Thessaloniki

White Tower

Lefkos Pyrgos

Nea Paralia waterfront

A round fifteenth-century artillery tower on the waterfront, the city's symbol and a surviving piece of the demolished walls. Under the Ottomans it served as a prison where executions took place, hence its nickname the Tower of Blood, and it was whitewashed after 1890 to shake off that reputation. Inside is a six-floor exhibition on the history of Thessaloniki and at the top a walkway with views over the bay and towards Mount Olympus.

Tip: The exhibition itself is mainly for children; you are really paying for the roof. Go up in the last forty minutes before closing, when the light over the waterfront is best and there is no queue at the ticket desk. Olympus is only visible from the top in dry weather after the northerly Vardaris wind; in summer haze usually hides it. There is no lift inside and the staircase spirals around the walls.

Admission:

around €6

Time needed:

1 h

Nea Paralia waterfront and the Umbrellas

Waterfront

A five-kilometre promenade running south-east from the White Tower to the Megaron concert hall, divided into themed gardens with benches, a skate park and a cycle path. At its end stands The Umbrellas, a thirteen-metre steel sculpture by George Zongolopoulos. It is the city's main public space, where from spring to autumn people stroll in the evening and sit on the sea wall with a beer.

Tip: It is best done by bike: there are bike-share stations along the whole promenade and the stretch to the Umbrellas is flat. On foot it takes an hour and a half there and back. People come to the Umbrellas for sunset, but on windless days the smell from the port lingers over the bay, so when the air feels heavy, sit closer to the White Tower instead.

Admission:

free

Time needed:

1.5–2 h

Arch of Galerius and the Rotunda

Kamara

Kamara

The remains of the palace complex of the Roman emperor Galerius from around AD 300. The arch, with reliefs of his campaign against the Persians, stands in the middle of Egnatia Street and is where locals arrange to meet — 'see you at Kamara'. Two hundred metres to the north is the Rotunda, a massive circular building that has been a mausoleum, a church and a mosque, and the only one in the city to keep its minaret.

Tip: The arch is free and can be walked around at any time; the Rotunda charges admission, and inside are fourth-century mosaics in the dome thirty metres up, so bring small binoculars or use your phone's zoom. The palace the arch belonged to is five minutes further south on Navarinou Square — the excavated area lies just below street level and can be seen from the pavement for free.

Admission:

arch free, Rotunda around €6

Time needed:

1 h

Church of Saint Demetrius

Agios Dimitrios

Centre, above Aristotelous

A five-aisled basilica dedicated to the city's patron saint, a Roman soldier martyred under Galerius. The original fifth-century church burned down in 1917 and was rebuilt, but seventh-century mosaics survive on the piers near the altar. Beneath the church is a crypt in the remains of Roman baths where, according to tradition, the saint died.

Tip: The entrance to the crypt is to the right of the altar and easy to miss; it is free and has different opening hours from the church, usually mornings only. Around 26 October, the feast of Saint Demetrius, the church is packed with pilgrims and a fair takes place outside — if you want quiet, come another time; if you want to see living Orthodox Thessaloniki, come then.

Admission:

free

Time needed:

45 min

Hagia Sophia

Agia Sofia

Centre

An eighth-century church modelled on its namesake in Constantinople, only on a smaller scale. The dome holds a mosaic of the Ascension with the apostles among olive trees, and the apse shows the Virgin and Child, beneath which traces of earlier iconoclast decoration with a plain cross are visible. It stands in a park on the avenue of the same name, two minutes from the sea.

Tip: Leave it for the end of a walk from Aristotelous, because since 2024 there has been an Agia Sofia metro station beneath it with finds from the excavation on display, which you can walk through for free without a ticket. The dome mosaic is best seen in the morning, when light falls through the windows directly onto it; in the afternoon the church is dim.

Admission:

free

Time needed:

30 min

Ano Poli and the Heptapyrgion

Άνω Πόλη

Ano Poli

The Upper Town on the slope above the centre is the only district that escaped the fire of 1917. Winding lanes of Ottoman houses with projecting bay windows climb to the Byzantine walls and the Heptapyrgion fortress, which served as a prison until 1989. The walls offer the best view over the whole city and the bay.

Tip: Don't walk up from the sea — it is a hundred and sixty metres of climbing, mostly on steps. Take bus 23 from Eleftherias Square up to the walls and walk down past the Vlatadon and Osios David monasteries. Vlatadon has peacocks at the entrance and a free viewpoint; Osios David is a small church with a fifth-century mosaic, opened by a caretaker, usually until two in the afternoon.

Admission:

free

Time needed:

2–3 h

Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki

University district

The largest museum in northern Greece, with finds from ancient Macedonia. The highlight is the gallery of gold from the tombs at Derveni and Sindos — wreaths of golden oak and myrtle leaves, jewellery and the bronze Derveni Krater, decorated with a Dionysian procession and made from an alloy that looks like gold. The museum stands at the southern edge of the university district, ten minutes from the White Tower.

Tip: The Derveni Krater has its own display case in the gold gallery and is worth walking all the way around, as the reliefs continue on the back. A combined ticket for this museum and the Museum of Byzantine Culture next door costs less than two separate ones and is valid for several days. Admission is lower in winter, and on the first Sunday of the month from November to March entry is free.

Admission:

from €8

Time needed:

2 h

Museum of Byzantine Culture

University district

A modern museum opened in 1994 that explains the Byzantine world through everyday life: what a house looked like, what people ate, how the dead were buried. On display are frescoes from tombs, a collection of icons, textiles and ceramics. It is a good companion to the churches in the city — after visiting it you look at the mosaics in the Rotunda and Hagia Sophia differently.

Tip: If you are doing both the museum and the churches, do the museum first, ideally right at opening at eight, when it is usually empty. The building is air-conditioned and at noon in August it is the best place to sit out the heat. The café in the garden between the two museums is cheap and free of tourists; it is mostly used by staff.

Admission:

from €8

Time needed:

1.5–2 h

Modiano and Kapani markets

Centre

Two neighbouring covered and semi-covered markets in the centre between Aristotelous and Venizelou. Modiano is an Art Nouveau hall from 1930, named after the Jewish architect who designed it, which after restoration houses fish stalls and restaurants. Kapani is the older, noisier Ottoman bazaar in the lanes above it, with stalls selling olives, spices, cured meats and mussels from the bay.

Tip: Go in the morning between nine and eleven, when the market is at its liveliest and the fish is fresh; after three in the afternoon everything is shut. Olive stalls let you taste before you buy. Have lunch at one of the small ouzeries in the Kapani lanes, where mussels and sardines come with wine from a tin jug for a fraction of waterfront prices.

Admission:

free

Time needed:

1–1.5 h