Thessaloniki Guide

The White Tower

It is the emblem of Thessaloniki, rising at its waterfront since the early 16th century. The tower was part of the perimeter walls of the city, at the point where their eastern part met the sea wall. It was initially used as a defensive stronghold and it replaced an older Byzantine fortification. Its construction was completed in 1535-6. In the 18th century, it was called Kalamaria Fortress and in the 19th century Tower of the Janissaries or Bloody Tower – because it was a long-term convicts prison and its façade was painted with blood due to frequent executions of prisoners by the Janissaries. In 1890, while the Ottomans had already begun the process of Europeanizing the city, it was symbolically whitened with lime and got the name it has ever since. Inside the White Tower, there is an exhibition presenting the city’s history through a set of applications and images, projections, videos, slides, sound documents, touch screens and a few artefacts. More information can be found at www.lpth.gr.

Aristotelous Square

It is the most famous square of Thessaloniki and one of the most impressive squares in Greece. The members of the famous Emperor Committee, which was in charge of redesigning the city after the great fire of 1917, strolled here, and this is where the clusters of famous Greek and foreign people who took part in the first week of Greek cinema in 1960, at Olympion Hall, hang out. During the city’s recent history, concerts, political protests and happenings have been held here. Parents drink their coffee sitting in the comfy outdoor sofas of the cafés, letting their children play in the square. The façades of the buildings at Aristotelous Square took the form we see today in the 1960s after the Emperor Commission’s plan was implemented. It is bounded by two large hollow buildings: Olympion, a project by architect Jacques Mosset, built between 1948 and 1950 to accommodate auditoria (nowadays, it hosts the Thessaloniki Film Festival), and the building of Electra Palace Hotel, which was built by architects of the Greek National Tourism Organization in the late 1960s.

The Old Waterfront Promenade

The quayside now called Old Waterfront Promenade was created during the Turkish occupation when Sabri Pasha of Smyrna was the area’s commander. Nowadays, it is a narrow pedestrian lane and an asphalt road with dense traffic. Opposite the sea, the tall, clinched buildings rise. The Old Waterfront Promenade is the most famous and vibrant public space of the city, its gateway to the infinite “boundary” of water. It has defined the city’s identity since the 19th century it and became an integral part of its everyday life. As urban planners note, the coexistence of the old waterfront promenade with the new one, which starts at Makedonia Palace Hotel and has ample spaces, limited structure and green areas, gives the city a unique balance and a special identity.

The Ladadika neighbourhood

Where Ladadika stands today, Constantine the Great created the first port of Thessaloniki in 315 AD. The market area in the port retained largely the characteristics of the original urban design and architecture of the city. It was one of the few areas in the city centre that survived the great fire of 1917. The basic architectural style of the buildings was adopted when the market was redesigned after the fires of 1854 and 1856 – for that reason, their preservation was important because it shows us the architectural style of the city centre before the great fire. Buildings in Ladadika are made of stone or dark Flanders bricks and wood – mainly on roofs and window cases. The area was named Ladadika after the ground floor shops and warehouses where oils and other products were kept. During World War I and later, there were brothels on the streets of Ladadika. The area was thriving even after World War II, but it began to decline after the earthquake of 1978, as wholesale decayed and warehouses were abandoned. In 1985, upon a joint decision by the Ministry of Culture and the City Council, the area was listed as a preserved monument and the building of blocks of flats was prohibited. Following various studies, the preservation of the buildings on funding from the individuals who had their new use in their possession was decided. Today, after consecutive renovations, it is one of the nicest neighbourhoods in the city centre, full of stylish cafés and restaurants, small squares, cobblestone streets and an avant-garde ambience.

The port

The port of Thessaloniki has a history exceeding 2,300 years. The first port was created in 315 by Constantine the Great as an artificial port. It was situated at the location of contemporary Ladadika and the Jewish district spread around it. In modern times, most of the Thessalonians walked about it and loved it after the renovation of the old warehouses that were built in 1910 by architect Eli Modiano, following the characteristic morphology of European industrial buildings of the late 19th-early 20th century. The impressive Customs House building was also designed by Eli Modiano: its façade is 200-metres long and its morphology was influenced by French architecture of that period. The warehouses’ restoration and reconstruction took place in 1997 when Thessaloniki was the Cultural Capital of Europe. In their premises, the Museum of Photography, the Cinema Museum, the Centre of Contemporary Art (see the Museums section) and a nice café-restaurant are housed. Every year in November, thousands of Greek and foreign cinema fans join the port, as it hosts, together with Olympion Hall, the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

The Arch of Galerius & Rotunda

One of the most characteristic monuments of Thessaloniki is the Rotunda, located right by another worthwhile monument of the imperial complex: the Arch of Galerius. The round imposing structure of the Rotunda was built in 306 AD as the Pantheon (or mausoleum) for the Roman emperor Galerius and is just meters away from the Arch of Galerius. The round building is 24 meters in diameter and was later turned into a Church, serving as the Church of Thessalonica under Theodosius the Great. In 1591 under the Ottoman Empire the Rotunda was transitioned into a Mosque and was added a Minaret, the only still preserved of its kind in the city. The neighbouring triumphal arch, referred to as “Kamara”, was built just one year prior to the Mausoleum and shows stone-carvings of his final victorious battle over the Persians. The Rotunda is today open for visitors who shall find remarkable Mosaic arts in the Museum as well as the history of the building having witnessed the tides of times, imperia and the growth of the urban city around its walls.

The Ancient Market

The Ancient Market square is located between Philippou, Olympic, Agnostou Stratioti and Karmopola streets, in the heart of the city. It was the administrative centre of Thessaloniki during Roman times. Its revelation took place in 1962 during excavations because, according to the Emperor plan, the court house was going to be built there.

Aghios Dimitrios

He is the patron of Thessaloniki and its inhabitants, celebrated on October 26. In Byzantine icons and contemporary iconography, he is depicted as a red horse rider who steps on infidel Lyaios. The church’s crypt is very impressive, with a particularly imposing atmosphere. The exhibition featuring the church’s sculptural decoration concerns various phases of its history – works that survived the disastrous fire of 1917 or were found in excavations. It is located at Aghiou Dimitriou street, going up from Aristotelous Square.

Archaeological Museum

The museum opened its doors to the public after an extended period of renovation work required for the reorganization of the spaces used for exhibits, storage, conservation, and administration. During this period, apart from the extension of the museum building itself, the most significant and essential part of our efforts was completed: the new exhibition of the museum’s collections was planned and carried out in a way that responds to the needs of the modern-day visitor. The aim is to illuminate various aspects of the culture which developed in Macedonia, primarily in the Thessaloniki area and neighbouring prefectures, over a long chronological period: from the dawn of prehistory until late antiquity, i.e., until the first Christian centuries.  (6, M. Andronikou str., tel. +30 2310 830538, www.amth.gr).

Museum of Byzantine Culture

Once in the courtyard of the museum’s café, one feels like they are at the heart of Europe. The building’s architecture, space’s design and background music prepare visitors for what they will see inside. What the architect achieved is the coexistence of modern architecture with the natural surroundings. It opened its doors to the city’s public in 1994, and in 1997, it hosted the treasures of Mount Athos, participating in the celebration of Thessaloniki as the Cultural Capital of Europe. In 2005, it was awarded the “Cultural Heritage Museum” prize by the Council of Europe. So far, apart from permanent collections (sculptures, murals, mosaics, icons, coins, metalwork, inscriptions, etc.), it has also hosted temporary exhibitions and conferences. (2, Stratou Avenue, tel. +30 2310 868570 www.mbp.gr.

Jewish Museum

Before the outbreak of World War II, the City hosted the largest Jewish community in Greece. When Jews were first expelled from Spain they found a new home and settlement in Thessaloniki. For 400 years, during the Ottoman empire Christians, Jews and Ottomans were living peacefully together. Many neoclassic buildings in Thessaloniki belonged to Jewish residents in Thessaloniki who formed an integral part of the culture, trade and elite society of the city. The Jewish Museum is located inside one such building, a former Jewish bank. Its permanent exhibition explores the life and culture of the Sephardic community of the city since the fifteenth century. The Yad Lezikaron Synagogue and the Jewish Museum of Thessaloníki are located in the district around the Modiano market, named after a large Jewish family that originated in Livorno. Various trades were under governed by the local Jewish community in the Modiano market as well as in the surrounding neighbourhood prior to the War. Under the Nazi Regime, Thessaloniki lost 94 percent of its Jewish population in the Holocaust. Soon, Thessaloniki is to inaugurate the long-expected Holocaust Memorial whose official opening is to be expected in the near future. (13, Aghiou Mina str., tel. +30 2310 250406-7, www.jmth.gr).

Thessaloniki Museum of Photography

It is a special section of the State Museum of Contemporary Art. Its café offers a unique view over the less popular, but equally charming, side of the port. (Port, Warehouse Α, tel. +30 2310 566 716 www.thmphoto.gr).

Clothes and accessories shops

Thessaloniki is widely known in Greece and the Balkan countries for its very interesting market. The window displays in the so-called “expensive” streets can be compared in design, look, themes and style to those of major European cities. The haute couture houses and shops with designer clothes and accessories are mainly located at the roads that are parallel to the Old Waterfront Promenade (Nikis), namely Proxenou Koromila and Mitropoleos streets, as well as at those that are vertical to it, especially Mitropolitou Iosif, Chrysostomou Smyrnis, Lassani and Karolou Ntil streets. Shops selling clothes and accessories signed by alternative European designers have opened recently at Proxenou Kormila street. In this area, you will also find the ateliers of most Thessalonian designers.  Another interesting shopping part are Iktinou, Zefksidos, Aghias Theodoras and Georgiou Stavrou footwalks, where you can combine shopping with a coffee or lunch/diner.