Thessaloniki: A Guide to Greece’s Second Largest City, Thessaloniki, Greece

This fabulous city is Greece’s second largest. Much smaller than Athens, far in the north, and out of the way of the usual tourist path, it has a low profile. This turns out to be absolutely key to Thessaloniki’s charm. You can take in the sights of this pleasingly compact city with ease, mostly on foot, then enjoy its relaxed rhythms like a local. Walking will also help you build up an appetite- Thessaloniki is famous all over Greece for its excellent cuisine.

Thessaloniki has an impressive cosmopolitan pedigree, stretching back more than two millennia. This port city hit the map with a bang, built by Cassander in 315 BC. He named the city for his wife, Thessaloniki- whose name celebrates the Macedonian victory (“niki”!) over Thessaly. The Romans then took over and the city grew in prominence, eventually becoming one of the seats of the Roman tetrarch Galerius. Monuments from the grandeur of the Roman eras give the city elegance.

Then, this was the jewel of the Byzantine Empire, a significant port, and second only to Constantinople in importance. Everyone wanted Thessaloniki- Saracens, Venetians. Finally, the Ottomans seized the city in in the middle of the 15th century, and held it for almost five centuries. A haven for Sephardic Jews fleeing persecution in Spain and Italy, the city had a multicultural demographic. This influenced architecture, cuisine, and music. These diverse cultural influences are still deeply felt. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).