1. White Tower
The
symbol of our city at the seaside, a 500-year-old sea fort and later a
prison. Now it is the Museum of the City of Thessaloniki and its top
floor offers a great view to the sea and the city. No visit to
Thessaloniki would be complete without at least a photo in front of the
White Tower! You can read more info in our article on The White Tower.
2. Archaeological Museum
Greece is full of ancient artifacts and
Thessaloniki does have its fair share of them! At the Archaeological
Museum you can see a lot of great stuff from the city's prehistoric,
Macedonian and Roman civilization. The museum is not huge – you can
easily tour it within an hour if you are not a huge history lover. The
museum's official site is here (In English).
3. Museum of Byzantine Culture
Thessaloniki was the Byzantine Empire's
second most important city and there are so many things to admire from
this period. The museum won the 2005 Museum Prize of the European
Council. The museum's official site is here .
4. The seaside
Thessaloniki's most important tourist
attraction to our opinion! The seaside walk is a Thessalonican favourite
summer evening pastime – do it like a true Thessalonican and take your
time stolling the 4,5-km walk from the port's Pier 1 to the Thessaloniki
Concert Hall! And, yes, of course we've got you covered with our
article on the Thessaloniki Seaside Walk.
5. Aristotelous Square
Thessaloniki's most central square, a
great place to have a coffee and stroll from the sea to Venizelos'
statue. You can also find the City of Thessaloniki's central information
kiosk at the centre of the square. You can read more information on the
square and its quite interesting history in Aristotelous Square and the Hebrard plan.
6. Kapani and Modiano Markets
The central food markets of
Thessaloniki, exactly to the west of Aristotelous Sq. At Kapani Market
you can see and taste a very lively aspect of Thessaloniki's life – plus
you will find a lot of shops selling fresh produce, spices and cheap
household items. The next-door covered Modiano Market is a quite
melancholic place, as it has most of its shops closed nowadays, but it
is always interesting to admire the early-20th century architecture and
eat at the old-school tavernas inside the market.
7. Agios Dimitrios Basilica
Thessaloniki's most famous Byzantine
church, the place of martyrdom of St. Demetrius. Many visitors visit the
city just for a visit to the basilica and its catacombs – a great place
to worship and to admire the architecture. Don't forget to visit the
catacombs!
8. The Rotonda
A large cylindrical Roman structure
built by the Roman emperor Galerius. We still don't know what it was
built for, but it was converted into a Christian church during Byzantine
times and into a mosque during Ottoman times. It is still used as a
church once a month. It is surely worth a quick visit.
Tip: it is in the centre of the student residence area of Thessaloniki, hence you will find great student spots nearby.
9. Ladadika
Next to the port, the old oil-merchants'
quarter that was once a notorious dodgy district of the city, converted
into a great entertainment area in the 1990s. Nowadays it is full of
great restaurants, classy bars and some tacky clubs. Great for lunch,
dinner or a glass of beer.
10. Ano Poli
The area north of Agiou Dimitriou Str.,
the only part of the city that survived the great fire of 1917. It is a
great place to admire the view and get intentionally lost in the alleys.
Ano Poli is a quiet residential area, full of small two-storey houses
and streets with little traffic. If you are careful you will see the
life of the village-like neighbourhood and find its quiet little spots.
It's a steep area of the city, so in order not to get tired, take the
bus to Trigoniou Tower to admire the view and work your way down.
Tip: We've compiled a
walk that connects most of these top-10 attractions of the city, loaded
with lots of info on each one. You may read our article on The Walk In The Thessaloniki Centre.
