Thessaloniki Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Thessaloniki [1] is in the Greek district of Central Macedonia, and with about a million inhabitants is the second biggest city in the country.
Contents |
Get in
By train
By nighttrain from Athens (Larissa station), about 6 h. Costs 31€, or about 50 if you want a sleeping compartment to yourself. Daily trains from Athens 4h 15 min (intercity express trains), 6h(normal trains) cost about 50 euros first class. A very good option are the 501/502/503 trains, costing about 14 euros (11 for students and people up to 26) and take only 5h 45min. Unfortunately for smokers, smoking is banned in all but a few trains. There is also a night train (vagon lit) from [Istanbul], departure every day at 20.00. It arrives 08.00 next morning and costs 48e.
To/From Skopje, - direct link: Skopje to Thessaloniki train is 20€ RT with young person discount, 20% more without. Train leaves for Thessaloniki at 3:10am or 4:00pm. Thessaloniki to Skopje train leaves at 9am or 7pm. Both trains take about 4 hours.
By plane
Thessaloniki has an International airport connected to Athens, Milan, Rome, Zurich, Dusseldorf, Munich, Moscow, London. A flight from Athens costs (one way) about 80 euros - but if you book early, the two domestic airlines can offer tickets as low as 19 euros (without tax). There are several flights to Aegean and Ionian islands.
By car
From Athens about 5 hours (Highway) From Istanbul about 8 hours From Belgrade about 7 hours One of the burdens for visitors and inhabitants alike is finding a parking place, so be prepared to either spend a lot of time looking for a place or pay for space in the parking lot (starting from 4 euros/3 hours). Traffic congestion seems to be a problem nowadays, but generally fellow drivers and passers-by are helpful to show you the way if you're feeling lost.
Get around
If your goal is to get out to the airport, hop on bus 78. It connects the airport with the bus station ("Ktel"), passing by the train station ("OSE") and a ticket costs 0.50€ if you buy it from the kiosk (0.60 if you buy it from the automatic ticket vendor, exact change needed). It's about a 25 minute ride. You can take this same bus back from the airport. Note the bus doesn't run after 11pm, and isn't among the most frequent busses. A taxi ride from the city center costs about 10-12 euros - it's hard to find one during peak hours (7-8 am, 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm), so plan early!
Museums and Galleries
At the beginning of Tsimiski street there is a special area in the center of Thessaloniki where you can find many museums:
- Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum
- The Byzantine Museum
- State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
Also
- Thessaloniki Museum of Photography
- Museum of Cinematography in Thessaloniki
- Thessaloniki Technology Park
See
Only the northernmost Byzantine walls of the city are still standing, the exception being what has now become the city's symbol - the White Tower, on of the original fortified towers and the only one on the seafront. The rest of the walls are in the picturesque old town (Upper Town) which offers a view over the bay. Take a walk along the enormous seafront promenade (about 12 km altogether) with views of the amphitheatrically-built city. See the Archaeological Museum and the award-winning Museum of Byzantine Culture. The international film festival is held in November,the international trade fair in September.
On no account should you miss the byzantine churches(St Demetrios, c. 200 AD and Agia Sophia, 600 AD, and the lovely smaller ones in the upper town), which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. One of them, the Rotonda, started life as a Roman building and is almost as old as the Pantheon in Rome.
Do
Buy
One of the most cool stores in Thessaloniki is the new artistic bookstore called Bustart. Located in the center of the city (Grigoriou Palama 21), this culture oasis offers to Thessaloniki residents and visitors a wide variety of books and CDs all sharing a main theme: art, ranging from classic painters to photography, fashion and web design. With major partnerships with Europe's leading modern art galleries such as Tate Modern and Centre Pompidou, Bustart is here to stay and has already become a "must see" in the city.
Eat
For a morning or late-night snack, try Bougatsa pies: cream (sweet) or cheese (savoury) filling
Meat eaters can try out soutzoukakia: minced meat pellets either grilled (at the central market or rotisseries) or in tomato and cumin sauce.
Go for a meal in one of the many downtown ouzo restaurants (ouzeri) - some very good ones are Agora, Odos Aristotelous, Vrotos, and Bit-Pazar - and accompany your drink with a whole battery of small dishes - by far the best way to eat in Salonica. There are also some good similar Cretan restaurants: Myrsini and Apo Dyo Horia. Here, order raki rather than ouzo or tsipouro.
If you see "boiled vegetables' on the menu in wintertime, go ahead and order them- you'll be amazed at how good they taste.
Another typical winter salad is politiki, a combination of shredded cabbage and pickles.
Best winter dessert: baked quince
For those of you with adventurous tastes: go to Tsarouhas,preferably after a hard night's drinking, for a "patsas" (tripe) soup - a delicious way to prevent a hangover.
Restaurants mentioned: Agora - off Ionos Dragoumi Bit-Pazar: Prosfygikis Agoras (between Olympou, Venizelou and Filippou),a great place to eat "meze" and drink,usually many students prefer this place. Vrotos: off Athonos (which is also full of restaurants, but not as good) Odos Aristotelous on the street of the same name - most Salonicans know it as the "lepen" Myrsini: behind the theatre of the Etairia Makedonikon Spoudon (Macedonian Studies) Apo Dyo Horia: off Navarinou square (site of Galerius's palace). Taverna "Kamaras" near Rotonda,great traditional dishes, last year (2005) I ate there for almost a month every day and I can recommend it.
For something more quick, you can taste the special crepes from many different places at Gounari street, next to Navarinou square. Also "Goody's" is the greek fast food restaurant chain. You will find classic hamburgers, pasta, salads, etc.
Many taverns you can find also in Ladadika neighbourhood, or in Athonos square (near Aristotelous and Egnatia street)
Drink
Retsina In winter: Tsipouro, a distilled spirit similar to, but usually better than, ouzo Northern Greek wines produced by Gerovassileiou, Babatzim and Yannis Boutaris
Sleep
Hostels: The Youth Hostel in Thessaloniki, situated in the city center (Alexandrou Svolou St.), is a fair choice for students and travellers on a budget. Beware however, it is sometimes closed for renovation work, so please contact them before you arrive in the city.
Hotels:
City, 4 star
Luxembourg 3 star
Kinissi Palace 4 star
Olympia Hotel 3 star
Tobacco Hotel: on Aghiou Dimitriou street (formerly a tobacco warehouse), a 4-star boutique hotel
Queen Olga Hotel, east thessaloniki
Kapsis Hotel
Park Hotel: Great place, everything is new there. Firm beds, very clean. Good breakfast buffet and reasonable prices. Nice location, 15 minute walk to Ocean.
"Rex Hotel:" Cheap Hotel Opposite the train station towards the center. Only a 5 minute walk from train station. Not great, but adequate. Two-bedroom in peak season was 35€.
Get out
You won't wonder where to get a drink in a town with this many bars! Thessaloniki is by far the liveliest city in Northern Greece- maybe even the whole country. Most of the bars at the old seafront(Nikis ave.) and around, many of the tavernas are either downtown or in the old city(kastra). If you want to check out what the whole bouzoukia scene is all about, try Mamounia, at Vilka. You can find also a lot of night clubs, bars and restaurants in Ladadika, the neighbourhood with the old warehouses next to the port. The area where you will find many students is around Kamara, next to the University of the town with many small and simple cafe and bars.
If you will be in town during summer, you have to visit for a coffee or drink the small boats. You can find them right next to the White Tower and most of them every 2-3h are making a small trip (20-30') in the Gold of Thessaloniki.
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