Being a city with a rich gastronomic history, Thessaloniki offers a wide variety of food options from different cuisines, with a wide range of prices, atmosphere, and locations, thus remaining at the top of Greece’s gastronomic destinations.

The gastronomic level in Thessaloniki is constantly rising, with more and more restaurants being awarded culinary prizes each year, evolving traditional cuisine with modern cooking techniques, creating contemporary spaces with unique aesthetics, and always providing high-quality service.

Thessaloniki has always had the reputation of a city of entertainment and insouciance, and additionally offers ideal conditions for shopping and nightlife, as everything is within close distances.

The numerous monuments in the historical center of Thessaloniki highlight its rich historical course over time.

Starting from the Roman Agora in the heart of the city and continuing to the Arch of Galerius, better known as the “Kamara,” one eventually reaches the rich archaeological finds at the Hippodrome Square, which make up an impressive architectural ensemble, known as the Galerian Complex.

The present-day form of the Thessaloniki Castle is mostly the work of Byzantine emperors, and the view of the city and the entire Thermaic Gulf from the Upper Town, where they dominate, is magical.

An eternal symbol of Thessaloniki, the White Tower stands proud and imposing, representing one of the most important monuments in the city. Inside, there is a museum with interesting exhibits.

The Byzantine churches of Thessaloniki present a valuable religious and cultural heritage. Some of them have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and are protected as world cultural heritage monuments. The “Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki,” as they are known, include the Church of Saint George or Rotunda, the Church of Acheiropoietos, the Church of Saint Demetrius, the Latomou Monastery, the Church of Hagia Sophia, the Church of Panagia Chalkeon, the Church of the Holy Apostles, the Church of Saint Nicholas Orphanus, and the Church of Saint Panteleimon.

Continuing on the historical journey, one can visit the city’s Muslim monuments: the Hamza Bey Mosque, the Alaja Imaret Mosque, the Yeni Mosque, the Bezesteni (covered market), the Yahudi Hammam, and the Fountain.

Lastly, in Thessaloniki, one can find characteristic examples of neoclassical buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The ‘Diekitirio’, the Faculty of Philosophy, the old Customs House, the Villa Allatini, the Papafeio Orphanage, the Saint Dimitrios Hospital, the Casa Bianca, the Mitta House, the Mehmet Kapantzi House, and the 5th Boys’ High School are just a few of these marvelous architectural masterpieces that one can discover among the city’s modern buildings.

At any time of the year, visitors to Thessaloniki have the opportunity to admire rare findings and monuments, not only of Greek but also of world cultural and historical heritage found in its museums.

The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (www.amth.gr) presents the overall culture of Macedonia from prehistoric times to the late antiquity, while the Museum of Byzantine Culture (www.mbp.gr) houses exhibits of exceptional historical and religious value, a legacy of our Byzantine ancestors.

The MOMus – Museum of Contemporary Art – Collections of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and the State Museum of Contemporary Art (formerly the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art) is responsible for promoting contemporary art and studying its trends in Greece and abroad, through the preservation and showcasing of visual achievements. Its permanent collection includes important works by Greek and international artists, while the State Museum of Contemporary Art, one of the most significant of its kind, holds the famous “Kostaki” collection of works by artists of the Russian avant-garde.

The core of the collection of the Teloglion Foundation of Arts (www.teloglion.gr) is the Teloglou donation, which includes works of art from various cultures, as well as works by significant Greek and European artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

It is also worth visiting the Jewish Museum, the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, the Folklore & Ethnological Museum of Macedonia-Thrace, the Center for History of Thessaloniki with a rich historical archive of the city, the Cinema Museum, which contains rare film and newsreel material, the Museum of Photography, the War Museum, which showcases significant military exhibits from the Balkan Wars as well as the two World Wars, the Olympic Museum, and the Museum of Water Supply, housed in an old pumping station of the Thessaloniki Water Company.

Finally, the facilities of the Science Dissemination Center & Museum of Technology/ Noesis (www.noesis.edu.gr) include a Planetarium, Simulator, and Cosmo-theater.