Greece · Central Macedonia · Thessaloníki
Saranta Ekklisies, Thessaloníki — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Saranta Ekklisies is a residential hill district in northeast Thessaloníki, above the old Upper Town. The name means Forty Churches.
Hotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Where to stay in Saranta Ekklisies
The practical side of choosing where to sleep.
Few visitors book a room in Saranta Ekklisies. There is little formal hotel stock here, so most beds are short-let apartments and rooms in family blocks. This is a lived-in quarter.
Staying here means quiet nights, a residential feel, and a steady uphill walk to and from the centre of Thessaloníki. It suits travellers after a local base or a longer stay rather than sightseeing at the door, with the old churches of Ano Poli the nearest draw a short walk west. For a first visit built around the waterfront and the museums, the hotels of central Thessaloníki make the easier base.
Things to do in and around Thessaloníki
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
3- White Tower of Thessaloniki Heritage
- Museum for the Macedonian Struggle Heritage
- Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki
Churches & Religious Sites
8- Church of Agios Dimitrios, Thessaloniki Heritage
- Hagia Sophia Heritage
- Rotunda Heritage
- Church of the Acheiropoietos Heritage
- Church of the Holy Twelve Apostles Heritage
Show 3 more →
- Church of Hosios David Heritage
- New Mosque Heritage
- Church of Saint Nicholas Orphanos Heritage
Castles & Historic Sites
2- Arch of Galerius and Rotunda Heritage
- Roman Agora of Thessaloniki Heritage
worth knowingacross 3 categories in and around Thessaloníki
About Saranta Ekklisies
What are the main landmarks in Saranta Ekklisies?
Little of monumental Thessaloníki sits inside Saranta Ekklisies. The name, 'Forty Churches,' points to the small parish churches once scattered across the hill, and those remain its most local landmarks. Its historic sights lie just west, across the old walls in Ano Poli.
Closest among them is the Church of Saint Nicholas Orphanos, a small Byzantine chapel near the eastern walls, a few minutes on foot. Beyond it the Upper Town drops away toward the centre of Thessaloníki.
What is the history of Saranta Ekklisies?
Saranta Ekklisies grew up on the north-eastern slopes as Thessaloníki spread beyond its walled old town. Its name, 'Forty Churches,' records the small churches that once stood on the hill. For most of its life the quarter sat just outside Ano Poli, the Ottoman-era upper town enclosed by the Byzantine walls.
As the modern city climbed the hills, terraced housing filled the ground between the walls and the wooded crest. Homes came, not monuments.
Where is Saranta Ekklisies?
The neighbourhood occupies the north-eastern heights of Thessaloníki, well uphill from the centre. Its western edge meets Ano Poli along the line of the old Byzantine walls, the stone boundary that has long separated the two quarters. The slope falls to the Thermaic Gulf.
Higher up, the streets thin out as the ground climbs toward the wooded crest above the city.
Good for
More areas in Thessaloníki
Updated October 2026