Thessaloniki & Chalkidiki (Θεσσαλονίκη & Χαλκιδική) — Travel Guide

Thessaloniki & Chalkidiki (Central Macedonia)

Thessaloniki (Θεσσαλονίκη)—Greece's second city and first UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy—was founded in 315 BC by King Cassander of Macedon and named after his wife Thessalonike, half-sister of Alexander the Great. For over two millennia it served as the co-capital of the Byzantine Empire and a multicultural port where Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Sephardic Jewish, Ottoman, and Balkan traditions converged.

Unlike Athens, where antiquity dominates, Thessaloniki's skyline and soul open onto the water along the five-kilometer Nea Paralia seafront promenade anchored by the 15th-century White Tower (Lefkos Pyrgos), while fifteen UNESCO World Heritage Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments—from the 4th-century Roman Rotunda to gold-mosaic basilicas—stand right in the middle of bustling café squares.

Que Voir & Que Faire

• The White Tower (Lefkos Pyrgos, €8) & Nea Paralia Promenade — Essential landmark and highlight in Thessaloniki & Chalkidiki (Central Macedonia).
• Rotunda, Arch of Galerius (Kamara) & Galerius Palace — Essential landmark and highlight in Thessaloniki & Chalkidiki (Central Macedonia).
• UNESCO Byzantine Churches (Agios Dimitrios & Hagia Sophia) — Essential landmark and highlight in Thessaloniki & Chalkidiki (Central Macedonia).
• Ano Poli (Upper Town) & Heptapyrgion Byzantine Citadel — Essential landmark and highlight in Thessaloniki & Chalkidiki (Central Macedonia).
• Modiano & Kapani Food Markets + Ladadika Quarter — Essential landmark and highlight in Thessaloniki & Chalkidiki (Central Macedonia).
• Day Trips to Royal Tombs of Vergina (Aigai) & Chalkidiki — Essential landmark and highlight in Thessaloniki & Chalkidiki (Central Macedonia).

Quartiers & Secteurs

Gastronomie & Spécialités Locales

• Start with warm phyllo bougatsa dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon (or savory cheese/minced meat) at Bantis or Serraikon, pick up syrupy custard-filled trigona Panorama cones at Elenidis, and spend a long lunch over tsipouro, midia saganaki (mussels with feta and spicy peppers), and soutzoukakia Smyrneika in Athonos Square or Tsinari.

Se Déplacer sur Place

Arrival: 50-minute flight from Athens (ATH) or direct European flights to Thessaloniki Macedonia Airport (SKG, 15 km from city center via Bus 01X, €2), or 4h 20m intercity train from Athens.

Getting Around: Walk the flat historic center and 5 km Nea Paralia seafront promenade from the Port and Aristotelous Square to the White Tower, or ride the brand-new driverless Thessaloniki Metro (€0.60 single ticket).

Conseils Locaux & Étiquette

• Thessaloniki's new automated Metro Line 1 connects New Railway Station, Venizelou (featuring an extraordinary in-situ underground Byzantine marble crossroads), Sintrivani, and Nea Elvetia for just €0.60.
• For a summer beach escape, skip the city waters and drive 65–90 minutes southeast to the second peninsula of Chalkidiki (Sithonia) for Caribbean-clear coves at Kavourotrypes, Vourvourou, and Kalogria.
• Do not miss the Archaeological Museum and the adjacent Museum of Byzantine Culture—two of the finest museums in southeastern Europe.