Thessaloniki Markets and Street Food

Thessaloniki's cooking carries Constantinopolitan and Anatolian influence more openly than Athens does, and the clearest place to see it is the pair of markets off Aristotelous. Kapani, the older and rougher of the two, is a warren of butchers, fishmongers, olive barrels and produce under corrugated roofing. Modiano next door is a restored iron-framed hall, now largely given over to eating. Around them sit the spice and dried goods streets, and further east the sweet shops that made the city's name for syrup pastries and the layered custard triangles sold by the box. Breakfast is bougatsa, cream or cheese, cut with scissors, or a sesame koulouri from a street stand.

What you actually see

• Kapani market - the working half, wet floors, shouting and produce stacked to head height.
• Modiano - the restored covered hall, now a food and drink destination rather than a produce market.
• Bougatsa in the morning - filo pie with custard or cheese, cut up in front of you.
• The sweet shops - syrup pastries and the city's layered custard triangles.

When to go

Weekday mornings show the markets at full strength; by mid-afternoon the produce side winds down and the eating side takes over. Saturdays are busy and loud. Sundays almost everything shuts, which catches out weekend visitors. Bougatsa is a morning thing and the good batches go early. Winter is a perfectly good season for all of this, since it is mostly indoors.

Honest expectations

Modiano's restoration moved it decisively toward visitors, and much of the original trade is gone, so anyone expecting an old market hall will find a modern food court in a historic shell. Kapani is the real thing but the floors are wet and the meat aisles are blunt. Central pastry shops charge noticeably more than neighbourhood ones a few streets out. Sunday closures are near total.

Nearby

The Roman forum, the waterfront promenade and the Byzantine churches of the centre are all within the same walk.