Open-air cinemas - the θερινά σινεμά - are a fixed part of a Thessaloniki summer: garden and rooftop screens that run films under the night sky from late May to September, often with the Thermaic Gulf or the city lights in the frame. Mood lists more than ten open-air cinemas across Thessaloniki for 2026, from the waterfront screens near the centre to the hillside terraces of Panorama and the northern suburbs. This guide covers where they are, what's playing, and how a Greek open-air cinema night actually works.
What a Greek open-air cinema is
A θερινό σινεμά is not a multiplex with the roof open. It is a fixed summer institution - usually a walled garden, a terrace or a courtyard, with deck chairs or canvas seats, a bar selling beer and the traditional bag of crisps, and a single screen that runs two showings a night once the sun is fully down. Many of Thessaloniki's open-air cinemas have operated on the same plot for decades, and the experience - a cold drink, a film around 21:00 and a second showing near 23:00 - has barely changed.
The scale is smaller than Athens but the density is real: open-air screens reach the centre, the eastern seafront suburbs and the hills above the city. The full list, updated as programmes are confirmed, sits on the Thessaloniki cinemas page on Mood.
The central and waterfront screens
The best-known open-air cinemas sit in and around the centre, several of them within reach of the sea. Open Air Cinema Natali, on Leoforos Megalou Alexandrou near the waterfront, is one of the city's landmark summer screens, and Ellinis Summer Cinema on Leoforos Stratou runs in the same seafront band. Inland from there, Open Air Cinema Apollo on Sarantaporou and Cine Alex on Olympou keep the central, walk-to-it tradition alive in the streets behind Egnatia.
These are the screens most people picture when they think of a Thessaloniki summer film - small, planted courtyards a few minutes from a bar or a taverna, with ticket prices that stay among the cheapest in Europe for a night at the cinema. In Mood's data, Thessaloniki runs more than ten open-air cinemas this season, and the central cluster is only part of it.
Beyond the centre - Kalamaria, Panorama and the suburbs
The network spreads well past the centre, and that is where the data earns its keep. East along the coast, Cine Avra sits in Kalamaria on Nikolaou Plastira, the seaside suburb's long-running summer screen. Up the hill, Open Air Cinema Panorama looks down over the city and the gulf from the Thermi-Panorama road - the scenic option, with a view few central screens can match. North of the centre, Cine Alsos in Sykies, Cine Oraiokastro in the northwestern suburb, and Σινέ Παράδεισος in Neapoli cover the upper neighbourhoods, while Pylaia Outdoor Cinema handles the eastern side.
Across all of them the style is the same and the prices low - these are neighbourhood institutions as much as cinemas, the summer equivalent of the local square. Mood maps them by area, which is the practical way to find the screen closest to where you are staying rather than crossing the city for a name.
What's playing this summer
Thessaloniki's open-air cinemas mix recent releases with revivals, and the 2026 programme shows it. In Mood's data, Toy Story 5 is the most-screened film across the city's cinemas this summer, ahead of the thriller Obsession and the science-fiction title Disclosure Day - the new, family-friendly titles that fill the earlier showing of the night. The genre mix leans heavily toward comedy, animation and family films at the early slot, with thrillers and horror taking the later screening.
The late showing is where the open-air format does what no multiplex can - a film at 23:00 under the stars with a glass of wine, often a revival or a slower title that suits a warm night. The full programme - which film, which cinema, which night - updates continuously on the Thessaloniki movies page on Mood.
Practical information
When showings start: films begin only once it is properly dark - around 21:00 for the first, with a second close to 23:00. In early summer the first showing starts later, as the sun sets after 20:30.
Tickets: most open-air cinemas sell at the door, by cash or card, and rarely fill up outside the central screens on weekends. The ticket costs less than a winter indoor screening.
Subtitles: foreign-language films play in their original language with Greek subtitles, so an English-language film is shown in English - convenient for visitors too.
What to bring: a light layer for the second showing, and some patience for the bar queue at the interval, which most cinemas still keep.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best open-air cinema in Thessaloniki?
For the setting, Open Air Cinema Panorama has the view over the city and the gulf, while Natali and Ellinis near the waterfront are the central landmarks. Cine Avra is the seaside option in Kalamaria. Mood lists more than ten across the city, so the best one is usually whichever is closest to you - the full list is on the Thessaloniki cinemas page.
When does the open-air cinema season run in Thessaloniki?
The open-air cinema season runs roughly from late May to the end of September, peaking through July and August. Films start after dark - around 21:00 - with a second showing near 23:00. Early in the season the first showing begins later because the sun sets after 20:30.
Do Thessaloniki's open-air cinemas show films in English?
Yes. Foreign-language films play in their original language with Greek subtitles, so English-language releases are shown in English. That makes the open-air cinemas an easy night out for visitors and non-Greek speakers as well as locals.
How much is a ticket at a Thessaloniki open-air cinema?
A ticket is cheap by European standards and lower than a winter indoor screening, usually sold at the door by cash or card. The central landmarks draw bigger crowds at weekends, but the neighbourhood screens in Kalamaria, Panorama and the suburbs almost always have space.
The open-air cinema is one of the most characteristic things to do on a Thessaloniki summer night, and the city runs more of them than its size suggests. The full list and what's playing are on Mood's Thessaloniki movies page.
