Western Wall

Take either bus line 28A or 28B from any bus stop on Egnatia street, towards the opposite direction to the city center, and get off at “Astynomia” stop just outside the Western Wall. Enter through the Wall to Ano Poli (Upper Town) at the junction of Evrou and Evrymedontos street. Walk down through the beautiful narrow paved streets where you can admire wonderfully restored old houses such as the National Center of Maps. Further down, where Kleious and Al. Papadopoulou street meet, you will find Tsinari, a famous area with taverns. Tsinari took its name from the homonym tavern, which is the oldest operating tavern in Thessaloniki, opened in 1885 as a Turkish cafe.

Before descending further down, head up towards the Wall again and visit the “Cultural Neighborhood” of Sykies Municipality. There are houses built by refugees of Asia Minor from 1922 and on. These buildings, that they were built with the city Wall being one of their walls or sometimes even their door, have been restored and now accommodate artistic and cultural workshops in combination with a Refugee Museum and a Youth Center.

If you walk towards the city center, just before leaving Ano Poli, at the homonym street you will find Agia Aikaterini. This church has managed to preserve its external appearance in almost its original form and it is an example of the architecture of the Macedonian School, with a central dome and four smaller domes at the corners.

Following the Western Wall you will eventually reach Agioi Apostoloi (Holy Apostles) Church. At this point, where Letaia Gate used to be, there was a monastery from which only this church of 1314 A.D. survived. Nearby you will find Pasha Hamam (1530 A.D.) that operated until 1981 under the name “Phoenix Bathhouse”. At short distance, at Antigonidon square, an ancient Greek Temple of Venus was recently found here. The biggest part of this temple of the 6th century B.C. is hidden underneath the square; however its detached parts are exposed at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.

Walking down the Karaoli-Dimitriou ton Kyprion street will lead you to Demokratias square. This was the largest entrance of the ancient city of Thessaloniki, the Golden Gate. Behind the courthouse and at the end of the Western Wall, “Top Hane” is located. “Top Hane”, that formed part of the west fortress, was built by the Ottomans in 1546 A.D. and there can also be found the “Arsenal Tower”, a small octagonal tower. From here began the first artificial port of the city of Thessaloniki that was built by Emperor Constantine the Great during his stay in the city in 322-323 A.D.