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Nightlife in Thessaloniki

🇬🇷 Thessaloniki, Greece

Nightlife in Thessaloniki

Evening districts, bars, and lively after-dark streets. Explore 6 curated stops in Thessaloniki, including White Tower of Thessaloniki, Aristotelous Square, and Arch of Galerius and Rotunda. Highlights include Nea Paralia, rated 4.7/5 by 2,500 visitors.

6 stops ~3h Available in app

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6 places in this collection

Nightlife places

6 places in this collection

White Tower of Thessaloniki Image by Alexander Klink CC BY 3.0

White Tower of Thessaloniki

Λευκός Πύργος

The White Tower of Thessaloniki is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city of Thessaloniki. The present tower replaced an old Byzantine fortification, known to have been mentioned around the 12th century, that the Ottoman Empire reconstructed to fortify the city's harbour sometime after Sultan Murad II captured Thessaloniki in 1430. The tower became a notorious prison and scene of mass executions during the period of Ottoman rule. The White Tower was substantially remodeled and its exterior was whitewashed after Greece gained control of the city in 1912. It has been adopted as the symbol of the city. The tower, which once guarded the eastern end of the city's sea walls, was for many years attributed to Venice, to which the Byzantines ceded Thessaloniki in 1423. It is now known that the tower was constructed by the Ottomans sometime after the army of Sultan Murad II captured Thessaloniki in 1430. Until 1912, an inscription in Ottoman Turkish verse above the door dated the structure to AH 942 (1535–1536). The historian Franz Babinger speculated that the work was designed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, who is known to have built fortifications, including a similar tower at the Albanian port Valona in 1537. The White Tower houses an exhibition dedicated to the city of Thessaloniki and its history throughout various periods, organized by the city's Museum of Byzantine Culture. It is under the administration of the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture. The Tower is open to the public, and visitors have the opportunity to view a map of the city with monuments and museums, a timeline with events relevant to Thessaloniki, scientific articles of distinguished historians and archaeologists, bibliography etc. School excursions may be arranged by contacting the Byzantine Museum.

Aristotelous Square Image by JFKennedy

Aristotelous Square

Πλατεία Αριστοτέλους

Aristotelous Square is the main city square of Thessaloniki, and is located on Nikis avenue (on the city's waterfront), in the city center. It was designed by French architect Ernest Hébrard in 1918, but most of the square was built in the 1950s. Many buildings surrounding the central square have since been renovated and its northern parts were largely restored in the 2000s. The twelve buildings that make up Aristotelous Square have been listed buildings of the Hellenic Republic since 1950. The history of Aristotelous Square begins with the Great Fire of 1917 that destroyed two thirds of the city of Thessaloniki. Before the Great Fire of 1917, the city lacked much of what was considered to be 'essential' in European architecture. Until 1912, Thessaloniki had been part of Ottoman Turkey for almost 500 years. Under Ottoman rule, the city grew without the guidance of a general plan for expansion and had narrow streets. Today, Aristotelous Square is one of the most famous places in all of Greece and almost synonymous with the city of Thessaloniki itself. The square plays an important role in the sociopolitical life not only of the city, but of the wider country as well. Numerous large rallies and political speeches have been organized in Aristotelous Square, such as the rally for Macedonia in 1992. Additionally the square is used for many cultural events, such as festivals and the annual Christmas and carnival celebrations. It is an important tourist attraction for the city, and the numerous cafes and bars that line up the square make it popular with the younger generations.

Arch of Galerius and Rotunda Image By Tevfik Teker, CC BY 3.0

Arch of Galerius and Rotunda

Αψίδα του Γαλερίου

The Arch of Galerius or Kamara (Καμάρα) and the Rotunda (Ροτόντα) are neighbouring early 4th-century AD monuments in the city of Thessaloniki. The 4th-century Roman Emperor Galerius commissioned these two structures as elements of an imperial precinct linked to his Thessaloniki palace. Archeologists have found substantial remains of the palace to the southwest. These three monumental structures were connected by a road that ran through the arch, which rose above the major east-west road of the city. At the crux of the major axes of the city, the Arch of Galerius emphasized the power of the emperor and linked the monumental structures with the fabric of 4th-century Thessaloniki. The arch was composed of a masonry core faced with marble sculptural panels celebrating a victory over Narses (Narseh), the seventh emperor in the Sassanid Persian Empire, in 299 AD. About two-third of the arch is preserved. The Rotunda was a massive circular structure with a masonry core that had an oculus like the Pantheon in Rome. It has gone through multiple periods of use and modification as a polytheist temple, a Christian basilica, a Muslim mosque, and again a Christian church (and archaeological site). A minaret is preserved from its use as a mosque, and ancient remains are exposed on its southern side. The Rotunda is the oldest of Thessaloniki's churches. Some Greek publications claim it is the oldest Christian church in the world, although there are competitors for that title. It is the most important surviving example of a church from the early Christian period of the Greek-speaking part of the Roman Empire.

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Nea Paralia Image By G Da, CC BY-SA 3.0

Nea Paralia

With the 100th anniversary of the 1912 incorporation of Thessaloniki into Greece, the government announced a large-scale redevelopment program for the city of Thessaloniki, which aims in addressing the current environmental and spatial problems that the city faces. Part of the plan has been implemented with extensive pedestrianization's within the city center by the municipality of Thessaloniki and the revitalization the eastern urban waterfront/promenade, Nea Paralia (Greek: Νέα Παραλία, literally new beach), with a modern and vibrant design. Its first section opened in 2008, having been awarded as the best public project in Greece of the last five years by the Hellenic Institute of Architecture.

The Church of Panagia Chalkeon Image By Konstantinos Stampoulis CC BY-SA 2.5

The Church of Panagia Chalkeon

Παναγία τῶν Χαλκέων

The Church of Panagia Chalkeon is an 11th-century Byzantine church in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. With the conquest of the city in 1430 by the Ottoman Turks, the church was turned into a mosque, named Kazancilar Camii ("Mosque of the Cauldron-Merchants"). It served as a mosque until the end of the Ottoman occupation in 1912. The building underwent a restoration in 1934 following the Chalkidiki earthquakes of 1932. According to the founder's inscription above the west entrance, the church was built in 1028 by the protospatharios Christopher, katepano of Longobardia, and his wife, son, and two daughters. The inscription reads: This once profane place is dedicated as an eminent church to the Mother of God by Christopher, the most illustrious royal protospatharios and governor of Lagouvardia, and his wife Maria, and their children Nicephorus, Anna, and Catacale, in the month of September, indiction XII, in the year 6537.[2] (The Byzantine Calendar year 6537 Anno Mundi is equivalent to the year 1028 Anno Domini.) Christopher's tomb was probably located in an arcosolium on the church's northern wall.

Alaca Imaret Mosque Image by By CeeGee, CC BY-SA 4.0

Alaca Imaret Mosque

Αλατζά Ιμαρέτ

Alaca Imaret Mosque or Ishak Pasha Mosque, literally the "colourful mosque", is a 15th-century Ottoman mosque in Thessaloniki. It was built by order of Ishak Pasha in 1484 or 1487. It consists of a mosque with an imaret (public charity kitchen). The mosque and imaret are not in use anymore. The mosque has a reverse T plan common to early Ottoman architecture, the prayer hall is covered by two large domes, it has a portico covered by five smaller domes. It had one minaret, which was destroyed after 1912, after Thessaloniki was liberated by the Greek Army and became part of the modern Greek state. It is under restoration till now.

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