Saturday, March 30, 2013

Top 10 Thessaloniki

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! 




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! 

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. 

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 Rotunda


 

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. 

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