The neighborhood of Rotonda

Rotonda is the most popular place for students and young people in Thessaloniki. This alternative place for local young people is located near Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki and the famous monument of Kamara (arch of Galerius).

Kamara (The arch of Galerius) and in the background you can see the church of Rotonda.

Photo taken from: Source>http://static.panoramio.com

If you want to live the students life to the fullest you definitely have to visit this place. Firstly there are plenty of places for cheap drink (ouzo, retsina which is cheap white wine, tsipouro, red wine and of course beer).

My propositions for the cheapest and the coziest places of Rotonda are:

1. To mikro ble (Το μικρό μπλε). It is an exceptional option for morning or afternoon coffee or tea. In this place the coffee tastes perfectly and comes from a rare variety of Arabic coffee. You can play also cards or backgammon or board games. The price of the coffee varies between two and two and a half euros.
2. Tzitzikas and Mermigkas (Τζίτζικας και Μέρμηγκας). This place is ideal for spring and summer. When the weather gets warmer you have the opportunity to enjoy your cold coffee outside. There are many tables outside and you can enjoy the hot greek sun.
3. Mikrou Mikous (Μικρού μήκους). This is the ideal place for very sophisticated and quiet people. It is for a morning coffee and for a night drink or beer too. It is very well designed and furnitured. In my point of view this is one of the most tasteful places in Thessaloniki. However it has two big disadvantages: Firstly it is very small and usually full of people so it is very hard to find a place to sit. Secondly you have to take into consideration that it is a little bit more expensive than the other places in Rotonda (for example the small beer-0. 33 ml costs three euros and frappe coffee which is the most famous cold coffee in Greece costs two and a half euros.

   

   The funky decoration of Mikrou Mikous.

   Photo taken from: http://upload.spottedbylocals.com

4. Avissinia (Αβησσυνία). This is a night option! It is perfect for a low budget night. You can drink there with a small amount of money and the quality of the drinks (wine, retsina, ouzo, tsipouro, raki, rakomelo) is very nice. Along with this place there are also theme nights. For example there are disco parties, carnival parties, Christmas parties, halloween parties and of course nights with traditional greek music!
5. Spira (Σπείρα). Located on the back side of Rotonda square, it is the best place for an afternoon relaxed beer inside or outside that can be combined with many kinds of tasty dishes.
6. Armoloi (To Αρμολόι). Α place with cheap wine and delicious ‘oinomelo’ (οινόμελο) which is red hot wine with cinnamon and other spices and slices of orange. You will love it!
7. Ma Cite. It is just across the Rotonda square and in the summer It has tables at the square so you can enjoy your coffee there!
8. To manitari (Tο μανιτάρι). Enjoy your evening wine along with many kinds of delicious mezedes ( small plates with different kind of fingerfood, mostly based on meat or fish )
9. In Rock. As you can understand from the name, it is a more rock place with this kind of music which is mostly suitable for a relaxed beer.
10. Drink'n'Go. The top place for the eramus student for pre-drinking, from what I know and I have seen. You will meet lots of people there and also taste the drinks for 2. 50 to 3 euros or try a cocktail for prices that don't go more than 4 euros.

Another aspect of Rotonda is that it is an ideal place for hanging around when the weather is good. This place is full of young people and generally full of life! After April, when the weather in my hometown Thessaloniki is getting warmer, you will see Rotonda square crowded with people such as students, street artists, musicians, jogglers and generally the youth of Thessaloniki drinking their beers and having fun with their friends.

Except from the drinking places and the hanging around, the neighborhood of Rotonda is a place with many options for cheap food. For example there are many fast foods, pizzerias, places that provide greek gyros and souvlaki ( in greek ‘gyradiko’), hot dog, club sandwich and pancakes.In these places, the food is extremely cheap, for example, for a hot dog of 30 centimeters long, you have to pay only one euro!

Especially pizzerias are a very popular option for the students to eat something that is cheap but tasty at the same time. The most famous pizzerias located in Rotonda where you can find a very big slice of different kinds of pizza for one euro are:

1. Pizza Chris: Probably the most famous pizzeria of Rotonda. It is always crowded and works until late in the night.

   

   You can also buy a portion of spaghetti with sauce for just one and a half euros!

   Photo taken from: http://www.pizzachris.gr/

2. Espaniol. It is located just across Pizza Chris. Here you don’t buy a slice of pizza, but a whole small individual pizza of your desire for one euro.
3. Golden Pizza. Located in a small street close to the Battlenet internet café of Rotonda, it is the oldest pizzeria of the neighborhood the first that had the idea of the cheap slices of pizza.
4. Avanti. It is located across the Battlenet Internet café and in my opinion it has the best of all. My suggestion is to try the pizza with chicken and white cream, it is just amazing!

   

   My favourite pizzeria in Rotonda!

   Photo taken from: http://upload.spottedbylocals.com

Along with these cheap and fast solutions, in Rotonda there are also many beautiful and traditional small taverns with Greek food if you like to taste and enjoy the greek kitchen. If you choose this option, you have to taste the internationally famous Greek dishes such as pastitsio, mousaka, papoutsakia and of course the big variety of fresh fish.

As you can see, this neighborhood has everything: cafes, bars, food, fun and crowd. It is also located in the center of the city, so you can spend your whole day around here without walking a lot. If you are an Erasmus student, it will surely be your second home and when you will leave, you will definitely miss it!