Thessaloniki was our first destination in Greece and we stayed here five nights. Thessaloniki was one of our favorite places we visited. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and very rich in history. However, despite being such a large city we hardly bumped into any tourists (unlike Athens).

Where to Stay:

We stayed at the Colors Rooms and Apartments and had a very nice stay there.

Pros:

Very central to all of the main sights in Thessaloniki
Very affordable
Spacious rooms! Our room had a living room and a mini kitchenette.

Cons:

There is no night staff
Located near a few clubs and it can get a little noisy at night
Hotel breakfast is very expensive and not that great. You’re better off going to a nearby coffee shop

Our favorite area of the city was Aristotle’s Square. Our hotel was about a ten minute walk from here but if you want to splurge a little more on hotels that is the location I would recommend.

How to Get Around:

Honestly, while we were in Thessaloniki we just walked everywhere. If you stay in a central location walking to most of your destinations should work just fine. The city has interesting bits of history around every corner so it was very fun to explore by foot.

If you are in a pickle and need a ride somewhere, while we were in Greece we used the mobile app Beat. This works similarly to Uber or Lyft and seemed to be very easy and cheap the few times we used it.

When getting to and from the airport to our hotel we did have private transfer already arranged. These transfers were fairly cheap and were arranged by our travel agent. I imagine using the Beat app you may get a similar rate.

We stumbled upon the Arch of Galerius while walking around Thessaloniki

Where to Eat:

Hands down the BEST place we ate at in Thessaloniki was Poselli Pizza! If you are in Thessaloniki you have to check this place out. We ended up going not once, not twice but THREE times while we were there. And I am still kicking myself that I never got a picture of this yummy pizza! Nathan and I literally day dream about this pizza to this day.

Thessaloniki had a lot of cheap eats and we got most of our meals from small little shops. I remember in one small Gyro store we were both able to get a large gyro, fries and a drink for eight Euros total! So, when in Thessaloniki eat cheap and save some money! It is certainly pretty easy to do in this town.

Top Places to See:

The White Tower of Thessaloniki

The White Tower of Thessaloniki it probably one of the city’s most iconic structures. For a small admission fee you are able to climb up the tower and view the small museum giving some history of Thessaloniki and the tower. The views from the top of this tower are just breathtaking and totally worth the climb up!

The Archeological Museum of Thessaloniki

I loved this museum! In fact this might be one of my favorites we went to throughout our Greece trip. The museum was not crowded at all and were we able to take lots of pictures and spend time reading every little note. This museum not only gave a good insight into the history of Thessaloniki but also to Greek culture and history. (Also this place has air conditioning and in August that’s important!)

The Museum of Byzantine Culture

This was one of my husbands favorite museums. This place had a ton of artifacts and we were able to learn a lot about church history (specifically regarding the Greek Orthodox Church). Again, walking around in air conditioning for a couple hours is always a win in the summertime!

The Rotunda

This place was incredible! The Rotunda was first a pagan place of worship, then a Christian Church, then a Mosque. The Rotunda is incredibly well preserved you can still see some of the Christian artwork despite it being covered when the building became a Mosque. This is a very interesting place! Don’t miss it!

Historic Churches

There are many beautiful historic churches throughout Thessaloniki. We visited the Agios Dimitrios and the Agia Sofia. Both churches were breathtaking and filled with history. In fact if you are adventurous enough, below the Agios Dimitrios has a crypt that you can visit that just felt a little eerie to us.

Aristotle’s Square

This area is right along the promanade and there are lots of shops, places to eat and beautiful scenic views to take in. We spent a few hours here just walking around taking in the views and eating gelato.