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            THESSALONIKI TRAVEL GUIDE


Thessaloniki  in the Greek district of Central Macedonia, is, at about a million inhabitants,
the second largest city in the country. More importantly, it is a city with a continuous 3000-
year history, preserving relics of its Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman past and of its
formerly dominant Jewish population. Its Byzantine churches, in particular, are included in
UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political
centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe; its commercial
port is also of great importance for Greece and its southeast European hinterland. It is
traditional for the country's Prime Minister to set out his government's policies for each
coming year in a speech at the annual Thessaloniki International Trade Fair.

Thessaloniki retains several Ottoman and Jewish structures as well as a large number of
Byzantine architectural monuments. The city hosts an annual International Trade Fair, the
Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek
diaspora.

The city was founded around 315 BC by the King Cassander of Macedon, on or near the
site of the ancient town of Therma and twenty-six other local villages. He named it after his
wife Thessalonike, a half-sister of Alexander the Great (Thessalo-nike means the "victory
of Thessalians"). It was an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Macedon. After the fall of
the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC, Thessalonica became a city of the Roman Republic.
It grew to be an important trade-hub located on the Via Egnatia and facilitating trade
between Europe and Asia. The city became the capital of one of the four Roman districts
of Macedonia.

When in 379 the Roman Prefecture of Illyricum was divided between East and West
Roman Empires, Thessaloníki became the capital of the new Prefecture of Illyricum. The
economic expansion of the city continued through the twelfth century as the rule of the
Komnenoi emperors expanded Byzantine control to the north. Thessaloniki passed out of
Byzantine hands in 1204, when Constantinople was captured by the Fourth Crusade.
Thessaloníki and its surrounding territory—the Kingdom of Thessalonica—became the
largest fief of the Latin Empire. The city was recovered by the Byzantine Empire in 1246
sold it in 1423 to Venice, which held the city until it was captured by the Ottoman Sultan
Murad II on 29 March 1430.



                    GENERAL INFORMATION


Country                 Greece
Periphery              Central Macedonia
Prefecture             Thessaloniki
Districts                 16
Population            363,987
Density:                 20,449 /km² (52,962 /sq mi)


                         PLACE TO  VISIT


White Tower of Thessaloniki - is a monument and museum on the waterfront
of the city of Thessaloniki, capital of the region of Macedonia in northern Greece. It has
been adopted as the symbol of the city, and also as a symbol of Greek sovereignty over
Macedonia.

Arch of Galerius - are neighboring monuments in the city of Thessaloniki, in the
province of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The Tomb of Galerius is better known
as the Rotunda, the Church of Agios Georgios or (in English) the Rotunda of St. George.

Upper Town - or 'Ano Poli' is what remains of Ottoman Thessaloniki, with beautiful
wooden houses overhanging the winding streets all the way up to the Eptapyrgio at the
top of the city. The Ano Poli also contains some of the city's oldest and most important
churches, particularly Osios David, St. Nicolaos Orphanos and Vlatades Monastery.

The Church of Aghios Demetrios - is the most important church in the entire
city. Lying above the remains of the agora and the Roman Forum, the church has three
side-chapels, a museum, and underground catacombs that also include Saint
Demetrios' imprisonment chamber; he is the patron saint of the city.

OTE Tower - a TV tower is the center of the Thessaloniki Expo Center. A revolving
restaurant offers spectacular views of the city.

The waterfront - is Thessaloniki's major draw. The promenade of Nikis Avenue
runs from the White Tower of Thessaloniki to the giant palace that is now a ferry terminal,
and plentiful cafés, restaurants and shops line the waterfront

The Arch and Tomb of Galerius - or the Church of Aghios Georgios, is a
circular church lacking the classic Orthodox iconostasis. The church is built upon former
Roman and Greek pagan ruins.

Aristotelous Square - extends all the way from Nikis Avenue on the waterfront to
the Church of Panayia Halkeion. The square, shaped like a bottle, is lined with tall
archondika, or mansions of the affluent, that have now been converted to shops and
hotels. A large park lies at the north end of the square, and Thessaloniki's thriving old
market is just one block away to the east and west.

Church of Panayia Halkeon - is a church in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. It is
located north of the Via Egnatia that bisects the city, where it crosses with the Via
Aristotelous that leads to the Aristotelous Square. The church was build in the eleventh
century by a protospatharios (a senior officer in the imperial guard of the Byzantine
Empire) by the name of Christophoros on top of an ancient temple dedicated to
Hephaestus . This Christophoros is also buried inside the church.

The ground plan is that of a classic "cross-in-square-form", and the church is most
notable for its frescoes in the cupola and the elegant brick walls.

The Church of Aghia Sofia - also located in the city center, includes the large
church and paved alleyways that make the few blocks around it widely known

Thessaloniki State Museum of Contemporary Art - is a state museum
based in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was founded in 1997, at the occasion of Thessaloniki's
year as European Capital of Culture. The museum was established by a law passed in
the Greek Parliament by then Greek Minister of Culture, Evangelos Venizelos. Its initial
collection was formed by a large part of the famous Costakis Collection, acquired by the
Greek state. It contains around 1,275 works of Russian avant-garde art consisting of
paintings, sculptures, drawings and constructions. The first director of the SMCA was the
Aristotle University Professor Miltiadis Papanikolaou, who remained in the position until
2006. Dr. Maria Tsantsanoglou, a specialist in the Russian Avant-Garde period, was
appointed the next director of the State Museum of Contemporary Art.

Museum of the Macedonian Struggle - is a museum in Thessaloniki,
Greece, documenting the Greek Struggle for Macedonia of 1904 to 1908, in which Greek
guerrillas, later supported by the Greek government, fought both the Ottoman Empire and
Bulgarian guerrillas for control of Macedonia.

The museum was founded in 1982, and is housed in a building that previously served as
the Greek Consulate in Thessaloniki, from which much of the Greek guerrilla activity was
coordinated; the street in front of the museum is named for the Consul at the time,
Lambros Koromilas. The museum has public exhibits on the conflict, and in addition
produces both educational and scholarly publications. Its main scholarly contribution is to
collect first-hand accounts from the now elderly participants in and observers of the
conflict, in order to preserve their oral histories as primary sources for future scholarship.



                           HOW TO REACH


By plane - Thessaloniki has an International airport called "Makedonia", connected
to Athens, Milan, Rome, Zurich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich, Frankfurt, Dortmund, Moscow,
London, Paris, Vienna, Larnaca, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest. 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.

Connection to the City Centre
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. There is
also a night bus (numbered 78N) that takes the same route, and it runs all night every half
an hour, for the same ticket price.

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!

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). Don't assume you're safe from paying a fine just because
locals flagrantly flout parking laws! Traffic congestion is a problem, largely due to double-
parked cars, but generally fellow drivers and passers-by are helpful in showing you the
way if you're lost.

By train - By nighttrain from Athens (Larissa station), about 6 h. Costs 20€-31€
(depending on the train), or about 50 if you want a sleeping compartment to yourself.

Daily trains from Athens take 4h 15 min (intercity express trains), 6h(normal trains) cost
about 50 euros first class. A very good option are the 500/501/502/503 trains, delivering
excellent quality of travel at a low price, 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. The last train at night departs at around 01:50.

There is also a night train (sleeping car) from Istanbul, departure every day at 20.00. It
arrives 08.00 next morning and costs 48€.

When you are under 26, you get a discount for 25 % on most trains.

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.

There are also direct train connections to Sofia (at 06:16 and 17:39, take 6 hours),
Belgrade (12 hours), Istanbul (12 hours-every evening-arriving next morning),Budapest
and Ljubljana (24 hours) via Zagreb (21 hours). But please mind: The trains from
Ljubljana arrive usually more than two hours too late in Thessaloniki.

You can buy Balkan FlexiPass tickets for 50€ in the train station international office.

By bus - From Skopje - There is a bus every morning at 7am from Skopje's central
bus station. This costs MKD1000 (approx. €16) http://www.sas.com.mk/en/timetable.php

A number of local travel agencies in Skopje also arrange transport to Thessaloniki daily
by car or minibus. These generally leave around 5am, and cost around €25 for a day
return (returning at 5pm) or a single (i.e. €50 if you want to come back on a different day
from when you leave!) The travel agent at the back of the shopping mall by the Central
Square arranges this departing from beside the Holiday Inn. Others depart from the bus
station, or other locations around the city.

Note that although it is fairly easy to find a taxi driver in Thessaloniki who is willing to drive
you to Skopje, the reverse is much less true, as the citizens of Republic of Macedonia
need a visa to enter Greece, whereas EU citizens can enter Republic of Macedonia
without one.