Domes and Minarets

This historical walk maps Thessaloniki’s transformation from antiquity to the present day. It begins at the Trigoniou Tower on the northern wall, where sweeping views set the stage for an itinerary shaped by centuries of change. From there, the path along the Byzantine fortifications leads to the monastery of Vlatadon, tied to the memory of St Paul’s presence, before descending toward landmarks that reveal the city’s complex past. The route descends to the small church of Osios David, where you step inside. It then continues past the Ottoman Alatza Imaret and reaches Saint Dimitrios, where you take time to explore its interior. You then walk toward the Roman forum before arriving at the Rotonda and its early Christian mosaics. Just before entering the Rotonda, you’ll stop for a coffee break. Then the walk passes past the Arch of Galerius, the Navarinou ruins and goes toward the White Tower and the Statue of Alexander the Great.

Thessaloniki is one of the few cities in the Balkans where Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman structures remain part of everyday urban life rather than isolated remnants. This experience focuses on continuity, showing how successive empires reshaped the city while leaving earlier layers visible and in use. Rather than treating monuments as standalone sites, the walk reads them in sequence, allowing shifts in faith, power, and daily life to unfold gradually through the streets, walls, and buildings. Domes, minarets, churches, and civic spaces are understood as parts of the city in active use across time. Eleonora brings clarity to this complexity through careful pacing and contextual explanation. Her approach emphasizes how religious buildings changed function, meaning, and community over centuries, offering a grounded understanding of Thessaloniki as a city shaped by adaptation rather than replacement.

Eleonora Porcelli is an Italian guide who has lived in Greece for more than twenty years. She holds a degree in philology and foreign languages and completed her training as a licensed tourist guide at the National School for Guides in Athens. Based in Thessaloniki, she approaches the city through its layered history, geography, and social fabric, offering a perspective that connects past and present with clarity and care.

Comfortable shoes and your camera. The walk covers 4.2 km, and the first part includes a downhill section on sloped ground because the route starts in the higher part of the city and continues downward.