Neighbourhood guide
The only quarter spared by the 1917 fire. Byzantine walls and a view over the gulf.
By Loena Luxury Suites. Updated June 2026.
Ano Poli, Thessaloniki's upper town: the only quarter spared by the 1917 fire. Byzantine walls, Ottoman cobbled lanes, Eptapyrgio fortress, and the finest sunset view.
Ano Poli was the one quarter that came through the great fire of 1917 almost intact. The Byzantine walls, the Trigonio tower, and the Eptapyrgio (Yedi Kule) carry the memory of two millennia, set in cobbled lanes that have not changed.
From the Eptapyrgio and the walls the panorama opens across the whole Thermaic Gulf. The sunset from up here is the image people keep from Thessaloniki. The easiest way to do it is a taxi up and a gentle walk back down through the lanes.
Two doors apart on Alexandras Papadopoulou, at the corner that gave the neighbourhood its name, stand the oldest and the newest reasons to come up. At number 72, Tsinari has been a corner kafeneio since 1885 and still puts Asia Minor mezedes on pavement tables. At number 70, Rediviva cooks Mediterranean food from humble ingredients, much of it grown on the cooperative's own plot at Chortiatis. From our door it is 25 minutes on foot, rising the whole way.
The climb is real. Our door to the Tsinari corner is 25 minutes on foot, and to the Eptapyrgio gate 35, uphill throughout. Bus 23 runs up from Plateia Eleftherias, a few minutes from Ladadika, to the Eptapyrgio stop. Most people take a taxi up and walk back down. Parking up there is scarce enough that visitors complain about it, so leave the car at the garage.
A few practical things that save a wasted trip. Doxa has no terrace, opens only in the afternoon, and closes on Mondays. Cafe Aithrio at the fortress gate is self-service. Google's opening hours are wrong or incomplete for most of these places, so if you are climbing for one in particular, ring first.
| Where | What it is | On foot |
|---|---|---|
| Sfentona Art Cafe | A library of first editions, the Sfentona imprint | 23 min |
| Προφήτης Ηλίας | UNESCO, Athonite plan, free entry | 24 min |
| Καφέ-Ουζερί Τσινάρι | Since 1885, corner of Kleious and Al. Papadopoulou | 25 min |
| Rediviva Cucina Povera | Since 2015, describes itself as a social cooperative | 25 min |
| Βυζαντινό Λουτρό | UNESCO, the one secular building on the list, in use as a bath until 1940 | 28 min |
| Όσιος Δαβίδ | UNESCO, the Ezekiel vision mosaic, free entry | 29 min |
| Μονή Βλατάδων | UNESCO, founded 1351-1371, seat of the Patriarchal Institute of Patristic Studies since 1968 | 31 min |
| Το Κονάκι | 4.5 from ~620 Google reviews | 31 min |
| Άγιος Νικόλαος Ορφανός | UNESCO, wall paintings of 1310-1320, free entry | 32 min |
| Δόξα | Since 1968, closed Mondays | 33 min |
| Ανώπολις | 4.7 from ~900 Google reviews | 33 min |
| Τοίχο Τοίχο | Facing the walls, 4.5 from ~5,300 Google reviews | 33 min |
| Η Στάση — συνεργατικόν καφενείον | Run as a cooperative, photography shows | 33 min |
| Τείχη & Επταπύργιο | Byzantine walls, Trigonion Tower, free panorama | 35 min |
| Ίγγλις | Since 1914 | 35 min |
| Castra Terrace Bar | Terrace on the walls, 4.5 from ~3,800 Google reviews | 36 min |
| Καφέ Αίθριο στο Γεντί Κουλέ | Since 1993, on Koule Kafe square | 38 min |
Τείχη & ΕπταπύργιοWalls & Eptapyrgio
Ano Poli — 35 min walk, uphill
The Byzantine city walls and the Yedi Kule fortress — the city's best view from the Trigonion Tower, open 24/7 and free.
Byzantine walls, Trigonion Tower, free panorama
Μονή ΒλατάδωνVlatadon Monastery
Ano Poli — 31 min walk, uphill
The one Byzantine monastery in the city still working, just outside the Acropolis walls at Eptapyrgiou 64. Its courtyard looks out over the whole city to the gulf.
UNESCO, founded 1351-1371, seat of the Patriarchal Institute of Patristic Studies since 1968
Άγιος Νικόλαος ΟρφανόςAgios Nikolaos Orphanos
Ano Poli — 32 min walk, uphill
A small early-fourteenth-century church in a walled yard on Irodotou by the eastern walls, holding the fullest set of wall paintings left in Thessaloniki. It opens for a few hours, and not every day.
UNESCO, wall paintings of 1310-1320, free entry
Όσιος ΔαβίδOsios David
Ano Poli — 29 min walk, uphill
The katholikon of the Latomou monastery, late fifth century, at the end of a dead-end street at Epimenidou 17. The Ezekiel-vision mosaic sits in the apse of the sanctuary.
UNESCO, the Ezekiel vision mosaic, free entry
Προφήτης ΗλίαςProfitis Ilias
Ano Poli — 24 min walk, uphill
A Byzantine church on a rock outcrop at Olympiados 53, the only one in Thessaloniki built to the Athonite plan. It is the first monument you meet on the way up.
UNESCO, Athonite plan, free entry
Βυζαντινό ΛουτρόByzantine Bath
Ano Poli — 28 min walk, uphill
The one public Byzantine bath left in the city, on the block between Theotokopoulou and Krispou — antechamber, warm room, hot room and cistern, all in place. It opens for a few hours a week.
UNESCO, the one secular building on the list, in use as a bath until 1940
Ano Poli — 25 min walk, uphill
A courtyard restaurant on the Tsinari corner — Mediterranean cooking from humble ingredients, vegetables from their own Chortiatis plot.
Since 2015, describes itself as a social cooperative
Τοίχο Τοίχο
Ano Poli — 33 min walk, uphill
An all-day restaurant-bar at Stergiou Polydorou and Agrafon with the walls across the road — Mediterranean cooking, coffee from the morning, drinks until late.
Facing the walls, 4.5 from ~5,300 Google reviews
Καφέ-Ουζερί Τσινάρι
Ano Poli — 25 min walk, uphill
An 1885 corner kafeneio-ouzeri at Tsinari, Asia Minor mezedes and tables out on the pavement (Al. Papadopoulou 72).
Since 1885, corner of Kleious and Al. Papadopoulou
Ίγγλις
Ano Poli — 35 min walk, uphill
A 1914 taverna at Irodotou 32 — a modernised kitchen working on old ground, house kokkineli from the barrel.
Since 1914
Δόξα
Ano Poli — 33 min walk, uphill
A small 1968 mezedopoleio at Apostolou Pavlou 25, run by the founders' son. Indoors only, no terrace.
Since 1968, closed Mondays
Ανώπολις
Ano Poli — 33 min walk, uphill
An all-day mezedopoleio on the corner of Akropoleos and Stergiou Polydorou, tables out on the pavement, in the lanes below the Acropolis.
4.7 from ~900 Google reviews
Η Στάση — συνεργατικόν καφενείον
Ano Poli — 33 min walk, uphill
A cooperative kafeneio-mezedopoleio on Kallitheas square, Andokidou 1, looking across at Agios Nikolaos Orphanos. Briki coffee in the morning, meze and tsipouro at night.
Run as a cooperative, photography shows
Το Κονάκι
Ano Poli — 31 min walk, uphill
A neighbourhood taverna at Akropoleos 20, on the road between Agios Nikolaos Orphanos and the walls.
4.5 from ~620 Google reviews
Καφέ Αίθριο στο Γεντί Κουλέ
Ano Poli — 38 min walk, uphill
A stone café at the Eptapyrgio gate, courtyard under the trees. Self-service, coffee and cold mezedes.
Since 1993, on Koule Kafe square
Ano Poli — 23 min walk, uphill
A café with a library, old objects and a stepped garden at Olympiados 50 — exhibitions, book launches and a publishing imprint of its own.
A library of first editions, the Sfentona imprint
Castra Terrace Bar
Ano Poli — 36 min walk, uphill
A roof terrace above the eastern walls at Eptapyrgiou 122, beside the Trigoniou Tower — coffee from the morning, cocktails at night, the city and the gulf below.
Terrace on the walls, 4.5 from ~3,800 Google reviews
“Everything was perfect: spotless, ideal location, modern and elegant design.”
By taxi in a few minutes, or on foot uphill from the centre. Most visitors take a taxi up and walk back down, enjoying the cobbled lanes on the way.
The Byzantine walls, the Trigonio tower, the Eptapyrgio, and the view toward the Thermaic Gulf, best in the afternoon before sunset.
From our door to the Tsinari corner is 25 minutes on foot, and to the Eptapyrgio gate 35. It rises the whole way, so treat those as climbing minutes and not flat ones. Bus 23 from Plateia Eleftherias reaches the Eptapyrgio stop, and a taxi from the door is the other answer.
On the Tsinari corner there is Tsinari, a kafeneio-ouzeri since 1885, and next door Rediviva, cooking Mediterranean food with vegetables from its own plot. Deeper into the quarter, Igglis has run as a taverna since 1914, and Doxa is a small 1968 mezedopoleio kept by the founders' son. For coffee or a drink, Cafe Aithrio at Yedikule has a courtyard at the fortress gate.
