Thessaloniki.

Just above Aristotelous Square, the excavated forum exposes Roman Thessaloniki beneath the modern centre. Its colonnades, odeon and underground museum reward more than an exterior glance.

The forum lets you read the ancient city in place: a civic square framed by colonnades, with a bath complex and small performance space nearby. The underground museum adds excavation finds that explain how the area changed over time. It is an easy historical counterpoint to the present-day streets around Aristotelous Square.

• Colonnaded wings outline the forum’s civic square.
• The odeon and bath complex reveal different public uses.
• An underground museum displays finds from the excavation.

Go into the archaeological site and museum if you want more than the street-level view.

Pair it with Aristotelous Square to compare ancient and modern city plans.

Check the current seasonal timetable before planning an indoor museum visit.