Things to do in Thessaloniki, splurging
Byzantine history, serious fish dinners, and coffee worth travelling for.
This is Thessaloniki for people who eat well, sleep well, and spend freely on the right things. The city rewards that instinct: the food scene is one of Greece's most underrated, the Byzantine monuments are genuinely staggering, and the waterfront sets a mood that few Mediterranean cities can match. Three days cover the centre, the walls and the Upper Town, and a slow day on the gulf.
Day 1: Ladadika, the centre, and a fish dinner
The day opens with the city's iconic custard pastry, moves through Sephardic history and a UNESCO basilica, and closes at the city's finest fish table.
- 9:30 AM
Trigona Elenidis
Start with Thessaloniki's iconic trigona, crisp syrup-soaked filo filled with custard cream, the pastry locals carry in boxes.
Map - 10:30 AM
Agios Dimitrios Church
The city's patron saint's basilica, with early mosaics upstairs and a crypt built over Roman baths below.
Map - 10:30 AM
Jewish Museum Thessaloniki
Sephardic Salonica from 1492 to the 1943 deportations, in one of the few Jewish buildings left.
Map - 12:30 PM
Mourga
Small plates of seafood meze near Agia Sofia; order what came in that morning and a carafe of white.
Map - 7:30 PM
Epta Thalasses
Fresh-fish special-occasion restaurant, the upscale fish table locals book for anniversaries. Book a few days ahead.
Map
Day 2: Walls, Rotunda, waterfront
Heptapyrgion and the Trigonion Tower at the top of town, lunch at Cinari, the Rotunda, a sunset walk to the Umbrellas, then seafood at Marea Sea Spirit.
- 9:30 AM
Heptapyrgion (Yedi Kule)
Byzantine fortress at the top of the walls, a prison until 1989; climb the ramparts. Closed Tuesdays.
Map - 10:45 AM
Trigonion Tower
Round tower on the eastern walls; the terrace looks over the city to the gulf and, on clear days, Olympus.
Map - 1:00 PM
Cinari
Named for the plane tree outside; an Upper Town taverna for grilled meats, horta and house wine.
Map - 2:30 PM
The Rotunda + Arch of Galerius + Galerian complex
Galerius's 4th-century rotunda with gold mosaics in the dome, then the carved arch below. Closed Tuesdays.
Map - 5:00 PM
Zongolopoulos Umbrellas
Walk the Nea Paralia promenade from the White Tower to Zongolopoulos's steel umbrellas at sunset.
Map - 8:30 PM
Marea Sea Spirit
Modern Greek seafood near the water: marinated anchovies, sea bream carpaccio and shrimp orzo.
Map
Day 3: The gulf, the waterfront, and Cretan cooking
A semi-private catamaran with Olympus on the horizon leads into an Ottoman landmark, a world-class Byzantine museum, and a ten-table Cretan dinner worth every minute of the booking effort.
- 10:30 AM
Sailing the Thermaic Gulf
Semi-private catamaran cruise with swim stops and Olympus on the horizon, lunch is included aboard, covering the 12:30 slot.
Map - 4:00 PM
Museum of Byzantine Culture Μουσείο Βυζαντινού Πολιτισμού
Byzantine icons, mosaics and early Christian tomb paintings, a short walk from the White Tower.
Map - 9:00 PM
Deka Trapezia
Ten-table Cretan restaurant: traditional dishes as contemporary small plates, poetic seasonal cooking. Book a few days.
Map - 10:30 PM
Where to stay
Daios Luxury Living
Waterfront position, design-forward rooms, and the kind of service that makes a splurge trip feel effortless.
Electra Palace Thessaloniki
A Thessaloniki institution with a rooftop pool, central location steps from Ladadika, and rooms that match the quality of the dinners you'll be booking.
Make Thessaloniki your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Mount Olympus: weeks ahead
- Porto Carras: a few days ahead
- Mount Athos: a few days ahead
- Mourga: a few days ahead
- Deka Trapezia: a few days ahead
- Full tou Meze: a few days ahead
Skip these
- Nikis Avenue and Aristotelous cafe fronts charge a large premium for the view, so have one ritual coffee then drink inland for half the price.
- The White Tower is a viewpoint with a small museum attached, not a half day attraction, and most visitors finish it in 40 minutes.
- There is no swimming beach in the centre itself, the swim options are Peraia by boat, Aretsou in Kalamaria or Halkidiki.
- Day tours cannot visit Athos and a three peninsula Halkidiki day is mostly a bus day, so choose one leg properly.
The full Thessaloniki travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around