Thessaloniki

A cylinder of 34m on the waterfront, with the display running up its spiral ramp. Under Ottoman rule it served as a prison and went by the name of the red tower.

A round building of the fourth century that served as temple, then church, then mosque. The mosaic inside and the minaret outside show that order at once.

The great fire of 1917 spared this upper quarter, so timber houses and tight lanes survive. Climb to the wall and the city with its bay opens up.

A fourth century Roman emperor raised this arch, its reliefs carved with battle scenes. It now stands mid square with people walking under it.

A Jewish architect built this covered market in 1922, and it reopened recently after repair. Small kitchens sit between the fish and spice stalls.

Five kilometres run south from the White Tower, each stretch given its own themed garden. In the evening cyclists and walkers keep to separate lanes.

The church belongs to the city's patron and stands over a Roman bath. The place where the saint was held is inside that crypt.

Records and grave fragments of a community that once made up half the population. Documents lay out how most of them were taken away in 1943.

A street of former oil warehouses now holds kitchens and bars. The buildings are low and painted, which keeps the lanes bright at night.

Four kilometres of wall remain along the ridge with the city spread below. From the cafes beside it you watch the ships come into the bay.

Laid out by the French architect Hebrard after the great fire of 1917, it opens from the main avenue down to the sea. Cafes fill the arcades on both sides, and a seated Aristotle waits at the top end. Passers-by rub his toe for luck until it shines.

An eighth century church sharing Istanbul's famous name at a much humbler size. Its dome holds a mosaic of the Ascension, the apostles ringed among trees. Between services you can sit beneath it and gaze straight up.

Macedonian royal gold wreaths and jewellery fill a gallery of their own. The fourth century BC bronze Derveni Krater teems with a Dionysian procession. The Derveni Papyrus, found at the same site, is counted as Europe's oldest book.

Right beside the Archaeological Museum, it opened in 1994 in a red-brick building by architect Kyriakos Krokos. Early Christian tomb paintings, icons and household pottery fill rooms by era. Low lighting makes the icons' gold leaf glow.

Also called Vlali, the city's oldest market, running since Ottoman times. Fish, olive, spice and cheese stalls crowd the narrow aisles while traders bellow for custom. Cheap canteens feeding shoppers hide in the back lanes.

A Byzantine and Ottoman citadel at the top of Ano Poli, also known by its Turkish name Yedi Kule. Inmates were locked up here from the 1890s until 1989, and the cell blocks remain. From the open ground outside its walls, city and gulf spread out entire.

Ancient Aigai, about 75km southwest of Thessaloniki, is a UNESCO site. The tomb taken to be Philip II's has become a museum inside its own earth mound, its facade seen in the gloom. Gold caskets and wreaths are shown with it.

The Macedonian capital where Alexander the Great was born, about 40km west of the city. Floor mosaics of river pebbles, among them a lion hunt, are its fame. The open plain offers no shade at all; tour the museum first, then the ruins before the heat builds.