Thessaloniki Travel Guide and Places to Visit in Thessaloniki
Small Reminders Before You Go
Greece. Our best neighbor, our closest. At the same time, both the sea and the person are beautiful.. So, we said let’s go, and we bought tickets for the bus that will leave from Harem and drop us off in Thessaloniki 2 days later.
Greece was our first trip abroad as a couple and that’s exactly how things developed.. At that time, we, who were lovers for only 1 month, did not know at that time that the idea of going to Greece, which came to our mind while drinking coffee during a work break, would continue with going to other countries, then going to the farthest countries, and then moving abroad completely! Even though we didn’t have the idea of a blog at that time (especially the idea of getting married!), we must have felt that one day we would share our memories, that we took notes from the meals we ate in the taverns to the buses we boarded.. Today, thanks to those notes and our photos, we can write as if we had just returned from the trip.. What should we do, let this be the writing of our trip to Greece, which is late but special for us because it is the first!
Greece is a very beautiful geography. For one thing, his human looks too much like us.. We call it dolma, they call it dolmaki, let it be as much as the difference between “Dolma-Dolmaki”!
It’s also cheap, you don’t need to buy a plane ticket or anything.. You jump on the bus from Istanbul, 5 hours later you are in Greece.. If you haven’t had the opportunity to go abroad yet, we are neighbors, you think we can go one day anyway, or if you want a trip abroad with a student budget, Greece is always an ideal route to go.
Did we praise it too much? But it deserves. Then let’s get started!
Greece has many beautiful cities and islands to visit.. We toured Thessaloniki and Athens. As a matter of fact, we will tell about these places.
How shall we go?
There are frequent buses from Istanbul to Greece.. Prices are around 70 Euros round trip from Istanbul to Thessaloniki.. If your journey does not coincide with a holiday or a migrant crisis, you do not wait more than half an hour at the Ipsala border gate and you arrive in Kavala approximately 5-5 and a half hours after you leave Istanbul.. The journey between Kavala and Thessaloniki takes about 2 hours by bus.. If you’re going abroad by bus for the first time, don’t worry, the bus journey to Greece is comfortable and enjoyable from here.
Of course, plane is also an option, so if THY and Pegasus are expensive, Greek origin ‘Eagen Airlines’. see prices in. It is generally much more convenient. (You do not have the right to luggage)
Traveling Abroad by Personal Car:
There is also this part of the job, which is not as easy as it seems.. The easier it is to rent a car abroad, the more ‘rules’ it is to use your own car or a borrowed car.
If you want to go from Turkey to Greece by car, the car must first be registered in your name, or the car must be registered in your name. the person must be traveling with you. If the vehicle is not registered on you or the owner of the vehicle is not traveling with you, you need to go to the notary with the person who owns the vehicle and have a power of attorney issued on your behalf.
Of course, there is the problem of international driver’s license.. In the past, when there were no chip driver’s licenses, you had to go to the Turing and Automobile Authority and get an international driver’s license before you went to Greece with your car, and there was a very high fee.. Now all you have to do before you go to Greece is to renew your driver’s license, get the chip and click through the border!
Finally, the issue of international insurance (green card). This fee payment is also obligatory and the document is required from you at the border.. That’s why you can get it done at the border gates as well as at the insurance agencies.. It’s around 70 Euros for 15 days.
If you’re still determined to drive to Greece after all this, we have full support for you!
Let us also remind you that this article is about getting to Greece by car. We say that the situation is different for reference and other border countries and we return to our subject.
Thessaloniki
Is it because Thessaloniki is the first city we went abroad together, or is it really so? Although we still can’t decide for it, it has always been a special city for us and we don’t really have a bad word to say about this city.. And this is a very livable city.. Yes, it’s not very luxurious, it’s not very historical, but the people are so warm that you feel like you can hug it or something.. For us, the air, people and sea are enough for a city to be livable and to draw us in.. This flood of love from us to Thessaloniki will go on and on, but we are sure you got the message
Whenever We Go, How Long to Stay and Is It Expensive?
If you ask us, Thessaloniki is definitely a one-day trip. not the city. Yes, it is a small city and you can visit all parts of it on foot, but when you think about the places where you can swim, museums, taverns and such nice restaurants, you can realize that you actually have a lot of things to do in Thessaloniki! That’s why we can say that we will give Thessaloniki at least 3 (!) days.
Yes, Thessaloniki is a cheap city compared to the European average, but you should not expect a cheap Macedonia or Bosnia.. Since Greece is in crisis, taxes are extremely high and its biggest income is tourism right now, they are obviously a little overpriced.. Especially if you want to eat and drink in touristic places, you can triple the already expensive Thessaloniki prices.. Let’s not forget that credit cards are not accepted in most places in Thessaloniki.. Like us, we said ‘Oh, don’t make a card and then explode
Accommodation in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki is a small city, so wherever you stay, you can walk around If Kordon or close to the shopping street Tsimiski Street. We stayed at Park Hotel Thessaloniki in the center and we liked it very much.. The fact that it is nested with taverns, walking distance to everywhere and the view from the rooms was very beautiful.. We paid 50 Euros per room per night.. It is definitely a hotel we can recommend in every sense.
Moroccan Traveling
Places to Visit in Thessaloniki
The best part of visiting Thessaloniki , walking its long roads, treading its bumpy slopes and mingling with taverns. And while doing these, not to miss the must-see structures and regions
Atatürk’s house:
Turkish in Thessaloniki Located right next to the Consulate General, this house, as everyone knows, is the house where our Ata was born.. It consists of three floors and each floor is open to visitors.. It’s impossible not to be impressed when you go inside.
We didn’t know whether to write or not, but sometimes it is necessary to be a blog that breaks taboos, so let’s write… Today, there is an ongoing debate that this house is not Atatürk’s real house. This is an argument that the real house where he was born is unknown, that this house is the house where Zübeyda Hanım lived while Atatürk was studying in Harbiye, and that Atatürk’s sister, Makbule Hanım, said that she was born in another house belonging to Atatürk’s relatives.. We learned it by chance while we were researching, and if we didn’t write it, it would have stayed inside us.
No matter what happens, whether our Ata was not born in that house, the house in Thessaloniki is Atatürk’s house for us, and the important thing was to travel around feeling it.
Archaeological Museum:
Let’s just say, this is a museum you will definitely like, even if you are not very interested in history.. Inside, the historical artifacts obtained during the excavations around Thessaloniki are exhibited, and it kind of makes you take a historical tour without getting tired.
There are 6 sections in the museum, you can visit all of them without getting bored.. We can’t remember the entrance fee, but it should be between 6-8 Euros per person.
White Tower:
Thessaloniki’ This tower, which suits the Kordon of Turkey, was built in the Byzantine period according to some and in the Ottoman period according to others.. And also the politicians who were arrested during the Greek Revolution were held here.. Since this tower was the scene of executions during the Ottoman period, it was painted white to make people forget the past, and its name comes from that.
We don’t know who built it, but today it is the symbol of Thessaloniki and I’m glad they had it built, very good, very good. It’s nice too.
Aristotelous Square:
This is the biggest square in Thessaloniki. Always crowded, full of people, naturally chirping. There are bookstores, cafes, souvenir shops, coffee shops, frappe shops and restaurants that make very nice ‘Greek Salad’ here. We think you will love this square, which you will come back to while you are wandering the streets in Thessaloniki Also, make sure to dive into the streets to the right and left of this square, you will again come across all kinds of good coffee shops and restaurants.
Flea Market:
This market is located on Tositsa Street and is filled with old clothes, furniture, bags and all kinds of trinkets (in a good sense). You probably won’t find anything to buy, but it is both enjoyable to visit and surrounded by beautiful taverns.. The best ‘Greek Salad’ we ate was on this street.
Tsimiski Street:
Every city has a shopping street, heh here is Thessaloniki! It’s perfect for grabbing a Frappe (Greeks drink Frappe all the time both summer and winter, Frappe is to them what tea is to us) and to wander up and down! But if you’re into good food, remember that most places on this street can be ‘Tourist Trap’. There are many beautiful places in Thessaloniki, never mind, don’t eat in Tsimiski!
Ladadika Region:
We said good food, right, here we are! This is the street where the shabby taverns of Thessaloniki are located.. If you want, you can hang out at the tables on the streets and drink your ouzo, if you want, you can hang out in young-work bars, or you can choose a more stylish tavern.. So what you do here is really up to you, but just go!
We will of course write our favorite places here in the eating-drinking-cracking section at the end of the article!
Ano Poli Zone:
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‘Ano Poli’, meaning upper city, is the top of the city (surprised, no!). You can see Ottoman and Greek houses by passing through narrow streets in Ano Poli.. Even though we said the top area of the city, don’t look too far We said Thessaloniki is a small city, you can reach this area by walking.. When we went to Ana Poli, we felt ourselves in Bursa, let’s see if it will reach you too!
Cord Zone:
Now we’re going to write you the biggest cliché ever, are you ready?! This is the main reason why Thessaloniki is compared to Izmir! Okay, let’s admit it, it might look a little like it, but if the people of Izmir don’t get offended, this place is better There are cafes lined up along the promenade and most of them have the same concept, look at the sea – watch the passerby – talk a lot and drink frappe! You will even see that even at the tables for two, in most places, the chairs are not facing each other, but facing the sea. We couldn’t help but think.
Thessaloniki Umbrellas:
These ‘Umbrellas’, one of the symbols of Thessaloniki Greek Sculptor Giorgos Zogolopoulos It was designed by and pops up when you walk on the beach.. You can take beautiful pictures at sunset.
And finally Agia Sophia Church. As you can guess from the name, this place looks like Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and is even modeled after the architecture of Hagia Sophia! It is considered one of the most important structures in Greece.. We say have a look while we are in Thessaloniki.
We’ve come to our favorite part to tell!
Food and Drink
Greek cuisine is so rich and delicious that Thessaloniki is for us The best part of our trip was the taverns.. We discovered many beautiful places, especially in Thessaloniki, and we didn’t even mind that we came back with 3 kilos on the way back from the trip.. At the beginning of the article, we said that Greece is our first holiday and that we even took pictures of the beers we drank with that excitement.. It’s a good thing we shot everywhere we went, if we can write it here now, thanks to the photos taken as if she hadn’t seen it
Mpoukia Mpoukia:
If you’re in Thessaloniki ‘one hundred percent-percent’ If you’re looking for a ‘tavern’ place, this is it! We fell in love with this tavern in Ladadika District, which we came across by chance on our first day in Thessaloniki, and while we were about to go to a place we had noted before, we dived in here.. The food is good, the music is good and the waiters were extremely friendly. No matter how satisfied we are, we still remember what we ate
Full Tou Meze:
This Greek Meze is also ‘Mpoukia Mpoukia’ Especially in this place famous for seafood, Greek waiters were speaking Turkish when we went Considering that there is as much fish as a plate, you will be full even with half a portion!
Goody’s Burger House:
‘Goody’s, a hamburger chain in Greece, has branches in many places and you will definitely come across one while wandering the streets.. We said that the Greeks are very talented in food, we insist that you try their burgers!
Agora Ouzeri:
This is a family restaurant where you can have a very nice lunch and the sea the products are very beautiful. Just as we liked the food of the restaurant run by a very friendly family, we liked it one day and came here the second day. 🙂
Ble:
This is it. A cozy Thessaloniki patisserie where you can also try various and beautifully decorated desserts.. When you look at the desserts in the window, you see that 80 percent of them are the desserts your mother made at the time.. That’s what it’s like to be a neighboring country When you enter, you will see that although the desserts people prefer have changed, the drink never changes, of course Frappe!
Speaking of Frappe, Greeks also have ‘Mikel’. Since it is a place where they beat anyone who doesn’t drink here, you will definitely come across it!
Meze Meze:
So many people recommended this restaurant in the westernmost part of the city, We were convinced that if we didn’t go on our last night in Thessaloniki, we would be left with it, and we took a taxi! It is normally difficult to find a place in summer, but we were able to find a place because we went a little early.. The food was really delicious and the prices were reasonable.. When you see that there are more locals than tourists inside, you are also happy, it means that there is an event, you say that the citizens of the city hang out here! What we can say is that this place is very likely to please you!
And let’s not forget, we fell in love with the Greek Salad, which is called ‘Greek Salad’, and wherever we go, we come up with this salad. we said. (Well, we are Turkish people, we don’t feel comfortable without saying anything) Actually, this salad, which has a very simple recipe, is similar to our shepherd’s salad, but the taste of Greek cheeses is so good that you can’t give up if you try it once.. We don’t say that you should definitely go to this or that place, but don’t pass without trying the ‘Greek Salad’!
Let’s talk about the ‘later’ nightlife.. Even though the crisis has affected many things in Greece nowadays, the nightlife is still colorful and these young people love to have fun, listen to music and drink beer until late.
One of the most popular nightclubs ‘Marquise’
strong> and it’s packed to the brim on weekends. Around ‘Valaoritou Street’, there are breweries where mostly young people hang out.. Prices are not very cheap, but you can think of them as ‘price-performance maximum’ compared to most cities in Europe. Our favorite was ‘Piccadilly’.
Paralia Town
We came all the way to Thessaloniki to see the beautiful Greek Beaches, You say you want to swim. You know, there is no swimming in Thessaloniki and if you do not have the famous Halkidiki area in your plans, you are looking for a place to swim near Thessaloniki.. Here comes the cute Paralia Town. You arrive at Paralia in 1 hour on the boats departing from the Kordon region, where you can sunbathe as much as you want during the day, swim in the sea and return to Thessaloniki by boat in the evening.. Moreover, 12.5 Euros per person. We loved Paralia very much and the weather was beautiful even though it was mid-September.
Many Turks live in Paralia and you can find a wide variety of Turkish dishes such as ‘Hamsi-Triple-Türlü’ in the restaurant menus.. We think it goes without saying that we eat like ‘pigs’ here too!
There are other Greek islands that we haven’t written here yet, but that we love very much.. Especially for Aegean people, it is very easy to go to Lesbos and Chios.. For example, we have Rhodes and Lesbos in our plans this summer.. If you haven’t discovered Greece yet, you can start from the Greek islands.. You can check the Turyol website for ferry tickets.. In addition, if you say you need a full tour, not a ferry, you can buy a tour with accommodation in the summer months.. What more!
We think the reason why we liked Thessaloniki more than Athens was because we felt more at home.. The ones left to this city from the Ottoman occupation are much more distinctive than Athens, and the grandfather of someone you accidentally talk to in a cafe may have migrated to Thessaloniki from Anatolian lands.. We are not even going into the subject of hostility towards Turks, there is no such hostility.. Greeks love Turks very much and believe me, we are writing as a couple living in Germany for two years.. Greek people are beautiful people, friendly people, brothers and sisters, love them.. Now that I think about it, I’m glad our first trip was to Thessaloniki, it still has a special place for us, dear Thessaloniki! We set off unaware of what was to come! Click here for the Athens guide!
If you happen to be in Thessaloniki, don’t forget to visit their tavern for us!
Have a nice trip.
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