Visit Thessalonique

The waterfront, redesigned as a promenade over about 5 km, links the port in the west to the Kalamaria district in the east, passing the White Tower. Themed gardens, cycle lanes and sculptures line the way: on a rented bike, allow an hour there and back without stopping. Aristotelous Square, open to the sea, was designed by the French planner Ernest Hébrard after the great fire of 1917 destroyed much of the centre. It is the gateway to the second city of Greece, where locals gather around 8 pm for the volta, the ritual evening stroll.

Ladadika, the old oil merchants' quarter near the port, has become the heart of ouzeries and meze taverns, very lively from 10 pm. Ten minutes' walk away, Kapani market lines up stalls of fish, olives and spices in covered lanes, while the Modiano covered market, built in the 1920s and reopened after renovation, houses delicatessens and counters. Come on a weekday morning to see the markets in full swing: many stalls close on Sundays and in the afternoon.

Around AD 300, Emperor Galerius made Thessaloniki one of his residences and built a monumental complex of which three key pieces survive, aligned on a single north-south axis. His triumphal arch, the Kamara, now straddles Egnatia Street, the old Roman road that still crosses the city. To the north stands the Rotunda, to the south the palace remains, visible in the open air on Navarinou Square. These three sites take an hour and a half on foot, and the Roman forum in the centre completes the visit.

Spared by the 1917 fire, the upper town has kept its stepped lanes, Ottoman-era houses with overhanging upper floors and small churches. Climb the steep streets from Saint Demetrius, or take a bus or taxi up and walk back down. The Byzantine walls are best preserved here, up to the Heptapyrgion fortress. Near the Trigoniou tower, the viewpoint takes in the whole bay and, on clear days, Mount Olympus: come an hour before sunset.

During nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule, Thessaloniki was home to one of the largest Sephardic Jewish communities in Europe, which arrived after the expulsion from Spain in 1492. Almost all of it was deported to Auschwitz in 1943. The Jewish Museum on Agiou Mina Street tells this story in about an hour, and a Holocaust memorial stands on Freedom Square. The Ottoman legacy remains visible in the hammams, the Yeni Djami mosque and the birthplace of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, next to the Turkish consulate, which is open to visitors.

Thessaloniki is said to have the best food in Greece. In the morning, locals eat bougatsa, a flaky pastry filled with semolina custard and dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon, or filled with cheese or meat, and koulouri, a sesame bread ring sold on the street. At lunch and dinner, ouzeries serve meze to share: mussels, stuffed peppers, grilled sardines, with ouzo or tsipouro. The oriental pastries, a legacy of refugees from Asia Minor who arrived in 1922, deserve a detour. Expect late dinners, rarely before 9 pm.

About an hour's drive west, Vergina, ancient Aigai, shelters beneath a mound the royal Macedonian tombs, including the one attributed to Philip II, father of Alexander the Great: a major UNESCO-listed site worth half a day. Mount Olympus, the country's highest peak, is just over an hour away via Litochoro, the trailhead town. The beaches of the Halkidiki peninsula are one to two hours away depending on the prong you choose. A rental car makes all three trips simpler.