Beyond Thessaloniki
Day Trips from Greece's Second City
Thessaloniki is proving to be a very popular destination for a city break in Greece. For far too long it lived in the shadow of Athens, but in recent years at last people have been discovering what a wonderful city it is. It’s got a waterfront, museums, churches, ancient sites, fantastic food, and its sizeable university population gives it a very young and energetic feel.
But don’t think of it as just a place to go to for a weekend break. It’s actually a gateway to many amazing places, most of them reachable on easy day trips, either done by yourself using a car or public transport, or by joining an organised tour. Here are just a few of the places within reach of Thessaloniki.
Dion
Dion was regarded as a sacred city by the Macedonians, and at one time as many as 15,000 people lived here. There’s a vast sanctuary to the Egyptian goddess Isis, the remains of a theatre and a stadium remnants of houses great and humble, and remarkable mosaics including one that was once the floor of a banqueting hall.
The modern town of Dion has an excellent archaeological museum, and it’s only about an hour’s drive southwest of Thessaloniki. Allow a full day.
Mount Athos
You can’t visit the remarkable ‘monks’ republic’ of Mount Athos without a prior permit, for which you have to apply well in advance and to justify why you want to visit. But you can take a really enjoyable boat trip around the peninsula, with lovely views of the extraordinary monasteries, some clinging to the cliffs. You’re very likely to see dolphins as well.
The trips leave from Ouranopolis, which is about two hours from Thessaloniki, and if you don’t have your own transport you can book a tour with a travel agent in Thessaloniki.
Ancient Pella
Ancient Pella is a 40-minute drive northwest of the city, along the main E02 road that goes to Edessa. It was a hugely important city that was made capital of the Macedonian state in the late 5th century BC. It was the birthplace of Alexander the Great.
There’s one main archaeological site to the south of the modern town, with other remains around the town, and an archaeological museum in the town. Allow the best part of a day, including travel time.
Vergina
In January the Palace of Aigai at Vergina, about an hour’s drive west of Thessaloniki, was opened to the public after major excavation works. It’s the palace where Alexander the Great was crowned and has been described as the Parthenon of Macedonia. Vergina was already worth visiting as the site of the royal tomb of King Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great.
You can whet your appetite by seeing some of the discoveries from Vergina in the Archaeological Museum in Thessaloniki.
And that’s it for this week. Friends of ours are on Antiparos at the moment, and their social media photos are definitely making us want to visit!
Till next time
Mike and Donna