Day by day, Wednesday by Wednesday, and I spend my summer vacation in Thessaloniki.
Every day, after enjoying the nearby beaches and swimming pools, walking on the beach, swimming, sunbathing, when the temperature drops, a walk is mandatory. And so is this #WednesdayWalk
The wide streets of Thessaloniki, the famous Egnatia and Tsimiski boulevards, are studded with shops of well-known and less well-known brands (Tsimiski is for the well-known, Egnatia for the less well-known), every day they attract a large number of visitors, both tourists and Greeks, who take advantage of the last days of discounts and sales to buy a piece of clothing for themselves.
I skilfully avoided shopping (except for two or three stores, which are mandatory on my list of visits, even when I'm in Thessaloniki just passing through, not like now for almost two weeks 🙂) and I had some historical and more interesting locations as my goal.
(while you are buying cakes in a famous Thessaloniki pastry shop, a pianist is playing the piano)
Just this afternoon, I visited so many locations, which I will share here with you in the days to come, in order to bring Thessaloniki closer to you as best I can. And already from this post, in which I will outline the interesting things, you will understand why I like to stay but also to walk around Thessaloniki.
Thessaloniki has many churches. Some are more recent, but some date back to the Byzantine era.
Most of them have been reconstructed and can receive believers today, but there are also some that are still in the reconstruction phase. The "main" church of Thessaloniki is the Church of Saint Demetrius, the patron of the city of Thessaloniki. If this is not the church of the patron saint of Thessaloniki, it would be very interesting to me, due to the fact that it is located on the remains of an old church from the 4th century, which was built on the foundations of a Roman bath.
It is one of the largest churches in all of Greece and is considered the first symbol of Orthodoxy. What makes this church so interesting is the possibility of visiting the crypt, under the church, where the relics of Saint Demetrius were found. I will write about that tour another time, stay tuned 🙂
While I'm already writing about places that are museums, I can recommend visiting a few more attractions.
The first is the railway museum, where there is a large number of locomotives and wagons from the beginning of the 20th century, as well as the building of the old railway station, which is a museum in itself.
The second location is Zeintilik, a military cemetery from the First World War, with the remains of the allied army who died during the breakthrough of the Thessaloniki front.
Another attraction is the war destroyer, Velos II, which was built and participated in the battles of World War II, and which is anchored in the old port of Thessaloniki.
In addition to the fact that you can plan a tour of this ship during the day, when it gets dark, you can enjoy it in a restaurant with a view of Thessaloniki at night.
From the site of the old port, the White Tower, the symbol of Thessaloniki, can be seen in the distance.
Its white walls look more magnificent at night than during the day, so after walking down the street lined with olive trees and passing by the Thessaloniki fair complex and another attraction, the OTE tower, with the Skyline restaurant at the top that rotates and from which there is a fantastic view of the city during the day, across the promenade with the monument of Alexander the Great on his horse Bucephalus, we approached the coast at the White Tower.
Another attraction of Thessaloniki are the tourist boats that take tours around the bay, and since this year the Black Pearl has been put into operation.
But the OTE Tower, White Tower or pirate ships are not the only attractions worth visiting. Probably the most interesting are the excavations, which are everywhere in Thessaloniki.
The Great Roman Forum under the church of St. Demetrius or the excavation near the church (and metro station) of St. Sophia, the Walls near the Rotonda, which I have already written about, as well as isopines along some walking areas.
And for me personally, who has been coming to Thessaloniki for more than a decade, the big attraction is the metro, which is the first and only line that was put into operation at the end of 2024, and which for the decades in which it was built, made a mess on Egnatia Street, since the entire street was a large construction site.
Now the situation is not like that, the boulevard is passable for traffic and the metro stations, which we visited, are full of pictures and objects that the workers came across during the work.
At one of the stations, which is the central one, Venizelou, you can visit a real small underground city of excavations, which I will probably write about on another occasion, so if you want to get to know Thessaloniki's attractions, follow me, there will be a lot of interesting things.
I end today's walk with a picture from Katouni street where we found excellent restaurants and tried some of the seafood and meat specialties.