Roman Forum (Ancient Agora)
Roman Forum (Ancient Agora) is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Thessaloniki audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~30 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type ruins
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Thessaloniki Thessaloniki guide
About Roman Forum (Ancient Agora)
The excavated Roman forum of Thessaloniki, with its restored stone odeon, two-storey colonnades and a vaulted cryptoporticus, hidden for centuries and found by chance in the 1960s beneath the modern city.
The Roman Forum, or Ancient Agora, was the civic and administrative heart of Roman Thessaloniki, laid out mainly in the second and third centuries AD on two terraces above today's Aristotelous Square. It was ringed by two-storey colonnaded porticoes, with a paved square, a vaulted lower gallery called the cryptoporticus, Roman baths, and a small stone odeon or theatre on the east side, still standing with its curved seating.
The site lay buried and forgotten until 1966, when digging began for a new courthouse and the ruins came to light; the courthouse plan was abandoned to save them. The odeon, restored, hosts cultural events today, and a museum of the forum is entered through the cryptoporticus. From this complex came the sculptures known as Las Incantadas, carried off to the Louvre in 1864.
Did you know? The Roman Forum was the civic heart of Roman Thessaloniki, laid out mainly in the second and third centuries AD on two terraces, with colonnaded porticoes, baths and a stone odeon.
How long should you spend at Roman Forum (Ancient Agora)?
Plan about ~30 min at Roman Forum (Ancient Agora). That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Roman Forum (Ancient Agora) worth visiting?
Roman Forum (Ancient Agora) is one of the 13 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Thessaloniki, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Thessaloniki
Day 1 of the Thessaloniki in 2 days itinerary →
Updated:
Hear the story of Roman Forum (Ancient Agora)
Preview the Thessaloniki tour free in the Gingerguide app.