Built after the great fire of 1917, this is where Thessaloniki looked away from its Ottoman and Byzantine past towards modernity, aspiring to the planned urbanity of grand European capitals. Imagined and designed by French architect Ernest Hébrard, the idea was that this central square would serve the citizens' need for leisure, commerce and wonderful sea views. Two main buildings envelop the square, Electra Palace Hotel and Olympion cinema, both built in the 1950s, and both utterly grandiose.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.83 MILES
Macedonia's prehistory, Hellenistic and Roman periods are charted in this wonderful museum, home to many of the region's major archaeological discoveries…
0.58 MILES
This enormous 7th-century basilica honours Thessaloniki’s patron saint. A Roman soldier, Dimitrios was killed around AD 306 at this former Roman bath site…
0.92 MILES
This fascinating museum has plenty of treasures to please Byzantine buffs, plus simple explanations to introduce this long-lived empire and its culture to…
0.89 MILES
This serene little 5th-century church, once the katholikon (major church) of the Monastery of Saviour Christ of Latomos, is one of the most significant…
0.56 MILES
Thessaloniki's iconic landmark, the 34m-high White Tower has a harrowing history as a prison and place of execution. Built by the Ottomans in the 15th…
1.14 MILES
Thessaloniki's New Waterfront is evidence that architecture can improve urban life through intelligent redesign of the space in which it is lived…
0.98 MILES
Believed to have been founded around 1351 on the place where Paul preached in Thessaloniki, this secluded monastery blends fascinating history with some…
2.41 MILES
Japanese architect Arata Isozaki created the M2, one of two waterfront buildings that house Thessaloniki's high-brow music scene. It's a strikingly…
Nearby Thessaloniki attractions
0.16 MILES
Opposite the Modiano Market in the former Jewish quarter, Yad Lazikaron opened in 1984 as a practising house of worship dedicated to victims of the…
2. Museum of the Macedonian Struggle
0.18 MILES
Ground zero for Greek nationalism, this museum in a handsome late-19th-century mansion recounts how heroic Hellenes wrested Macedonia from both Turks and…
0.2 MILES
The city's largest indoor market sits on the ashes of former Jewish neighbourhood Kadi, which burned down in the 1917 fire. The architect Eli Modiano…
4. Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki
0.23 MILES
This touching museum is housed in one of the few Jewish buildings to survive the great fire of 1917, the former office of Jewish newspaper L'Independent…
0.24 MILES
This grand neoclassical temple of mammon is particularly graceful in design. You can pop inside during working hours.
6. Experimental Center for the Arts
0.27 MILES
The wonderful programming at this old harbour space features fine art, video, installations, photography and all other forms of expression. Exhibitions…
0.27 MILES
Delve into the history of Greek cinema at this well executed small museum, a legacy of Thessaloniki's 1997 stint as European Capital of Culture.
8. Thessaloniki Museum of Photography
0.29 MILES
This 1910 port warehouse presents thought-provoking exhibitions of historic and contemporary photography in Greece's only dedicated photography museum…