Short Trips Europe
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Greece · City break

Thessaloniki City Guide

Greece's second city carries its two thousand years casually by the water. Roman triumphal arches in the middle of the pedestrian zone, Byzantine churches on the UNESCO list, the White Tower on the seafront promenade. And, since late 2024, a driverless metro whose Venizelou station exhibits a complete ancient street. Two ready-made routes divide the city, the centre by the sea and the upper town, the only quarter to survive the great fire of 1917.

🗺️ Open Thessaloniki interactively with map & navigation

Our walking tours of Thessaloniki

Ready-made routes from the station guide you through Thessaloniki, to the right spots from the very first step, with no planning needed.

Ancient Street, Kamara & White Tower

The day begins underground. In Venizelou metro station lies the marble-paved main street of Byzantine Thessaloniki. In situ, probably unique anywhere. Above it wait the Roman agora, then the reopened Modiano Market and Aristotelous Square by the water. On to Agia Sofia, under the Arch of Galerius to the Rotunda with its gold mosaics. And finally, on the promenade, the White Tower, which only turned white when a prisoner painted it in exchange for his freedom.

  1. Venizelou metro station. The most unusual opener of all our routes is a metro station. Digging the metro, the excavators here struck the marble-paved main street of Roman-Byzantine Thessaloniki, columns and shops included. And after years of dispute up to the supreme court, the tunnels were laid deeper so the street could stay where it has lain for a millennium and a half. Since opening in 2024, Venizelou is reckoned the world's first metro station with a walkable ancient street in situ. The escalator leads literally through the centuries. The reason for the metro's record building time thus stands right at the start of the route. Beneath this city there is still a city.
  2. Roman Agora. In the middle of a residential quarter the ground drops, and suddenly you stand at the edge of a Roman city centre. The agora of the 2nd century was the administrative and market square of ancient Thessaloniki, with an odeon, baths and an underground colonnade, the cryptoporticus. Precisely there the museum is built in today. So you walk beneath the ancient square while the neighbourhood cafés carry on above. This casualness is the real attraction. Thessaloniki literally lives one floor above its antiquity.
  3. Modiano Market. The market hall bears the name of its architect Eli Modiano, son of one of the city's great Jewish families. A piece of everyday heritage of Sephardic Thessaloniki, once called "Madre de Israel". After decades of decay the hall was elaborately restored and reopened in 2022, with original girders, marble stairs and some 75 shops, olives, fish and mountains of spices at the front, a food hall with nine kitchens at the back. TIME magazine promptly ennobled the revived market in its list of the "World's Greatest Places". Come hungry. The route's lunch break is planned here.
  4. Aristotelous Square. When the Great Fire of 1917 destroyed two-thirds of the city, the French architect Ernest Hébrard was commissioned with the new beginning. And drew this monumental square opening to the sea in a colonnaded semicircle. Most of it was only built in the fifties, and it was actually to be named after Alexander the Great, complete with a monumental statue that never came; instead a seated Aristotle now watches over cafés and strollers. His left foot is polished bright. Rubbing it is said to make you clever. The city's students take no chances.
  5. Agia Sofia. The name says it all. Like its great model in Constantinople, Thessaloniki's Agia Sofia is dedicated to Holy Wisdom, built around the year 700. And architectural historians love it as the connecting link at which the domed basilica becomes the cross-in-square church, the type that shaped Byzantium from then on. In the dome floats the mosaic of Christ's Ascension, borne by the twelve apostles between olive trees. Since 1988 the church has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage of the city's early Christian monuments. One of fifteen you will pass more than once today.
  6. Arch of Galerius (Kamara). In the middle of the pedestrian zone stands a Roman triumphal arch, and half the city arranges to meet "at the Kamara". Emperor Galerius had the arch built around 298 for his victory over the Persian Sasanians; of the original eight piers, three still stand. Step close. The stacked relief bands tell the campaign like a stone comic strip, with battles, elephants and imperial portraits, one of the richest pictorial sources of late Roman antiquity anywhere. Then stand beneath the arch. The axis behind it leads straight to the Rotunda, your next destination.
  7. Rotunda. A round building with walls six metres thick, erected around 306 under Galerius. For what purpose, nobody knows for certain to this day. Mausoleum or temple? In any case it was never used as a tomb; the emperor died far from the city. Instead the Rotunda early became a church, and its dome carries early Christian gold mosaics of floating lightness, saints before palace architectures. It is considered one of Greece's oldest continuously used church buildings. And its Ottoman-era minaret is the only one still standing in Thessaloniki. One building under four empires, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Greek.
  8. White Tower & Umbrellas. By the water waits the landmark with the darkest biography. The Ottoman round tower, whose date of construction is still disputed, served as a notorious prison; after a massacre of insurgents it was called the "Tower of Blood". It has only been white since 1890. By tradition, a prisoner painted it in exchange for his freedom. Today a museum inside tells the city's history, and the spiral ramp ends with a panorama over the Thermaic Gulf. Then the promenade is yours. Ten minutes on, the "Umbrellas" of sculptor Zongolopoulos dance in the evening light, thirteen-metre stainless-steel parasols, the city's favourite photo since 1997. Stay for sunset; here it falls straight into the sea.

Ano Poli with Walls, Monasteries & the Balcony

Day two turns the city upside down. The bus takes you up to the Heptapyrgion citadel, a prison until 1989, then downhill through the only quarter that survived the fire of 1917. Ottoman timber houses, cobbled lanes, cats. In between are the "balcony of Thessaloniki" at the Trigonion Tower, the peacock monastery of Vlatadon and the mosaic of the beardless Christ in Osios David. The finale is Agios Dimitrios, the basilica of the city's patron, with its Roman crypt.

  1. Heptapyrgion (Yedi Kule). At the very top, on the north-east corner of the old acropolis, stands the citadel with the double name Byzantine Heptapyrgion and Ottoman Yedi Kule, both meaning "seven towers", although there are ten. Its heaviest era came last. From the 19th century until 1989 the fortress served as a prison, including for political prisoners under occupation, civil war and military dictatorship. For many Greeks the name remains a dark word to this day. Today walls and courtyard are accessible, and the way up rewards twice over. The descent through the upper town begins at its highest, quietest point.
  2. Trigonion Tower. They call it the "balcony of Thessaloniki", and the tower has earned the title. From the Ottoman artillery tower at the wall's corner the view falls across the whole city to the gulf. And on clear days Mount Olympus, mountain of the gods, actually traces itself on the horizon, a good 80 kilometres away as the crow flies. In the evening the wall's edge fills with students, guitars and beer bottles; the sunset from up here is the city's most communal experience. If you like, first walk a stretch of the Byzantine city wall, of which some four kilometres still stand.
  3. Vlatadon Monastery. Halfway down hides the city's only continuously active Byzantine monastery, Vlatadon, founded around 1350 by two brothers from the circle of the mystic Gregory Palamas, today a UNESCO World Heritage site. Among visitors it is famous for something else entirely. A flock of peacocks struts between the cypresses in the garden, their call echoing over the upper town. That is no accident. In Byzantine art the peacock counts as a symbol of immortality. From the terrace the view reaches over city and gulf; in the midday heat the shaded courtyard is the best break far and wide.
  4. Osios David. A little church like a secret. Osios David, hidden in the lanes, holds an apse mosaic of the late 5th century that draws connoisseurs from around the world. Christ as a young, beardless man, enthroned on the rainbow in Ezekiel's vision. The depiction is so early and so rare that it fits hardly any scheme; by tradition it survived iconoclasm behind a walled-up screen. The opening hours are moody, and precisely that is part of the charm. If the door stands open, you often have one of the great treasures of Byzantium entirely to yourself.
  5. Agios Dimitrios. Arrived below, the city's principal shrine awaits, the five-aisled basilica of the patron Dimitrios, a Roman officer martyred here around 303. The church burned in 1917 too, was rebuilt by 1949. And yet saved six early Byzantine mosaic panels on which the youthful saint stands among the donors. The real goose-bump place lies beneath the choir, the crypt with the remains of the Roman bath in which, by tradition, Dimitrios was imprisoned and died. For four hundred years the church was a mosque; since 1988 it has been UNESCO World Heritage. A single building as a summary of the whole city's history.

Planning your visit

Two days fit well. The first route from Venizelou metro runs 3.5 kilometres and links the Roman agora, the Modiano market, Aristotelous Square, the Agia Sofia, the Arch of Galerius and the Rotunda with the White Tower by the water. The second climbs to the upper town over 2.5 kilometres, to the fortress, the Trigonion tower and the Byzantine churches. Venizelou metro station has an ancient street on its lower level, found during construction. Four evening tips are ready.

Going out & nightlife

Rooftop bars

Nightlife quarters

Food & restaurants

Stage & concerts

See all stops for Thessaloniki in the app →

Practical information for Thessaloniki

Public transport

Operator. Urban bus service is run by OASTH (Οργανισμός Αστικών Συγκοινωνιών Θεσσαλονίκης). The M1 metro line, opened in 2024, is operated by THEMA S.A., a joint venture between Milan's ATM and the French Egis Group, which is responsible for the fully automated driverless operation (GoA4). Both systems share the same range of tickets, ThessCard (personalized, required for season tickets and reduced fares) and ThessTicket (anonymous, rechargeable). The transport authority ΟΣΕΘ (Οργανισμός Συγκοινωνιακού Έργου Θεσσαλονίκης) is responsible for fares and products, and both operators' websites point to its portal. Prices for single, day and season tickets are identical on bus and metro, but validation happens separately at each system's own readers.

Network. A metro line since 2024, plus buses. Several stations display ancient finds in situ.

Modes of transport. Bus · Metro

Operating hours. For the M1 metro line, operator THEMA S.A. publishes exact operating hours, valid for the first and last train departures at the two terminus stations Νέος Σιδηροδρομικός Σταθμός and Νέα Ελβετία. Monday to Thursday the metro runs from 5.15am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday until 2am, and Sunday until 12.30am. For the individual OASTH bus lines, the operator does not publish a static overview of start and end times, referring instead to the real-time route planner and the telephone timetable service.

Night service. Under "Ειδικές Νυχτερινές Λεωφορειακές γραμμές", OASTH runs its own category of Metamesonýchtia trips (after midnight), which currently includes the night variant 01Ν of the airport line between the KTEL Makedonia intercity bus station and SKG airport. The operator does not officially provide a citywide night bus network like in other major cities. The metro partly compensates for this, since it runs through until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays and until 12.30am on Sundays, but closes at 11pm on the remaining days.

Buying tickets. Overall the metro operates 5 sales counters and 104 machines spread across all stations, and according to THEMA S.A., issuing and topping up run exclusively through the machines for fast service. Only the initial creation and personalization of the photo ThessCard requires a visit in person to one of the three counters Νέα Ελβετία, Αγίας Σοφίας or Βενιζέλου, open Monday to Sunday from 7am to 7pm, and you need to bring an ID card or driving licence. After that the card can be topped up at any machine or online via the ΟΣΕΘ portal. The same tickets apply for buses, sold at the same outlets of the ΟΣΕΘ network.

App and payment. OASTH/ΟΣΕΘ provides the app "OSETH Bus" in the App Store and on Google Play. According to the official description, it delivers stop, line and timetable information including real-time arrival times via telematics, shows buses live on the map, and allows the purchase and use of QR tickets after registration. Whether and how bank cards are accepted directly by contactless payment on board or at machines is not described on the official websites of OASTH, ΟΣΕΘ and THEMA S.A., so no reliable statement can be made.

Which ticket. ΟΣΕΘ lists identical tickets for bus and metro. The basic single ticket is valid for 70 minutes from validation including transfers, costs 0.60 € in the city zone and 0.80 € in the suburban zone, reduced to 0.30 € and 0.40 € respectively with a personalized ThessCard. Special lines such as the airport connections cost 2.00 € (reduced 1.00 €) and are not included in the other tickets. The day ticket covering both city and suburban zone together costs 2.50 € with no separate reduced fare, which works out to a good four single tickets in the city zone (4 times 0.60 € equals 2.40 €), so from the fifth ride of the day it's cheaper than single tickets. A pack of 10 plus 1 free rides costs 5.80 € in the city zone and 7.80 € in the suburban zone. Anyone staying longer can load season tickets onto the personalized ThessCard, 30 days for 16 €, 90 days for 45 €, 180 days for 85 €, each at half price when reduced, valid from the first validation and not from the purchase date.

Fare zones. The city center, the waterfront promenade and the usual sights all lie in the cheaper city zone. Only trips to the airport and a few excursion lines count as the pricier special line with its own 2.00 € ticket.

Tip. Venizelou station shows a walkable ancient street right beneath the platform.

Links

Getting there

Main station

Location. West of the centre, connected to the new metro.

Long-distance trains. Hellenic Train, the national passenger rail operator, bundles long-distance service into the InterCity network, which according to the operator connects Athens and Thessaloniki with the capitals of most Greek prefectures. From Thessaloniki there are also two regional lines, one to Larisa taking around ninety minutes including a connection to seaside resorts in Pieria, and one via Edessa, known for its waterfalls, toward Florina, though the Edessa–Florina section is currently temporarily replaced by buses, according to the operator. International train connections, for example toward Belgrade, are currently fully suspended according to Hellenic Train, with no date given for resumption.

Opening hours. Long-distance service here means two train pairs a day. To Athens the Intercity departs on weekdays at 5.55am and 4.49pm, the last train from Athens arrives around 11.10pm. Regional trains start from 5.00am, the latest one arrives at 11.45pm. Nothing runs between midnight and 5am, lockers are available from 6.00am to 10.00pm.

Airports

SKG

Into the city. The special line 01X costs 2.00 € per ride instead of the normal city fare. After midnight the night variant 01Ν takes over toward the KTEL Makedonia intercity bus station, and line 02Χ additionally connects the airport directly with the metro terminus Νέα Ελβετία.

Local quirks

Good to know

Currency
EUR €
Emergency number
112
Plug type
C · F
Time zone
Europe/Athens
Driving
right

Speed limits. built-up areas 30 km/h (50 km/h on multi-lane roads with markings or a central island), outside towns 90 km/h for cars, motorway 130 km/h

Since January 1, 2026, the general limit within built-up areas is no longer 50 km/h but 30 km/h. The old 50 km/h rule still applies on multi-lane roads with markings or a central island, and many guidebooks and navigation devices still show the old value.

Tipping. Five to ten percent, usually left in cash on the table.

Tolls. The major motorways have toll stations with fixed amounts per section. Cash is accepted everywhere.

Access restrictions. Athens closes the inner ring on weekdays alternately to vehicles with odd and even final digits. The rule mainly targets local vehicles, foreign ones are tolerated in practice, but do not rely on it.

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