Thessaloniki, Greece - September 2025
- chrissihuf
- Nov 1, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
Brief History/Information
Thessaloniki is Greece’s second-largest city and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia. It has been ruled under the Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans. Surprisingly, it only holds one UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it’s really a collection of 15 monuments listed together under the title. Thessaloniki is a beautiful and clean city. This city contains a large college population, and is famous for its vibrant nightlife, cuisine, and music scene. It is often overlooked as a Greece destination… don’t let that be your mistake!
What we did
We took the train (booked through Rail Ninja) from Athens to Thessaloniki, because we knew Thessaloniki was a very walkable city and we didn’t need a car… a very true statement! We splurged for the train and bought VIP seats. The seats weren’t in our own private car, but we had our own comfortable seats and luggage area that was constantly watched over by personnel. The train was very efficient, fast, clean, nice, and relaxing. Upon arriving, we decided to start our self-made walking tour (see Walking Tour w/ Bar Crawl below). This is a long walking tour and can be divided in two days.
Places of Interest
White Tower – the city’s iconic symbol.
Rotunda – originally a Roman mausoleum, later a church and mosque.
Arch of Galerius – a Roman triumphal arch.
Ano Poli (Upper Town) – preserved old quarter with traditional architecture.
Ladadika District – historic area with tavernas and nightlife.
Walking Tour w/ Bar Crawl
OLD str. Downtown Bar- this was a great restaurant right next to some old (unused) Turkish bath houses
Aristotle Square- it’s a nice park
White Tower- came here and it was sunset. After all the stairs, the view is incredible; you can see all of Thessaloniki. We hit the stairs and top first and then on our way down we stopped at each floor for the museum.
Alexander the Great Statue-
Pub Thessaloniki - we didn’t have a chance to go here
On the road- nice little pub right on the Main Street overlooking the water.
Agora Modiano- this is a market
Bey Hamam- it’s closed, but we walked by it… a Turkish bathhouse.
Roman Forum- it seems that every town, has their own Roman Forum, this one isn’t big, but it is interesting
Saint Dimitrios church- really nice/old church that is still in operation
Old Town (Ano Poli)- what a great old town! The streets are small, windy, hilly, and a little scary (even when you’re walking!)
Ouzeri Tsinari-oldest tavern in Thessaloniki
Byzantine Walls/City Walls- medieval fortifications. This is pretty amazing… the size and age of this whole thing!
Vlatades Monastery- on our walk via the Byzantine Walls, you can’t miss this. I think they even have markets on certain days. This is where you get the ‘other’ view of Thessaloniki
Heptyragon -amazing views from high up in the old town
The Rotunda-originally a Roman mausoleum, later a church and mosque, pretty cool.
Arch of Galerius (Kamara)- this is an amazing arch, just sitting there right next to a busy street
Agio Sophia- an old church
The Red House- hotel, used to be a house
Harat's Irish Pub- who doesn’t like a good Irish Pub???
Museum of Byzantine Civilization - we didn’t have a chance to go here
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki - we didn’t have a chance to go here
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