Gorgeous Greek city (Thessaloniki)

Member Name: littleemma

Product:	Thessaloniki
Date:	05/05/02 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good weather, relaxing atmosphere, but also nightlife

Disadvantages: in the summer, many locals tend to leave the city and to go on holiday so sometimes you will find more tourists than actual Thessalonians

Thessaloniki is already 2300 years old. For those visiting the city now that becomes obvious especially when they walk along the seaside and encounter the giant statue of Alexander the Great, or Alexandros o Megas, who was the founder of this city. Together with his teacher Aristotles, he spent a great time of his life there - and he certainly knew what he was doing. Even today, Thessaloniki is a city that is preferred by many Greeks who have grown tired of the pollution and noise of Athens and who are looking for a more comfortable place to live: with its ca. 1 million inhabitants, Thessaloniki is definitely a big city but at the same time it still has a lot of the charme of a much smaller place.

Thessaloniki belongs to an area of Greece called Makedonia (not to be confused with the country Makedonia) and is the most northern city of Greece. It is close to the sea and still plays a big role in export and import because of its giant port. One of the nicest place to go to in Thessaloniki is the castle on the hill which allows you to take a look all over the city and to stroll in tiny streets which are reminiscent of a village rather than of a city. Around the castle, there are many littles "tavernes" and other restaurants which offer brilliant sea food - and especially in those smaller streets which tourists do not always bother to go to, you will find the best places.

Night life in Thessaloniki is as enjoyable as in any other city in Greece and still slightly cheaper than in Athens and in other big tourist places like the island Mikonos - a specialty of Thessaloniki is a "club boat" which stops close to the port and allows its guests to step either on or off every half hour or so, otherwise making a round on the sea and giving you the chance to look at Thessaloniki's lights at night.

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