Roads full of monuments. Monuments full of stories about emperors, gods and mortals, wars and disasters, victories and feasts. A city of many faces, sometimes with a friendly smile, sometimes with an introvert frown, and some other times with an awkward pose as she stands in front of her historical significance and glorious 23-century past.
We discover every period of the city’s history -from Roman times to present day- through a kaleidoscope of monuments and landmarks that mark the ever-present timeline of a multicultural metropolis.
** The a.m. price does not include the Rotunda 2€/ person admission
Narrow paved roads, which often lead to a dead end. Traditional houses with distinct architecture. Small squares full of people. Old churches with small yards. Dervish lodges full of legends. Gardens and tiny shops full of colors. All protected by the city’s awesome walls.
Ottomans, Turks, Christians, refugees of many cults and nations, all left their mark in one of Thessaloniki’s most breathtaking districts. If you haven’t been in Ano Poli, you can’t really know what this city can offer you. So, we welcome you to an amazing Upper Town walk!
Urban legends, mysteries, conspiracies… Works of imagination that survived as rumours and spread? Real facts that the human mind misinterpreted as the result of it’s weakness to combine them with the city’s history? Or maybe a little bit of both? Thessaloniki conceals more of these stories than you can imagine! Join a night walk by dot2dot in collaboration with George Mantzouranedes through known and unknown neighbourhoods of the city.
We invite you to a special walk that takes place at the heart of the city, that give us the chance to taste traditional and local food. We will visit -among other places- Roman Forum (Thessaloniki’s point of reference during the Roman times and its sole open archaeological site today), the (still active) Bezesteni Market (an impressive Ottoman building with 4 entries and 6 domes), Kapani and Modiano Markets and of course other hidden places full of spices and flavours.
Open, busy markets -some of them present for centuries- full of images that bring to mind the bazaars of the Orient. Paved roads, small shops, colours and all sort of products, merchants, artisans and a wandering crowd, are all part of a vivid image that carries the scent of a long-gone era.
Present-day Queen Olga Avenue was once known as Countryside Avenue. Today’s noisy street stands where less than a century ago the city’s visitor could admire elegant seaside mansions with flowery gardens, owned by the city’s rich elite. Some of these mansions can be seen today, fragments of the glorious past of a suburb full of history. Its multicultural character and the references to then-modern European architecture might be few, yet they remain fascinating and enchanting!
Thessaloniki’s quai is a reflection of the city’s constant changes throughout time. We discover the relationship of its residents with the sea, and how it is part of their everyday life for more than 23 centuries -from the time when a defensive wall stood between the city and the Aegean to its demolition, and from Ernest Hébrard’s vision for a modern, open to the sea and the world metropolis to the present-day design of one of the city’s most vital public spaces.
** The a.m. price does not include the White Tower 4€/ person admission
In the past, getting better for a Thessalonian was sometimes a matter of divine interference: A prayer, a miracle, a traditional remedy by a monk during the Byzantine era. Science, on the other hand, provided a different, more substantial set of solutions, from antiquity to the Ottoman times: Doctors, prescription drugs, pharmacies, ambulances, hospital and medical centres.
An original walk that includes stories of places, monuments and public figures connected to the city’s healthcare history.
