Thessaloniki treasure hunt: from a Roman arch to the seafront in one game
The Thessaloniki treasure hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from landmark to landmark, solve a riddle at each one by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind it. Plan on about 2 hours in all: 53 minutes of that is walking, 4.3 km from Kamara down to the sea, and the remainder belongs to the 10 riddles and whatever catches your eye between them.
Highlights include the Roman Arch of Galerius and the Rotunda, the Roman Forum, Aristotelous Square, the Byzantine Church of Hagia Sophia, the White Tower and the statue of Alexander the Great on the seafront. In Thessaloniki, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and modern Greek history sit side by side, so a short walk covers almost two thousand years.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 53 min · 4.3 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Greek
From Kamara to the Thermaic Gulf, one riddle at a time
Reading the marble
Each stop sets one riddle, and the answer is on whatever stands in front of you: soldiers carved on the Arch of Galerius, the columns of the Roman Forum, the arcades around Aristotelous Square. Sharp eyes and some logic will do, not a degree in Byzantine history.
Emperors, saints and a whitewashed prison
Crack the riddle and the stop's story opens: Galerius and his war against the Persians, the Great Fire of 1917 and the French architect who redrew the centre, the prisoner who, legend has it, painted the Tower of Blood white to win his freedom. If reading in bright sunshine is a strain, the audio narration reads each story aloud.
Downhill to the water
Google Maps leads you from stop to stop, 53 minutes on foot over 4.3 km, from Egnatia Street through the centre that Ernest Hébrard laid out after the fire and down to the promenade. The final stretch keeps the Thermaic Gulf beside you all the way.
Bougatsa breaks allowed
No clock runs in this game, so stop for a bougatsa or an iced coffee whenever the mood takes you. Close the app and carry on after lunch, the next morning or on your last day in the city.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who plays the Thessaloniki treasure hunt
Two thousand years in an afternoon
Thessaloniki piles Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and modern Greek layers on top of one another, and they are easy to stroll past without noticing. The riddles halt you at each layer in turn, from an emperor's triumphal arch to the memorial to the wartime resistance.
Young eyes on old marble
Young players get horses and soldiers carved in marble, a bronze Aristotle whose toe people rub for luck and Alexander the Great on Bucephalus looking out to sea. They need an adult in their team.
Friends, colleagues and classes
Teams of up to 5 play side by side with the riddles on every player's own phone, so a group of friends or a company outing splits into several teams and compares answers at the White Tower. It all happens on public streets, with no room or time slot to reserve.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The route: Arch of Galerius, Roman Forum and Aristotelous Square, then along the sea
10 stops · about 53 min walking · start: Arch of Galerius · finish: National Resistance Monument
The hunt starts at the Arch of Galerius on Egnatia Street and continues to the Rotunda, then west to the Roman Forum and the statue of Eleftherios Venizelos. You walk down Aristotelous Square, turn to the Church of Hagia Sophia and the Thessaloniki History Centre, and reach the sea at the White Tower, before following the waterfront past the Alexander the Great statue to finish at the National Resistance Monument. The White Tower, the Rotunda and every other stop are solved from the pavement, so nobody needs an entry ticket, and if your hotel is down by the water the app will open the game at the seafront end and let you reorder the stops.
Open the route map ↗
1Arch of GaleriusStart
The Arch of Galerius, known locally as Kamara, was built around AD 300 to celebrate Emperor Galerius' victory over the Persians. Only part of the original structure survives, but its marble reliefs still show battle scenes, the emperor and his soldiers, right beside busy Egnatia Street.
Read the full story →
2Rotunda
The massive round Rotunda was built by Emperor Galerius in the early 4th century, possibly as a temple or as his mausoleum. It later became a church decorated with fine mosaics and then a mosque under Ottoman rule, and its minaret still stands beside it.
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3Roman Forum
The Roman Forum was the public centre of the city in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Its remains were uncovered in the 1960s, when work began on a new courthouse here, and today you can see the paved square, colonnades and a small odeon used for performances.
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4Statue of Eleftherios Venizelos
This statue honours Eleftherios Venizelos (1864–1936), the Cretan-born statesman who was Prime Minister when Thessaloniki became part of Greece in 1912. In 1916 he set up a rival provisional government in the city, which brought Greece into the First World War on the side of the Allies.
Read the full story →
5Aristotelous Square
After the Great Fire of 1917 the French architect Ernest Hébrard redesigned the city centre, and Aristotelous Square became its grand axis, opening onto the sea. Its arcaded buildings mix Byzantine and European styles, and touching the toe of the statue of Aristotle at its upper end is said to bring luck.
Read the full story →
6Church of Hagia Sophia
Built in the 8th century, the Church of Hagia Sophia takes its name and domed design from the great church in Constantinople. Inside, a 9th-century mosaic of the Ascension of Christ fills the dome, and the church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Early Christian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki.
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7Thessaloniki History Centre
The Thessaloniki History Centre is run by the municipality and collects documents, photographs and maps about the city's past, which it presents in exhibitions. It is a good reminder of how many layers, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and modern, lie on top of each other in the streets you walk through.
8White Tower
The White Tower was built by the Ottomans as part of the sea walls after they took the city in 1430. Once a prison known as the Tower of Blood, it was whitewashed in the late 19th century, according to legend by a prisoner in exchange for his freedom. Today it is the symbol of Thessaloniki and houses a museum about the city.
Read the full story →
9Alexander the Great Statue
This large bronze statue on the seafront shows Alexander the Great on his horse Bucephalus, looking out over the Thermaic Gulf. It is the work of the sculptor Evangelos Moustakas and was unveiled in the 1970s, and it is one of the most photographed places in the city.
Read the full story →
10National Resistance MonumentFinish
This monument honours the Greeks who resisted the occupation of the Second World War. Thessaloniki was held by German forces from April 1941 to October 1944, and in 1943 most of the city's large Jewish community was deported and murdered.
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Anonymous (verified owner) –
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Jürgen– Austria –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Excellent fun
Edith– Belgium –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Edith– Belgium –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
War ganz gut, da man so nicht planlos rumgelaufen ist und zu vielen Orten kam und Infos dazu bekommen hat. Die obere Stadt war leider nicht mit dabei. Würde es aber wieder machen
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
It was a cool idea, but there would be information given about places that you didn’t know where they were.
Sara– Italy –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Attività molto carina da fare in famiglia. Per il gran caldo dei giorni scorsi, abbiamo deciso di fare quest’attività nel tardo pomeriggio. Ci ha fatto visitare la città in un modo semplice, divertente e veloce. Stando a Salonicco solo 1 giorno, è stata una soluzione davvero ottimale. Alcune soluzioni jon sono proprio immediate, ma la possibilità di saltare non è male. Io ho acquistato 2 biglietti, in modo da poterci dividere in 2 “squadre”.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Rätsel sind teilweise nicht lösbar bzw. die Aufgabenstellung ist so derart schlecht beschrieben, dass man garnicht weiß, was man machen soll. Trotzdem hatte wir einen schönen Spaziergang durch die Stadt.
United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Amazing way to learn about the city and get comfortable navigating a new place. Such a great place to visit! Highly recommend
Belgium –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tout est très bien expliqué, quelques anecdotes peu connues sur la ville et ses infrastructures étaient intéressantes. Très sympa pour parcourir les points importants de la ville.
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
What an interesting way to explore this place!
manolo33 –
Very nice walk, full of history and information. Smart riddles and tasks. Very good