Old Xanthi


Stacked up on the hillside on the north side of the city, Xanthi's picturesque historic district is a web of winding lanes and stairs lined with pastel-coloured timber-framed houses and grand neoclassical mansions. Although some of the buildings could use a bit more restoration, it is scenic. It's a functioning neighbourhood, not an outdoor museum with public schools, grocery stores, a 16th-century mosque and a lively bar scene.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Folk Museum

0.05 MILES

Most signage at this museum is in Greek, so consider it more an excuse to poke around two linked 19th-century mansions, built for tobacco-baron brothers…

2. House of Shadow

0.08 MILES

Triandafyllos Vaitsis works scrap metal and other findings into surprising sculptures that cast contradictory shadows. It's a relatively short visit, and…

3. Kioutouklou Baba Teke

10.06 MILES

Set amid fields of cotton and mustard seed on the plain southeast of Xanthi, this is the burial spot of a dervish of the Bektashi order, the primary…

4. Archaeological Site of Abdera

11.72 MILES

About 6km south of modern Abdera lies the acropolis of the ancient town, inhabited in the 7th century BC but wracked by various invasions, until it was…

5. Archaeological Museum of Abdera

11.8 MILES

This fine small museum exhibits the findings from ancient Abdera, with a focus on daily life: medical tools, for instance, and clay figurines, made in a…

6. Moni Agiou Nikolaou

16.32 MILES

In the marshlands between Lake Vistonida and the sea, this monastery, associated with Vatopedi on Mt Athos, is set on two islets linked by a pedestrian…

7. Byzantine City Walls

26.73 MILES

Komotini’s 4th-century-AD Byzantine fortress was built by Emperor Theodosius. Remnants include one of 16 original towers and a portion of the wall…

8. Archaeological Museum

26.74 MILES

Visit here for information on the ancient Thracians, plus Roman coins, clay figurines, delicate gold wreaths and glazed ceramics. The street address is…