A first impression of Thessaloniki, Greece – Travel Photo Mondays
The second largest city and metropolitan center of Greece, Thessaloniki always seems to be off the radar to most visitors to Greece who prefer a quick exit to the islands. For those looking to explore the mainland, Thessaloniki offers a variety of exciting ancient wonders, a very sophisticated and food focused center, Unesco World Heritage sites and yes, even stunning beaches along coastal areas just outside and other cool day trips from Thessaloniki on your fun Greek Adventure.
On group tour with a few travel bloggers, I was able to experience these wonderful landmarks, cultural experiences and amazing cuisine.Ā This first impression of Thessaloniki will give you a quick highlight tour and I’ll be posting more in-depth places that peaked my interest and made the visit to this ancient capital in Greece a fantastic foray into the eastern-most region of Greece. You’ll find that the food scene here in Thessaloniki is amazing with so many exciting foods to eat in Greece. This food city has inspired so many tributes, stories and even quotes about Greece and this foodie destination.
The white tower at the Thessaloniki bay front
Ā
Here are some ofĀ Thessaloniki highlights:
The Arch of Galerius at Thessaloniki, Greece
A large roman arch known as Kamara lies at the main artery crossing the east and west side and linking to many of the ancient roman ruins of the city including the Rotunda andĀ agora. The historic district also has many other ancient buildings and ruins from manyĀ different kingdoms that ruled in succession including Byzantine and Ottoman empires who left these amazing and well-preserved monuments.
Thessaloniki roman agora
Thessaloniki’s historical district is filled with Byzantine churches that are a part of the Unesco World Heritage sites that have designated the fifteen churches as historic treasures.Ā Next to the roman agora is one of the jewels, the Panagia Chalkeon built in 1208 on the site of an ancient temple of Hephaestus which was later changed into a mosque with the Ottoman rule of Thessaloniki.
The Panagia Chalkeon in Thessaloniki
Known as a capital of specialty food and amazing cuisine, Thessaloniki has been at the crossroads of Eastern and Western culture and foods. The city boasts many outdoor and specialty markets throughout the city and outlying areas. The most popular is centrally located and is the central food located just off Aristotele Square and Venizelou street. It’s easy eating your way through Thessaloniki,Ā you will find everything thing here from Specialty local products, product, meat and fish, along with a variety of everyday utilitarian itemsĀ foods and cheap eateries. I tried this popular Greek pasta dish below called Patitsio which was delicious. You can check out the Nomadic Boys travel blog for their traditional Patitsio recipeĀ Ā if you want to try making this wonderful and relatively easy dish.
Greek Patitsio – a traditional pasta dish in Greece -photo Ā credit ‘ The Nomadic Boys’
Thessaloniki central food market
The Thessaloniki bay front is revitalized and modern
‘Umbrellas’ sculpture of Thessaloniki along the bay front
The renovated bay front of Thessaloniki is a very popular spot for locals and tourists alike. The long promenade is a wonderful spot for walking along with many other recreational activities with gorgeous views of the bay. Early afternoon to evenings are a great time to visit and catch a spectacular sunset view.
Sunset at the Thessaloniki bay front
Located on the northern fringe of the Thermaic Gulf which is a gulf of the Aegean Sea, the sunsets are stunning here, don’t you agree?
Fishing along the bay front in Thessaloniki
There is so much to see and explore in Thessaloniki so please stay tuned to further posts on this historic and beautiful city on the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Thanks for visiting today and getting a first impression of Thessaloniki, Greece for Travel Photo Mondays. Please do visit the other bloggers below participating for todays link up.
Thank you hosting me on this tour of Thessaloniki with the tourism office of Thessaloniki, all opinions and thoughts are my own and I enjoyed visiting this ancient city and region.
In Greece there’s so so much to see, we did not go to Thessanolika – thanks for sharing all the noteworthy things there!
Awesome
Noel, awesome spots of a charming city!
The meat market shot is great, and so telling. Pretty graphic but in a wonderful, authentic, “the way most of the word is” way, without any sanitizing.
I dig your camera too. We finally have a pretty nice camera – Santa was good to us – and can’t wait to put it into good use next month in Bali.
Even here in NJ with some gloom clouds I’m finding it to be about 4 notches up from our old camera.
Thanks for sharing š
Ryan
Magnificent photos, as always, Noel.
Some of those buildings are amazingly well preserved – it’s surprising that Thessaloniki isn’t so well known to visitors.
Your photo of the Panagia Chalkeon in Thessaloniki is absolutely beautiful. What a fascinating city to visit and one I would otherwise likely have skipped if pressed for time. It definitely looks well worth experiencing.
Looks like rain was threatening. I especially like the image of the huge date palm.
For a first impression of Thessalonika I’m totally wowed and this city gets my history geek up and moving! I’m looking forward to reading more about this city but I can tell you now that it will definitely be on our shortlist when we visit Greece. Here’s to many more miles of travel in 2015!
I absolutely love Greece. Haven’t visited Thessaloniki yet, these pictures make me want to leap over there NOW!
I visited this beautiful city a couple of years ago. A lot of great places to see and the people were fantastic.
Beautiful share, the stone work is amazing I can just imagine being witness to this in person.
Greece is a fantastic country. I enjoyed your pics.
Maybe I’ll make it to Greece in 2015. Their economy is desperate for some more tourists.
I just love the sepia tones in these photos- gives Thessaloniki a romantic look. What a beautiful city.
Noel, nice pictures of Thessaloniki! I especailly like the impressions of the bay sculpture and scenes. Tom and I visited and didn’t have quite as nice a first impression, probably because we were with a rental car. It’s NOT a place to drive, or park. We did enjoyed the Panagia/churches.
I will keep your information in mind when I visit Greece. Thessaloniki looks very inviting!!
Simply amazing structures and photos.The sunset is wonderful….
The Arch of Galerius is amazing, and I liked the whimsical umbrellas at the waterfront. It’s fun to learn about “secondary” cities. Why should their big sisters get all the attention? š
I love the Roman Agora. It is similar to the resurrected Roman Cardo they dug out from under the Old City of Jerusalem. The one in Jerusalem is 2100 years old, give or take a few hundred years. I’m assuming the Agora is a similar age? The architecture is very similar.
Noel, as usual, your photos have conveyed the “sense of place” of Thessaloniki. I found the photo of the umbrellas to be especially evocative — I can’t even quite put my finger on why I find it so appealing. Best wishes to you for a healthy, happy and fulfilling 2015—on the road or wherever.
Thessaloniki looks like a really interesting, eclectic city. I love the ancient history, as well as the umbrellas. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos.
I recently read Victoria Hislop’s novel ‘the thread’ about Thessaloniki and discovered that it was the birthplace of Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic. I was fascinated to see some pictures of the place she so vividly describes in her novel.
I haven’t read the book but I knew about Ataturk, it was mentioned to me several times.