Тhessaloniki

Cityscape: Shopping, culture & fun

Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia, the nation's largest region. It is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe.
Thessaloniki retains several Ottoman and Jewish structures as well as a large number of Byzantine architectural monuments.
The architectural map of Thessaloniki has been a direct result of the city's position at the center of all historical developments in the Balkans. Merchants, traders and refugees from across Europe came to the city, including Jews joining the city's earlier population.
A team of architects and urban planners led by Ernest Hebrard, a French architect chose the Byzantine era as the basis for their (re)building designs. It contained sites for public and significant buildings, the restoration of important Byzantine churches and landmarks and of Ottoman mosques, whereas the whole of the Upper City, near the fortifications, was declared a heritage site. An important element of the plan was to achieve a fine balance between contemporary urban planning and architectural ideas, and the city's tradition and history.

Local events

The city has hosted an annual International Trade Fair, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora.

Worth seeing

The White Tower, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art (Egnatia 154), Museum of Byzantine Culture (2 Stratou Avenue), Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum (6, M. Andronikou street)