Room Escape Artist

Latest update: May 19, 2025

Athens is known for a pronounced style of escape rooms, that I can only describe as epic… but not in the high-budget blockbuster sense. Rather, the Athens escape rooms combined a specific set of traits to deliver exciting, memorable adventures.

In early 2020, we identified 6 traits that made the escape rooms in Athens stand out: length, scale, storytelling, mode setting, safety, and water. You can read more about how these qualities impact the Athens market in our Field Report.

In more recent years, Athens has become best known for their intense horror escape rooms, some of which are incredible, and included in this guide. Others, however, are deliberately excluded because they take risks with fire safety that we cannot endorse. They may top other lists, but we decidedly do not recommend them.

Market Standouts

• Chapel & Catacombs, Lockhill 🔒
• El Exorcista, No Exit Escape Rooms 🔒
• The Bookstore, Paradox Project 🔒
• The Music Academy, Paradox Project 🔒
• The Sanatorium, Lockhill 🔒
• Wanted Dead or Alive, No Exit Escape Rooms

Unusual Gameplay

• Don’t Take a Breath, Verone
• The Sanatorium, Lockhill

Set & Scenery Driven

• Chapel & Catacombs, Lockhill
• Cosmos 05 Death in Space, Escapepolis
• The Bookstore, Paradox Project
• The Music Academy, Paradox Project
• The Sanatorium, Lockhill

Puzzle-Centric

• Cosmos 05 Death in Space, Escapepolis
• The Bookstore, Paradox Project
• The Mansion, Paradox Project
• The Music Academy, Paradox Project
• Wanted Dead or Alive, No Exit Escape Rooms

Spooky & Scary

• Chapel & Catacombs, Lockhill
• Don’t Take a Breath, Verone
• El Exorcista, No Exit Escape Rooms
• The Sanatorium, Lockhill

Games with Actors

• Chapel & Catacombs, Lockhill
• Don’t Take a Breath, Verone
• El Exorcista, No Exit Escape Rooms
• The Sanatorium, Lockhill
• Wanted Dead or Alive, No Exit Escape Rooms

More Than 90-Minute PlayTime

• Cosmos 05 Death in Space, Escapepolis (120 minutes)
• Chapel & Catacombs, Lockhill (150 minutes)
• Don’t Take a Breath, Verone (120 minutes)
• The Sanatorium, Lockhill (150 minutes for midnight mode)
• The Mansion, Paradox Project (180 minutes)
• The Music Academy, Paradox Project (180+ minutes)
• The Bookstore, Paradox Project (200 minutes)

Scheduling

If you’re booking an escape room trip to Athens, we recommend a group of 4 people.

Embrace an atypical schedule for a few days. Some of these games are long, which means you won’t be fitting tons of escape rooms into each day, and you’ll have less flexibility in the scheduling puzzle. Also, many of the companies only operate on evenings and weekends, but they offer bookings that start as late as midnight.

Accept that horror games have shaped this market and challenge yourself to play them, even if they aren’t usually your preference. Just make sure one of your teammates is bold enough to be the teammate who always goes first into the unknown. And make sure to choose vetted horror games that prioritize player safety.

Learn More

If you’re interested in learning more about escape room in Athens, we hope you’ll check out our interview with Paradox Project creator Dimitris Varelas on REPOD in October 2022 and our interview with Bill Dalitsikas, owner of Lockhill Escape Game on REPOD in July 2025.

🔒 Golden Lock award winning experience