Kapani, Athonos, Modiano and the Bezesteni. Four central Thessaloniki markets, what they sell, where to eat inside them and how far each one is from Ladadika.
Four markets in four blocks
There is no single central market here. Kapani, the Vlali market, is 7 minutes from our door and the oldest one still trading. At 8 minutes you reach Plateia Athonos, with its fishmongers and its meze rooms. The Modiano arcade falls between them. On the corner of Venizelou and Solomou stands the Bezesteni, a mid-fifteenth-century Ottoman market hall of six lead-roofed domes, shops still trading under them and an entrance beside the metro station.
Kapani, the oldest working food market
Athonos, the square of fishmongers
Modiano, the covered arcade of the 1920s
Bezesteni, six domes from the fifteenth century
What Kapani sells
Spices, cheese and olives sit beside the meat and the vegetables in the Vlali lanes, on stalls that have held the same trade for generations. This is commerce. The shouting, the prices inked on cardboard and the crates left in the middle of the lane are the shop, and none of it is staged for anybody. Go in the morning, while the fish is still on ice and the greengrocers are unloading.
Modiano, in transition
The Modiano arcade is the historic covered market Eli Modiano designed in the 1920s. It closed for extensive renovation and is being reborn as an Ergon food hall under the same glass and steel roof. It is still in transition. For a market you can count on finding open, turn into Kapani or Athonos two steps away.
Eating inside the market
The food here comes off the stalls you have walked past. Stou Mitsou is a kafeneio and meze room inside Kapani at Vlali 11, and its plates are made from whatever the market sold that morning. Ouzeri Agora has kept a Lesvos accent at Kapodistriou 5 since January 1991. On Athonos, Psaras is a fishmonger with a restaurant attached. Petros Semkos brought fish dry-ageing to the city from that counter. For a drink afterwards, Purovoku Project at Karipi 3 builds zero-waste, hyper-local cocktails beside the Bezesteni.
Spices, olives, nuts and vacuum-packed cheese all travel. At Venizelou 62 the Ermeidis roastery grinds Greek coffee, filter and espresso, a third generation in the same trade. The family has been in Thessaloniki since 1922 and in that shop since February 1971. The same block covers the rest of the shopping.
The four markets tie into a two-kilometre loop from Ladadika, about 25 minutes of walking before you stop for anything. It is the fourth of the four routes in our walks guide. The ground is flat and the lanes are crowded.
Walking times from the Loena entrance at 13 Ernestou Emprar.
Where
What it is
On foot
Στου Μήτσου
Greek Gastronomy Guide, Kapani market since 2014
7 min
Αγορά Καπάνι
City's oldest working food market
7 min
Αγορά Μοδιάνο
1920s glass roof, Ergon food hall (in transition)
7 min
Ψαράς — Fisheria
Petros Semkos, fish dry-ageing pioneer
8 min
Ουζερί Αγορά
Eagles of Gastronomy
8 min
Πουροβόκου Project
First city bar on World's 50 Best Discovery
8 min
Αγορά Αθωνος
Central market square, fishmongers, Fisheria
8 min
Μπεζεστένι
Built under Mehmed II, six domes, four entrances
8 min
Καφές Ερμείδη
In Thessaloniki since 1922, at Venizelou since February 1971
10 min
Seafood
Ψαράς — Fisheria
Modiano & Kapani — 8 min walk
Working fishmonger with a small restaurant at Plateia Athonos — the city's fish dry-ageing pioneer.
Petros Semkos, fish dry-ageing pioneer
Tavernas & meze
Ουζερί ΑγοράOuzeri Agora
Modiano & Kapani — 8 min walk
Lesvos-style ouzeri in the old market off Ionos Dragoumi (Kapodistriou 5), since January 1991.
Eagles of Gastronomy
Στου Μήτσου
Modiano & Kapani — 7 min walk
Traditional kafeneio-mezedopoleio inside the Kapani market (Vlali 11) — hand-made mezedes from the market stalls.
Greek Gastronomy Guide, Kapani market since 2014
Bars
Πουροβόκου ProjectPurovoku Project
Modiano & Kapani — 8 min walk
Zero-waste, hyper-local cocktails by the Bezesteni (Karipi 3).
First city bar on World's 50 Best Discovery
Markets
Αγορά ΚαπάνιKapani
Modiano & Kapani — 7 min walk
The city's oldest working food market (Vlali) — fishmongers, greengrocers, cheesemongers, butchers.
City's oldest working food market
Αγορά ΜοδιάνοModiano
Modiano & Kapani — 7 min walk
The 1920s glass-and-steel-roofed market hall, reopening as an Ergon food hall — currently in transition.
1920s glass roof, Ergon food hall (in transition)
Αγορά ΑθωνοςAthonos
Modiano & Kapani — 8 min walk
The third central market square — fishmongers, mezedopoleia and Petros Semkos's Fisheria dry-ageing counter.
Central market square, fishmongers, Fisheria
ΜπεζεστένιBezesteni
Modiano & Kapani — 8 min walk
A mid-fifteenth-century Ottoman covered market at Venizelou and Solomou — six lead-roofed domes, shops still trading inside, the entrance beside the Venizelou metro station.
Third-generation coffee roastery at Venizelou 62 — Greek coffee, filter, espresso, nuts and dried fruit.
In Thessaloniki since 1922, at Venizelou since February 1971
“Amazing location and a spotless apartment!”
Foteini, July 2025
Frequently asked questions
How far are the markets from the suite?
Kapani is 7 minutes on foot from our entrance and Plateia Athonos 8. The Modiano arcade and the Bezesteni fall between them, on the same walk.
Is the Modiano arcade open?
The arcade is in a transitional phase. It was renovated to reopen as an Ergon food hall and the schedule keeps moving. For a market you can count on finding open, go to Kapani or Athonos two steps away.
When is the best time to go?
The morning. That is when the greengrocers unload, the fish is on ice and the lanes are at their busiest. By late afternoon the stalls empty out and the meze rooms are what stays open.
What is worth buying to take home?
Spices, olives, nuts and vacuum-packed cheese survive the trip. For coffee, the Ermeidis roastery on Venizelou grinds Greek, filter or espresso in front of you.
