of contenders for the title of the Cocktail Culture City of the Year 2026 was tough, as was the competition from Athens.

In the end, the Greek capital beat other world-class cities, such as Paris, New York and Mexico City.

The recognition is all the more important for Greece as the Travel & Taste Awards are based on a destination’s gastronomic identity, which is strong and unique.

The award, therefore, offers extra exposure for Athens, a city that is looking to make a mark as an all-year-round tourist attraction.

Greece is also honoured at the Travel & Taste Awards

Athens was not the only Greek destination to feature prominently at the 2026 Travel & Taste Awards.

Greece was in contention to win the Food Destination of the Year title against Japan, Spain and Slovenia. Spain was the victor.

Also nominated in the Gourmet Island Escape of the Year was the Greek island of Tinos.

Tinos played against Menorca, Sicily and the Isle of Skye, and Sicily emerged as the winner.

The various Greek nominations demonstrate the internationalisation of Greek cuisine, gastronomy and culinary tourism.

Athens tourism is still an important tourist destination for UK travellers

The award is also significant as it follows the recent trend of Athens being a popular destination for British tourists.

The numbers cited by the Greek National Tourism Organisation and Athens International Airport reveal that in 2025, the United Kingdom was Athens’ second biggest source of visitors, after the United States.

In 2025, there were an estimated 775,000 UK visitors to Athens, a 5 per cent rise on the 2024 numbers.

In total, in 2025, Athens was the host of about 8.7 million foreign visitors, an increase of 10 per cent compared to the previous year.

The figures show the significance of Athens as an independent city break holiday destination for international travellers.

Food, cocktails, nightlife, and culture are all promoted in Athens

The new international prize will further contribute to the promotion of Athens in the British tourism market.

The difference enhances Athens’ reputation as a contemporary and genuine city break hotspot, Eleni Skarveli, Head of the Greek National Tourism Organisation’s UK and Ireland Service, said.

The recognition also illustrates the fact that contemporary cuisine, Athens nightlife, cocktails and food and drink culture are becoming an integral part of the travelling experience.

Today, for visitors, Athens combines the ancient and the modern, traditional restaurants with Greek dishes and tavernas in the neighbourhood, with award-winning cocktail bars or innovative restaurants.

The 2026 Travel & Taste Awards recognition puts yet another international award on Athens’ list of tourism and gastronomy success, reinforcing Greece’s capital as one of the top food, drink and city break destinations in Europe.