Thessaloniki Day Trip: Byzantine Walls & Upper Town | Thessaloniki, Greece

What makes Thessaloniki's Upper Town truly remarkable isn't just the age of its structures, but the extraordinary continuity of their use spanning over 1,600 years of active service. When Emperor Theodosius I commissioned these walls in 379 CE, he created approximately 8,000 meters of fortifications that originally stretched from the Acropolis all the way down both the eastern and western sides to the ocean itself. The fact that 4,300 meters—more than half—still stands today is genuinely astonishing, especially when compared to other Roman defensive structures like Hadrian's Wall, which haven't weathered the centuries nearly as well. What's particularly fascinating is why portions disappeared: during the Ottoman occupation, the Turks deliberately demolished the lower sections flanking down to the sea not for conquest or spite, but for climate comfort, hoping to allow the sea breezes to flow through the sweltering city. It's a reminder that practical urban planning sometimes trumps historical preservation, even when dealing with millennium-old structures.

The Heptapyrgion fortress represents perhaps the most tangible connection to this layered history. Built by the Byzantines in 1453, most likely atop an even earlier ninth-century fortification, this imposing structure served as the city's garrison and siege refuge—a role it maintained until 1890, an almost incomprehensible 437 years of continuous military operation. But its story doesn't end there; rather than being abandoned or converted into a tourist attraction, it was repurposed as a prison that remained operational until 1989. Think about that timeline: this building was actively housing prisoners just three decades ago, meaning it witnessed over a thousand years of continuous institutional use towering above Thessaloniki. The confusion around its name adds another intriguing layer—both its Greek name Heptapyrgion and Turkish name Yedi Kule translate to "Fortress of Seven Towers," yet today it clearly possesses ten towers (depending on how you count them). Theories abound: some argue it originally had seven towers, others suggest it was named after Constantinople's famous Yedi Kule fortress, while still others propose the "seven towers" reference the large gates or portaras leading into the main complex rather than the towers themselves.

The Castro neighborhood itself embodies what makes this area special for travelers seeking authentic cultural depth rather than manufactured tourist experiences. Unlike Greece's famous islands where tourism dominates the economy and shapes daily life, the Castro remains genuinely lived-in, with residents going about ordinary jobs that have nothing to do with the travel industry. Walking through its streets, you witness how modern Thessaloniki has organically grown around these ancient Byzantine walls—roads curve unexpectedly, buildings squeeze into available spaces, and pedestrians suddenly encounter massive stone fortifications blocking their path, forcing detours that wouldn't exist without these historical impositions. The Vlatadon Monastery, established around 1350 or 1371 (scholars split hairs over the exact date), sits at the perfect vantage point where the western wall meets the Castro, offering those breathtaking panoramic views from 120 meters above the Aegean. While it might not be Thessaloniki's most ornate monastery—that honor perhaps goes to Saint Paul's near Paskus Gardens—Vlatadon compensates with its longer history, extensive compound, and surprisingly quirky features like the bird sanctuary housing white peacocks and roosters.

This isn't Greece for first-time visitors expecting the Mykonos and Santorini experience of brilliant blue waters and whitewashed buildings cascading down cliffsides. Thessaloniki's Upper Town delivers something fundamentally different: the historical, Byzantine side of Greece that feels more akin to wandering Athens than lounging on beaches. The city does have a waterfront, complete with the obligatory Starbucks and tourism infrastructure, but that's not where the magic happens. The real draw is experiencing how history actively shapes contemporary urban life in the Castro, where century-old decisions about wall placement still dictate where twenty-first-century residents can build their homes and businesses. For travelers who loved the layered historical depth of Athens and crave that same immersive cultural experience without the resort atmosphere, Thessaloniki's Upper Town offers exactly that—a place where you're not observing history from behind velvet ropes, but literally walking through streets that exist in their current form because of decisions made by Roman emperors and Byzantine architects over a millennium ago.