Kavala walking tour & city guide

Panagia, the old town

The old quarter of Panagia climbs the peninsula from the harbour in steep, quiet lanes lined with Ottoman-era houses with wooden bay windows. At the top, the castle, rebuilt in the 15th century on Byzantine foundations, has walls and a tower with views over the harbour, the city and the island of Thassos.

On the slope stands the Imaret, a large Ottoman charitable complex with lead-covered domes, and nearby is the house where Muhammad Ali, founder of the dynasty that ruled Egypt, was born in 1769, with his equestrian statue in front.

The aqueduct and the modern city

The Kamares, a tall stone aqueduct of more than sixty arches built in the 16th century in the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, carried water to the old town and is the symbol of Kavala. Around it spreads the modern centre, with shopping streets, squares and large neoclassical tobacco warehouses, one of which houses a tobacco museum.

A walking route

Start at the Kamares aqueduct and walk down to the harbour, then follow the seafront to the foot of the Panagia peninsula. Climb through its lanes past the Imaret and Muhammad Ali's house to the castle, then come down along the lighthouse side of the peninsula and back to the harbour, which is lively in the evening.

Visiting tips

Kavala has an airport shared with the island of Thassos and is about two hours by road from Thessaloniki. Ferries cross to Thassos from Kavala and nearby Keramoti. The ancient city of Philippi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the apostle Paul founded one of the first Christian communities in Europe, is a short drive inland.