City Center

Thessaloniki's historic centre is where every era of the city meets: from Roman and Byzantine monuments to the grand square that opens onto the sea. If it's your first visit, you'll spend most of your time here, because almost everything is walkable.

Character & history

The centre's present layout was designed after the great fire of 1917 by the French planner Ernest Hébrard, who gave the city wide avenues, neoclassical buildings and Aristotelous Square, opening toward the Thermaic Gulf. Woven into the streets are monuments spanning seventeen centuries.

What to see

• The Rotunda and the Arch of Galerius (Kamara), the 4th-century Roman complex.
• Agios Dimitrios, the city's largest church, and Hagia Sophia.
• The Roman Forum (Ancient Agora) on Dikastirion Square.
• The covered Modiano and Kapani markets, the belly of the city.

Food, coffee & shopping

Tsimiski is the main shopping street, while the lanes around the markets are full of meze houses and historic cafés. The pedestrian streets around Aristotelous fill with people from morning until late.

Getting around

The centre is completely walkable and served by the metro and a dense bus network. You won't need a car.

Best for: a first visit, sightseeing, shopping, and anyone who wants everything on their doorstep.