Kavala
Port City On The Via Egnatia: The Panagia Quarter With The Byzantine Castle, The Ottoman Imaret, The Sixteenth Century Kamares Aqueduct And The House Of Muhammad Ali Of Egypt · Kavala, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
Kavala is a port city on the northern Aegean, built in an amphitheatre around a harbour and topped by the old quarter of Panagia on its rocky headland. This was ancient Neapolis, where, tradition says, the Apostle Paul first stepped ashore in Europe on his way to Philippi, and the Roman Via Egnatia passed through it. Today you climb from the harbour into lanes of old houses, past the Imaret, the huge Ottoman charitable complex founded by Muhammad Ali, the Kavala-born ruler of Egypt, to the Byzantine and Ottoman castle with its views over the gulf to Thassos. Below, the long arches of the Kamares aqueduct stride across the modern town, and the old tobacco warehouses recall when Kavala grew rich on leaf. It suits travellers heading to Thassos or Philippi, history lovers and anyone who likes a real Greek city with good fish. Honest caveat: it is a working port and regional centre, not a showpiece; the old town is small, and one full day and an evening cover it well.
Kavala on the Gulf of Kavala: the Panagia old town on the headland, the castle, the Kamares aqueduct and the harbour, Kavala, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece
The Panagia quarter, the harbour and the aqueduct are open streets, free at any hour. The castle is run by the municipality and opens in daytime, longer in summer (roughly into the evening) and shorter in winter, with a small fee - confirm hours. The Archaeological Museum keeps state museum hours and is closed on the main public holidays; the Tobacco Museum and Muhammad Ali's house have their own shorter hours and may be closed on some weekdays - confirm. Nothing needs advance booking except summer ferries to Thassos with a car. Kavala airport is about 30-40 minutes east by road.