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DJ Mag Top100 Clubs
22
Cavo Paradiso
1

Cavo Paradiso, as its name suggests, is built into a cliff-face overlooking the Aegean sea on the Greek island of Mykonos. It’s not just its location, however, that’s cavernous but also its size: holding 3000 clubbers over multiple levels. Despite its idyllic setting, the club is anything but peaceful when at full-swing with a JBL Dance 5 soundsystem on its main dancefloor and enough pyrotechnics to rival some festivals.

Since opening in 1993, Paradiso has become one of the island clubbing hotspots, drawing a variety of international DJs. Owner Nikos Daktylides’ bookings have encompassed everything from crowd-pleasing EDM, deep house and heads-down techno.

In the past year, Ilario Alicante, Martin Solveig, Ricardo Villalobos, Magda, Fatboy Slim, David Morales and Nervo have all made appearances. It’s a tricky act to pull off: reeling in enough revellers to fill a venue of its considerable size — almost twice as large as Ministry of Sound — while also bringing in revered selectors to appeal to dance music aficionados. But then a club that’s practically hanging off a cliff-edge is probably used to balancing acts.