Thessaloniki (also known as Salonica) has had a turbulent life. Today, it’s the second largest city in Greece. In older times it used to co-reign the Byzantine Empire alongside Constantinople (which is now Istanbul). In between now and the Byzantine time it was ruled by the Ottomans. This rich history is visible in the buildings and monuments all around the city. UNESCO has listed several buildings in Thessaloniki (fifteen in total) as heritage sites, of which I have visited four.

This article is structured similarly as my post about Athens. I will give you the walkthrough of my three days in Thessaloniki and at the end I will let you know which sights are, in my opinion, unmissable.

Day 1

Arrival
Let me first describe my arrival, because it was quite nerve-wrecking for me. The easy part was taking the train from Kalambaka (price is 15,20 euro and it took 2.5 hours). The trouble started when I tried to leave the train station to go to my hotel in El Greco Egnatia Street, a very central location. My friend who studied in Thessaloniki advised me to take a bus, I didn’t want to go through the hassle of working out the bus system so I went looking for a taxi. I ended up having to take a bus anyway because there were no taxis at either side of the station. I went to one of the kiosks to buy a ticket and to ask which bus to take and she advised me to take the 10 (ticket cost 1 euro). The bus driver didn’t speak English so it’s only by miracle that I saw the hotel outside one of the bus stops, so I managed to quickly jump off. Did I mention that the bus was jam-packed and I had a bit of a stand-off with an elderly lady who wouldn’t let me get off until she got on the bus? Good times… After check-in, I made my way into the city.

Roman Forum
Everything is walkable in Thessaloniki so I decided to just stroll and work my way around the sights I wanted to see. The first one was the Roman Forum. I had seen one in Athens, so I only wanted to have a quick look. The Forum is located in the middle of the city – a lot of the sights in Thessaloniki are actually located in busy streets. I think you can enter but just seeing it from above was enough to satiate my needs.

Agios Dimitrios Church and Crypt (UNESCO)
A short distance from the Roman Forum is a gorgeous church. You have to walk past the beggars on the square but once you get get past them the church is awe-inspiring.

Dimitrios is the patron saint of Thessaloniki, so a lot attention was paid to make this church as majestic as possible. I didn’t see many tourists in the city, but the church was packed with a German tour group.

These tourists were a blessing in disguise because when I entered the crypt which is located underneath the church there were no descriptions of the artefacts in English. Thanks to the German guide I found out that the items that are visible on display have been found in the church after reconstruction started following the big fire in 1917.

A Roman Bath was also uncovered inside the crypt, alongside it was a Roman well. It is said that St. Demetrius’ body was thrown into this well after his execution. I know all this information thanks to the German guide, if you’re not so lucky to run into a tour group which speak your language be sure to read up on the crypt before you enter. There’s a lot on display but no descriptions.

Atatürk Museum
This is a historic house museum. I found out about this sight through a girl who was staying in my hostel in Athens. She’s Turkish and she told me that she was visiting Thessaloniki solely for visiting Atatürk’s house. This sparked my interest, so I made my way there as well. At first, I completely missed the location. I had studied the map, but when I walked past the building there were so many policemen that I thought I ended up at a police station, so I continued walking. When I walked past the city wall, I realized I had gone to far.

I walked back to all the policemen and decided to walk around the building they were standing in front of. There were two more policemen and a sign stating I was indeed at the Atatürk Museum. I had to ring a bell in order for a big metal door to be opened. Then I had to pass through a metal detector. The Museum is located next to the Turkish Embassy, this is why there is so much security. Entrance is free, all you have to do is sign your name and nationality in a big ledger.

Atatürk was born in this house, this is why it’s so special to the Turkish community. The rooms are nice to walk through but nothing special. It describes the history of Atatürk and Turkey. The life-like dolls in some of the rooms are a bit creepy.

In the yard there’s a pomegranate tree which has been planted by Atatürk’s father.

Rotunda (UNESCO)
A Rotunda is any building with a circular plan, which is sometimes covered by a dome. The Rotunda in Thessaloniki is quite similar to the Pantheon in Rome in that it has an oculus in the top. Both Rotundas have been built in Roman times and the one in Thessaloniki has gone through different stages – it used to be a temple, a Christian basilica, a Muslim mosque (see the minaret and ablution fountain), a Christian church and it is now a monument.

There is still a lot of building works inside, so you’re better off exploring the outside area until the inside is finalized.

Arch of Galerius
Extremely close to the Rotunda is the Arch of Galerius. It emphasizes the power of the emperor by displaying the victory over the Persians. I have to be honest here and say that I’ve seen more impressive victory arches (most notable the Arc de Triomphe in Paris). The location of this one is in the middle of a busy street and as such it does not get to showcase its full potential.

Galerius Palace
You have to picture that the last few sights are all in a straight line of each other in a busy street in Thessaloniki. There are some ruins in the middle of the street where pedestrians are resting their feet on the side or where you can get a bite to eat in the many cafes. All around the sights there are high rise buildings. It’s quite a strange setting.

Especially Galerius’ Palace has a weird setting. You’re somehow more enthralled by the colourful buildings around it then the ruins below street level. You might be able to go down and walk around the palace but these kind of ruins I rather view from above.

Agia Sophia Church (UNESCO)
The last sight of the first day was Agia Sophia Church. This is another church-mosque-church and it’s one of the oldest buildings in the city. The church has a lovely orange tinge. It was late so entry was not permitted anymore, but just viewing it outside was enough for me. This building kind of reminded me of the beautiful mosques in Istanbul.

Day 2

The first day was jam-packed. Let’s make the second day a bit quieter. Don’t worry, the third day will contain even less sights. I need to give you enough time to shop in Tsimiski Street, which contains most of the shops you might need or want to visit – although it’s one of those unfortunate streets which still has cars running through it.

On the second day I wanted to visit the Jewish Museum first, but it was closed until 11am.

Instead I walked earlier than expected along the promenade to reach the White Tower. The promenade is quiet, especially on a Friday morning, so it was a lovely stroll. The sun was shining on my face and I didn’t notice the fact that I was visiting the city in Autumn. Every now and then a groups of kids ran by me, and some older men sat by the side to fish.

White Tower
After the walk along the promenade you’ll end up at the White Tower. One of the most famous buildings of Thessaloniki. This building was built by the Ottomans to protect the city’s harbour. However, it ended up being a prison. The previous name of the tower was Red Tower – you could probably guess why – until it was whitewashed when the city was retaken by the Hellenic State. That’s when it became known as the White Tower.

If you want to learn about the history of the city, you have to buy an audio guide. There are no description signs in English on any of the floors. I found the exhibitions quite boring and I’m not a fan of bland audio guides, so I hung the guide from my neck and made my way upstairs to admire the view. On a sunny day the view over the promenade is amazing.

Every view needs a selfie, so here’s one of me.

Alexander the Great Statue
It’s not really a sight. It’s just something worth walking past if you’re interested and if you’re on the way to the Archaeological Museum. There’s a massive, and when I say massive I really mean massive, statue of Alexander the Great next to the promenade.

Archaeological Museum
I decided to do the same in Thessaloniki as I did in Athens. Namely, first visiting the Archaeological Museum and then the Byzantine Museum. In Thessaloniki there’s the added benefit that you can buy a ticket for both museums for 8 euro. I spent 1.5 hours at the Archaeological Museum and I thought it was much more comprehensive than the one in Athens because it contains less items and more signs.

You can find a few of my favourite pieces below:

You can definitely wake me up for a nice mosaic. You may have noticed my obsession in posts about Cyprus – Paphos had the best mosaics I have seen – so here’s two more, because I can’t get enough.

Byzantine Museum
The Byzantine Museum is a short walk from the Archaeological Museum. Both this one and the one in Athens are pretty similar. I love Byzantine art so I was happy to admire the beautiful orange painting hanging all around the museum.

Day 3

The second day was easy right? As promised, the third day will be even easier! It contains only one sight, but it’s one worth seeing!

Kastra and Byzantine Walls (UNESCO)
My friend arrived in the city in the evening of the second day so we drove to the Kastra. I’m sure there are local buses going that way as well. The reason I recommend this place is not because of the tower…

…or because of the cute wooden houses all around the tower and the walls…

…or the fact that you can do some souvenir shopping. No, I’m recommending it simply because of the amazing views over the city and the walls enclosing the city.

Conclusion

Thessaloniki is a city well-worth visiting, even though it’s the same as Athens in that it’s not easy to fall head-over-heels in love with it. It’s rough around the edges, it’s busy and in some areas it’s quite decrepit but the sights make it worthy of a visit. A city with a history this rich should not be missed from a travel itinerary.

The sights I would recommend skipping if you only have two days are the two museums. These are not special to Thessaloniki, however, I would recommend to do the walk around town as I did on the first day and to add the White Tower to that list, also the Kastra and its magnificent view over the city is not to be missed.

If you only have a limited amount of time and you’d still like to see most of the highlights, you could always book a walking tour with Get Your Guide.

I had dinner and drinks in nice places in the city, so these will be described in my next post.

Have you been to Thessaloniki and what were your favourite sights?

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