40°38′N 22°56′E
Warehouse 9
Pier 1, Port of Thessaloniki, 546 25 Thessaloniki. A tobacco warehouse on the pier, twelve minutes on foot from the White Tower.
The building
Warehouse 9 was built in 1926 to store tobacco waiting for ships. It has walls a metre thick, cast iron columns every six metres and a roof that was replaced in 2019 by people who knew what they were doing. The port rents it for events in winter, when nobody needs the space for cargo. The Main hall is the ground floor, the Loft is the old grading floor above it, and the Quay room is the glass box the port added on the water side.
Getting there
Warehouse 9 is on Pier 1 of the port, a twelve-minute walk from the White Tower along the promenade. The airport bus stops at the port gate, two minutes away. There is no parking at the venue; there is a bicycle rack for sixty bikes.
Scroll the map sideways to see the White Tower.
From the airport40 minutes
Thessaloniki airport has direct flights from most European capitals. Bus X1 runs every twenty minutes, day and night, and stops at the port gate, two minutes from the door. A ticket is 1.80 euros on board, contactless. A taxi takes twenty-five minutes and costs about 25 euros.
By train20 minutes
Trains from Athens take about four and a half hours and arrive at the main station, west of the centre. Walk down to the waterfront and follow it east, or take any bus marked Limani.
By ferry5 minutes
In winter there are ferries a few times a week from the northern Aegean islands. They dock at Pier 2, next door. If you are coming from Syros, Chania or Kalamata, we will be glad to see you again.
By carPark and walk
There is no parking at the venue or on the pier. The nearest public car park is at the old railway yard, eight minutes away on foot. Better still, leave the car at the hotel.
By bikeAlong the promenade
The waterfront promenade has a bike lane from the White Tower to the port. There is a covered rack for sixty bikes by the Quay entrance, and city bikes dock at the port gate.
Where to stay
We have rooms held at these, for a Periplous rate, until thirty days before. The numbers match the blue pins on the map.
Hotel Vardaris
Small and quiet, across the road from the gate. Most of the crew stay here.
Book with the code PERIPLOUS
Ladadika Rooms
Rooms above an old oil shop in the lanes behind the port. Can be loud until late on Saturday.
Book with the code PERIPLOUS
The Aristotelous
A bigger hotel on the main square with a lift and step-free rooms. The best choice if you need an accessible room.
Book with the code PERIPLOUS
Kamara Hostel
Dorms and private rooms near the university. Open seat holders who need a bed can have one here on us.
Access
Eleni Markou walked every room with a wheelchair user before we signed the contract. What she checked:
Anything else you need, tell us when you register or write to crew@periplous.example. We would rather hear it now than on the day.
- Step-free from the promenade to the Main hall and the Quay; a lift to the Loft.
- Accessible toilets on both floors, and gender-neutral toilets on both floors.
- Live captions on a second screen in the Main hall and the Loft, and an induction loop in the Main hall.
- Seats kept at the front of every room for anyone who needs them. No need to ask.
- A quiet room on the Loft floor, and a parents room with a fridge and a sink next to it.
- Guide dogs welcome, with water and a patch of grass at the end of the pier.
Thessaloniki, briefly
Chosen by Dimitra Kanaki, who lives ten minutes from the venue. Walking times are from the door of Warehouse 9.
Eat
- Bougatsa on the corner of the port gate2 min
Custard pie for breakfast, the way the city eats it. Open from six.
- The Ladadika lanes6 min
Old warehouses turned into tavernas. Order the mussels with rice and share everything.
- Modiano market11 min
The covered market: fish, olives, spice and a bar in every corner.
Drink
- Kapani backstreets13 min
Tsipouro bars where a glass comes with a plate you did not order. Accept it.
Walk
- The promenade to the umbrellasfrom the door
Five kilometres along the water, past the White Tower to the Umbrellas sculpture. Best at sunset.
- Up to the Upper Town35 min
Steep lanes, Byzantine walls and the view the whole gulf is famous for. Take bus 23 up and walk down.
Work for an hour
- The port library reading room4 min
Free, quiet, with good wifi and sockets, for when you need an hour away from the conference.
More about the weather, the quiet room and the boat in the questions.