Athens Home to World’s Best Escape Room

The best escape room experience is to be found in Athens, the Greek capital, according to the results of a competition organized by the Top Escape Rooms Project.

Escape rooms are immersive entertainment experiences where participants solve puzzles and complete challenges within a themed setting to escape or achieve a specific objective.

The Greek company Lockhill, which describes itself as “the most thematic escape room project in Europe,” operates four escape rooms across Athens, with one having been voted the best in the world last year.

Athens’ “Chapel and Catacombs” escape room voted best in the world

Lockhill currently operates four escape rooms with an additional fifth planned for the future. The experiences are available to Greek and English speakers.

Escape room enthusiasts can choose from a range of experiences in the Greek capital including the Lockwood Manor, the Voodoo Shop, the Sanatorium, and the Chapel and Catacombs.

Out of a staggering 929 nominees for the best escape room, Lockhill’s Chapel and Catacombs won the Top Escape Rooms Project’s award for the best experience in 2022.

“It’s really honorable for me, that my own creation was awarded by a very large portion of the world from Greece and abroad as the best escape room,” commented Vassilis Dalitsikas, the creator of the Lockhill experiences.

Future plans

Reflecting on the popularity of Lochill’s escape room, Dalitsikas said “It gives me energy to build other new rooms-experiences.”

Dalitsikas also revealed future plans for another escape room inspired by popular TV and video game series.

“Our new room will be inspired by series like Stranger Things and games like Silent Hill and Visage,” he said. “It is in the process of the latest details and we hope it will be available to the public in late summer. We try to adapt all our rooms to each group to the extent possible so that everyone has a good time.”

Escape rooms have gained significant popularity since their inception in the early 2010s, with an increasing number of enthusiasts seeking out these interactive puzzle-solving experiences.

The concept of escape rooms originated in Japan in the late 2000s and quickly spread to other parts of the world. They have since evolved into a global phenomenon, captivating people of all ages and backgrounds.

The immersive nature of escape rooms, where participants must work together to decipher clues and unravel mysteries within a limited time frame, has contributed to their widespread appeal.

Escape rooms offer a unique form of entertainment that combines elements of teamwork, problem-solving, and adrenaline-inducing challenges. They can be found in various themes and difficulty levels, catering to different interests and skill levels.

The industry has grown rapidly, with countless escape room venues opening up in major cities worldwide, offering a diverse range of experiences, from horror-themed adventures to historical mysteries and sci-fi scenarios.