Top 10 Thessaloniki Attractions

1. White Tower

The symbol of our city at the seaside, a 500-year-old sea fort and later a prison. Now it is the Museum of the City of Thessaloniki and its top floor offers a great view to the sea and the city. No visit to Thessaloniki would be complete without at least a photo in front of the White Tower! You can read more info in our article on The White Tower.

 

2. Archaeological Museum

Greece is full of ancient artifacts and Thessaloniki does have its fair share of them! At the Archaeological Museum you can see a lot of great stuff from the city's prehistoric, Macedonian and Roman civilization. The museum is not huge – you can easily tour it within an hour if you are not a huge history lover. The museum's official site is here (In English).

 

3. Museum of Byzantine Culture

Thessaloniki was the Byzantine Empire's second most important city and there are so many things to admire from this period. The museum won the 2005 Museum Prize of the European Council. The museum's official site is here .

4. The seaside

Thessaloniki's most important tourist attraction to our opinion! The seaside walk is a Thessalonican favourite summer evening pastime – do it like a true Thessalonican and take your time stolling the 4,5-km walk from the port's Pier 1 to the Thessaloniki Concert Hall! And, yes, of course we've got you covered with our article on the Thessaloniki Seaside Walk.

5. Aristotelous Square

Thessaloniki's most central square, a great place to have a coffee and stroll from the sea to Venizelos' statue. You can also find the City of Thessaloniki's central information kiosk at the centre of the square. You can read more information on the square and its quite interesting history in Aristotelous Square and the Hebrard plan.

 

 

6. Kapani and Modiano Markets

The central food markets of Thessaloniki, exactly to the west of Aristotelous Sq. At Kapani Market you can see and taste a very lively aspect of Thessaloniki's life – plus you will find a lot of shops selling fresh produce, spices and cheap household items. The next-door covered Modiano Market is a quite melancholic place, as it has most of its shops closed nowadays, but it is always interesting to admire the early-20th century architecture and eat at the old-school tavernas inside the market.

7. Agios Dimitrios Basilica

Thessaloniki's most famous Byzantine church, the place of martyrdom of St. Demetrius. Many visitors visit the city just for a visit to the basilica and its catacombs – a great place to worship and to admire the architecture. Don't forget to visit the catacombs!

8. The Rotonda

A large cylindrical Roman structure built by the Roman emperor Galerius. We still don't know what it was built for, but it was converted into a Christian church during Byzantine times and into a mosque during Ottoman times. It is still used as a church once a month. It is surely worth a quick visit.

Tip: it is in the centre of the student residence area of Thessaloniki, hence you will find great student spots nearby.

9. Ladadika

Next to the port, the old oil-merchants' quarter that was once a notorious dodgy district of the city, converted into a great entertainment area in the 1990s. Nowadays it is full of great restaurants, classy bars and some tacky clubs. Great for lunch, dinner or a glass of beer.

 10. Ano Poli

The area north of Agiou Dimitriou Str., the only part of the city that survived the great fire of 1917. It is a great place to admire the view and get intentionally lost in the alleys. Ano Poli is a quiet residential area, full of small two-storey houses and streets with little traffic. If you are careful you will see the life of the village-like neighbourhood and find its quiet little spots. It's a steep area of the city, so in order not to get tired, take the bus to Trigoniou Tower to admire the view and work your way down.

Tip: We've compiled a walk that connects most of these top-10 attractions of the city, loaded with lots of info on each one. You may read our article on The Walk In The Thessaloniki Centre.

by: http://www.thessalonikiinfoguide.com

Thessaloniki by night

"People in Thessaloniki rarely stay at home on Saturday nights. The city’s roads become very busy after the sun sets!"

Thessaloniki is a big city with a large student population and people with a work-to-live attitude. Hence, the crowd out at night is surprisingly huge. Furthermore, the fact that Thessaloniki doesn’t live from tourism, gives you the opportunity to avoid Greek-island-like situations and to experience authentic night life. Things are classy, honest and loud.

 

We are also very proud for Thessaloniki being in Lonely Planet’s top 10 Ultimate Party Cities for 2010! Thessaloniki Lonely Planet.

Some general remarks:

• People go out late. Especially during summer. Expect going out for drinks no earlier than 22:00, but expect a bar crawl to start after 23:00.
• Night spots close at 04:00 (or earlier) on weekdays and keep on until morning on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Drinking is not cheap: beers are at 5-7 €, straight drinks are at 6-8 €, cocktails and malt whiskies are at 7-10 €. If you are a large party of people, you might consider buying a bottle of your drink, as a bottle costs about € 80, makes 12 drinks easily and it comes with refreshments and some nibbles.
• If you pay for admission, it includes a straight drink.
• Of course you won’t need to learn Greek to order. Menus are in English as well and the staff knows good English. That’s except bouzoukia, of course.
• Smoking is officially banned indoors in bars and clubs, but policing this is impossible.
• Getting heavily drunk is frowned upon, unless of course you are in a “my girlfriend dumped me” situation. So, you won’t see any people shouting, urinating in public or doing stupid things just because they went out for some drinks.
• Don’t expect any plate smashing anywhere! It has been banned decades ago!
• Police are often doing alcohol-tests and driving with alcohol levels over the limit (0,05 mg/l) might cost you your vehicle and your license for some months.

Places to spend your nights out drinking in Thessaloniki are divided into 3 distinct categories: Bars, clubs and bouzoukia.

Bars

If you are going out for a beer, expect a selection of about 6-10 beers in any high-street bar, of which 1 or 2 might be draught (ask for varéli). Don’t consult the menu; ask the server, they know better. Amstel and Heineken can be found everywhere. Popular Greek brews are Mythos lager and Fix lager. Lager (if not all beer) is served ice-cold.

Cocktails are becoming rather popular during the last years. Expect every respectful bar to have their own decent Mojito and Cuba Libre, but don’t ask for too much on crowded nights. Whisky lovers are highly respected and you will find an impressive collection of malt whiskies in every bar.

Clubs

Clubs have been a popular choice among the younger ages, but their number has been declining rapidly over the last 5 years. The club area during winter is to the west, at the Sfagìa district, while during summer the club scene migrates to the east, close to the airport, next to the casino. Some rock clubs and Greek music clubs exist in the Ladadika district.

Bouzoukia

Bouzoukia are the epitome of Greek night life! They are (in their present form) large clubs with tables and proper seating, but no food, with live Greek pop and folk-pop music. You may either sit at the bar and have a drink or book a table, for which you’ll have to order a bottle of spirit per 4 people. Bouzoukia are a very interesting matter, for which we have a whole article devoted to: Bouzoukia in Thessaloniki.

Villas for rent -  nor very far from Thessaloniki is Halkidiki. You can rent luxury pool villa in Halkidiki and enjoy your stay in Greece. 

info: http://www.thessalonikiinfoguide.com