A Walking Guide to Ano Poli, Thessaloniki's Upper Town

Ano Poli — the Upper Town — is the one part of central Thessaloniki that survived the Great Fire of 1917 intact. Its cobbled lanes, wooden Ottoman-era houses, and Byzantine walls make it the most atmospheric couple of hours you can spend in the city, and almost none of it requires a car.

Getting There

Ano Poli sits directly uphill from the city center — a steady 20 to 30 minute climb on foot from around the Rotunda, or a short taxi ride if you'd rather save your legs for once you're up there. Either way, once you arrive, the neighborhood itself is compact enough to explore entirely on foot.

What to See, In Order

The Byzantine and Ottoman walls. Ano Poli is still partly enclosed by the city's old fortifications, some sections dating back over a thousand years. They're a good orientation point and worth following for a stretch before heading inward.

Heptapyrgion Fortress. Known locally as Yedi Kule, this ten-towered fortress anchors the top of the hill and served as a prison well into the 1980s. Its walls and towers are open to explore, and the views over the city from up here are the best in Thessaloniki.

Vlatadon Monastery. A working Byzantine-era monastery with a quiet courtyard, peacocks, and one of the more unexpectedly peaceful stops on the hill.

The residential lanes. Beyond the named landmarks, the real point of Ano Poli is just walking — past wooden balconies, small courtyards, and neighborhood tavernas that have nothing to do with tourism and everything to do with actual daily life.

Best Time to Go

Late afternoon into early evening is the ideal window — the light turns golden over the Thermaic Gulf, and the heat of the day (a real factor in summer) has usually broken. Wear shoes that can handle cobblestones and a genuine uphill walk; this isn't a neighborhood for sandals.

Listen As You Walk

Ano Poli is also the one story Thessaloniki Stories gives away completely free — eight narrated chapters covering the walls, the fortress, the monastery, and the neighborhood's daily life, playable offline as you actually walk the lanes. It's the easiest way to turn this walk from a nice view into an actual story.