The City Today

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Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and capital city of Central Macedonia’s administrative district, bearing all the structures that constitute a modern urban center, with a population of over 878,000 residents in its Regional Unit. Additionally, its port being the second largest commercial port of Greece, and its location, closed to the Balkans, between the East and the West, are significant factors that contribute, both to its economic growth and its cosmopolitan characteristics. The European Centre for the Development of Vocation Training (Cedefop), the Commercial and Development Bank of Euxinus Pontus are both based in Thessaloniki, together with the Institute of Paternal Studies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
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It is a welcoming, relaxing city ready to spoil you by its countless visiting options, being full of life, day and night, due to its thousands of students studying in its universities. In contemporary Thessaloniki, you’ll come across with history, art and different cultures of 2,300 years of the city’s history, you’ll have the chance to taste its rich gastronomic tradition, with a reputation far beyond the Greek borders, you’ll relax on the beautiful coast watching the sun disappear in the Aegean sea and you will let yourself in the evening rhythms of a city where the nightlife ends just before the first light of day!

Waterfront

  • Climate

The climate of Thessaloniki is Mediterranean, being partly affected by the mainland.

The rarity of extreme weather conditions and the mild temperature characteristics of each of the four seasons, provide the perfect opportunity for residents and visitors to take pleasure in the beauty and colors of each switching of the urban landscape. This is Mediterranean we’re talking about! With approximately 300 days of sunshine per annum, you can enjoy your stay in Thessaloniki each season!
Shopping

  • MARKETS & SHOPPING

Thessaloniki receives visitors from the whole of northern Greece, as well as the Balkans, due to its wide range of products offered in the marketplace, for every taste and budget! Here you’ll find hundreds of clothing, shoes, accessories shops, brand names, local designers’ creations, and low-cost suggestions to replenish your wardrobe. You’ll also come across well-known international chain stores, leather stores, jewellery and watches, electronic devices, cosmetics, homeware etc, and big shopping malls where proximity prevails!

One of the locals’ all time favorite habit is a lay back stroll down to the city centre or the malls, for shopping or coffee. Blend in and enjoy the Shopping experience in Thessaloniki!

Ναος Αγιου Δημητριου

  • RELIGION

Walking through the streets of Thessaloniki you come across, not only many Greek Orthodox churches, but monasteries as well, since it is one of the first cities in Europe Apostle Paul taught, leaving back an ancient religious legacy. Some of the most popular spots are the paleo-christian and byzantine temples of unique architecture and internal decoration, which UNESCO included among the World Cultural Heritage Sites. Apart of these, in every neighborhood you can find even more orthodox churches, old or contemporary, offering spiritual guidance, both on religious level, as well as, humanistic one.

Since the time of its foundation, Thessaloniki was the crossroad where, for long periods of time, people of different religions and cultures, co-existed. Remaining pieces of this heritage can be viewed at the other Christian churches, synagogues still operating, old mosques, and the artifacts unearthed from the ancient Serapion for the worship of Egyptian divinities, at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. The places of public worship in Thessaloniki remain open; so as to offer visitors the spirituality and the piety they seek.

 

Gastronomy

  • Gastronomy

Thessaloniki is a paradise of flavors and you will realize that from the very first walk around the city. Gyros shops, bougatsa shops, ouzo bars, local cuisine taverns and pubs, bar-restaurants, places with more gourmet tastes as well as traditional pastry shops, you will find everywhere: in central parts of the city, near the sea, high up in the walls or hidden in unexpected corners within the urban fabric. Your gastronomic experience is endless!

The gastronomic identity of Thessaloniki shaped by local flavors enriched by the cultures that passed through the city and the recipes the Greek refugees brought with them from Asia Minor, Pontos and Eastern Thrace. Today the cuisine of Thessaloniki progresses, with the creative mood of the chefs to experiment and make new suggestions on traditional flavors, catapulting your palate!

The greatest travel magazines, newspapers and global websites they discover the gastronomic world of Thessaloniki, among them the New York Times which included Thessaloniki in the list of 52 cities in the world that should be visited in 2016, particularly noting that “the second town of Greece is first in the eating! Read more here

Follow the the gastronomic map we made for you and make your own experiences with flavor Thessaloniki!

 

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  • Nightlife

The nights in Thessaloniki is an experience! The most famous travel magazines and websites discovered one after another the nightlife of the city, actually the National Geographic included Thessaloniki in the list of the top 10 cities with the best nightlife worldwide! more here

Countless options about dining and entertainment, but do not worry! In Thessaloniki, the nights are long and no one sleeps early! Take your time to discover flavors, music and shows. Even for the hangover, Thessaloniki has the solution: a delicious pie with cream (bougatsa) or a hot patsas soup (tripe) to the shops that stay open for the ‘night owl’, will revive your stomach without other unpleasant consequences

 

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  • Museums, Monuments, Theatres Cinemas etc…

Thessaloniki was the European Capital of Culture in 1997 and remains a city with intense cultural activity. As evidenced by the dozens of museums, theaters, the Multiplex of art, the Concert Hall, the outdoor sculpture and music heritage, Thessaloniki produces culture and moves with strength and versatility, having a restive workforce, its residents, creating and many times pioneering at the cultural life of Greece. Search and discover places and people and why not, become yourselves part of that creativity!
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  • SEA & BEACHES

Thessaloniki and the sea march together for thousands of years. The sea breeze can be enjoyed not only in the city but also around it. One of the privileges of Thessaloniki is beautiful seaside villages very close to the city, easily accessible even by public transportation.

With crystal clear waters, award winning beaches and good infrastructures, discover and enjoy your favorite water sports or just lie back, relax under the Mediterranean sun!

 

More on www.thessaloniki.travel

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