Thessaloniki is a lovely city worth exploring. The visitors can go sightseeing, go for shopping, for a walk or eat at one of the numerous restaurants and taverns of the city. There is a sightseeing bus and sometimes a small train departing from the White Tower. But except for this, we have the buses that run around the city.
BUSES Since Thessaloniki does not have an underground service, buses and taxis are the only available means to go to different places around the city. The apartment is near the seafront, so the buses that come from the city are located very near the sea. The nearest bus stop is called SHOLI TIFLON ( School of the Blind - because there a school for blind people in the area). To get to the bus stop that goes to the center from the apartment, you walk along Karaiskaki street, which is on your right as you leave the building. The first street you find is Vassilisis Olgas Avenue. You cross the street and you can see the bus stop on you right. If you want to go from the apartment to the airport you just cross Megalou Alexandrou Avenue and the bus stop is opposite the building.
If one is at the train station then number 8 is the bus to take. Alternatively, Bus Number 3 departs from the train station and if you get off at KARAISKAKI bus stop, then walk a few meters Delfon street towards the direction of the bus, find Karaiskaki street, walk along Karaiskaki street, walk down this street which will lead you to the sea and the last building you find is the Domissima Homes building. This may take 5-8 minutes.
Prices The tickets are usually 1 euro for a regular trip and 50 cents is the reduced rate. The tickets for the airport and the cultural line cost 2 euros and 1 euro is the reduced price. For more info http://oasth.gr/#el/komistra/ THE AIRPORT Bus 78 leaves from the airport and arrives at Sholi Tiflon in about 27 minutes. The timetable can be found at http://oasth.gr/#el/masterinfo/list/12/73/ The night bus is 78N and the timetable is found at the following site http://oasth.gr/#el/routeinfo/list/146/74/73/ Alternatively there is a bus from the aerport that leads to KTEL station, which is the station from which coach buses go to Halkidiki. For more info go to http://oasth.gr/#el/routeinfo/list/575/78/73/ THE CULTURAL LINE Also Bus Number 50 which departs from the White Tower, a 10 minute walk from the house, is the line that takes you to all the historical and important places of the city center. It is a 50 minute ride. It costs 2 euros or 1 euro which is the reduced price. For more information about this http://oasth.gr/#el/politistikh-diadromh/
For more information about the buses go to OASTH.GR
Taxis In Thessaloniki we don't have Uber. You can easily find a taxi if you go down the street or if you call some of the taxi companies which can also be found at the following page https://www.xo.gr/dir-az/T/Taxi-Radiotaxi/Thessaloniki/
Sightseeing The apartment is very near the seafront which is just a stone throw away from the apartment. At the seafront you will see many sights, such as the White Tower, the statue of Alexander the Great, the umbrellas, and many more things. There are also many parks there for the kids to play. Additionally, very near the apartment is the Archaeological Museum or Geni Tzami, at Acheologikou Mousiou street. It is not the main Archaeological Museum of the city and contains periodical exhibitions.Furthermore, at the junction of Vasilissis Olgas street and Agia Triada there is the statue of Queen Olga, the queen that the avenue took the name from. Agia Triada street is about 200 meters from the apartment. Other important sights include the Arch of Gallerious, the castles, the archaeological and byzantine museum, Aristotelous square, Saint Sophia church, saint Demetrious church, the Roman forum etc.
The neighborhood Near the apartment there is a supermarket at Vas. Olgas street called Natalie, another called Masoutis closeby and a third one about 200 called Sklavenitis. There are many others at Delfon street. Post Office- there is one at Delfon 30, about 3 minutes from the apartment.
Street Markets There are many street markets in Thessaloniki during the week in which you can find fruit, cheese, food, clothes, shoes, bags, detergents etc at very good prices. There is a street market every Monday just a few meters from the apartment at Karaiskaki street. Just beware. DON'T PARK THE CAR ON SUNDAY NIGHT OR MONDAY UNTIL 4 AT NOON IN THE AREAS WHERE THE STREET MARKET IS. YOU WILL BE FINED AND YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO TAKE THE CAR EITHER.
Entertainment All over Thessaloniki there are many restaurants and bars. The most important areas to visit at the center are Ladadika, the castles, the seafront, the sights like the White Tower and the Arch of Galerious. Valaoritou street, Mitropoleos street, Nikis Avenue street are filled with bars, restaurants and shops .
Entertainment for the kids You should definitely visit the Planetarium, Magic Park and Waterland in the summer.
Floating bars Don't miss the chance to go onboard on the floating bars near the White Tower and board one of the ships that go into the sea for about 30 minutes. You only pay for the drink. The Clio plays mainly Reggae music, Argo plays rock, Arabella rock and pop and there is a new one, too.
Halkidiki
HALKIDIKI It's not too far to go to Halkidiki. In about half an hour you can find a very nice beach. Of course, the best places to visit are after an hour's drive. The buses that go to Halkidiki are at KTEL Halkidiki. Halkidiki is definitely worth visiting in the summer. It may not be as well known as the islands of Greece, but it is of equal beauty and with clean and fantastic beaches. Going to KTEL by taxi is another idea and it is not too expensive.
SHOPPING There are plenty of stores at the center of the city. There are also two big outlet malls, one of which is called One Salonika, at the center of the city, and the other one is called Mega Outlet and it is at the east side of the city. However, the biggest mall in Thessaloniki is outside the city, but not very far and it is called Mediterranean Cosmos. We have winter sales at the beginning of January until the end of February and summer sales at the beginning of July until the end of August, but there are many offers also during the other periods. If you are interested in buying toys or even things for home, or souvenirs etc that are very reasonably priced you should visit Jumbo, which is at the area of IKEA, and is the biggest toy store in Greece. At the same area you can find Moustakas, a toy store with a big variety of toys.
Parking Since the apartment is very near the center, parking you car is not always easy. In the morning there are plenty of parking spots. There are many streets you can park the car for free, eg Kyprou street, Archaeologikou Mousiou, Athanasiou Diakou, Karaiskaiki, etc. You can park the car on the left side of Vasilissis Olgas street, but you could get a fine. Furthermore, there are many parking spots at Nikis Avenue, the avenue that is by the sea. If you don't find a place to park the car, there is a parking lot at Evzonou 10-14 street, where you can park the car until 9 in the evening for very few euros a day. Sarantaporou street is a five minute walk from the apartment. You can reach Evzonon street if you walk along Vasilissis Olgas street toward the center of the city.
Some recommended restaurants Our favourites: Omikron, Marea and The Dubliner downtown, Glikanisos and Esperanto in Pilea, Mare & Monti in Panorama, Habanera, Mavri Thalassa, Halaro and Tre Marie in or near Kalamaria, Opsopoion Magganeiai, To Spiti tis Yiayias, Odos Delphon, Navona, Ciel and Byzantino near the appartments. For Vegans and Vegetarians there is Elephant in the Room and Roots. Of course, Greece is famous for "Gyros" and "Souvlaki" - sandwiches you may find everywhere in fast food places. A well known fast food chain in Greece is called Goody's. There is a pizza place, called Corner West Saloon, at Vasileos Georgiou 39, just 5 minutes from the apartment. For very nice coffee to go visit Coffee Island or Mikel. Our favourive cafes are Ciel, Navona, Tabya, Kitrino Podilato and Stavento. Also Crazy Donkey which is located at a nearby seafront village Neoi Epivates. The above places are not mentioned for advertising purposes. They are just some of the places we know and recommend.
The Suburbs and near villages Panorama is in the suburbs of Thessaloniki, about 20 kms away and it is known for the sweets called triangles or trigona Panoramatos. Perea is near the sea, 15 kms far from the city. Especially in the summer, it is nice to visit the bars. You can get there if you go to Ikea and then take number 72 bus. Additionally, bus number 77H will take you to Epanomi - Potamos where it is nice to have a swim.
Other sites about the city You can find plenty of information about what to do in the city in many sites. Some of them are the following. https://www.likealocalguide.com/thessaloniki/sights https://www.tripadvisor.com.gr/Attractions-g189473-Activities-Thessaloniki_Thessaloniki_Region_Central_Macedonia.html https://www.lonelyplanet.com/greece/thessaloniki/top-things-to-do/a/poi/359498 http://www.greeka.com/macedonia/thessaloniki/thessaloniki-excursions.htm or watch videos about the city at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Uz8e4TmRM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Keylr5HoA2M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59WYLOrENvY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kf7qNJHETw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHw7kl_WmKo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_x3RHA0DQ0
A List of contacts in Thessaloniki Important telephone numbers you may need: Police: 100 Tourist police:(information available in English, French and German) 2310 - 554871 Greek National Tourist Organization 2310-222935 / 2310-271888 Public Transportation: Railway station (call centre): 1110 Bus Information centre (for lines, trips, stops etc): 185 Long Distance Buses (KTEL): 2310 - 595408 Health Services: Thessalonikis Ippokrateio General Hospital ( 49 Kostantinoupoleos Str) 2310 - 837921-9 G. Papanikolaou General Hospital ( Eksoxi ): 2310 - 357602 Ahepa General Hospital ( 1 Stilp Kiriakidi Str ): 2310 - 993310, 2310 - 993111 G. Gennimatas General Hospital ( 41 Ethnikis Aminas Str ): 2310 - 211221-2, 2310 - 211323-5, 2310 - 211426-9, 2310 - 212019, 2310 - 212051 Agios Dimitrios General Hospital ( 2 Elenis Zografou Str ): 2310 - 969100-30, 2310 - 203121-5, 2310 - 203157, 2310 - 203269, 2310 - 201283 Agios Pavlos General Hospital ( 161 Ethnikis Antistaseos Str ): 2310 - 493040 Theageneio Cancer Hospital ( 2 Al. Simeonidi Str ): 2310-898111 Dermatological & Venereal Disease Hospital ( 51 Halkidikis Str ): 2310-817913, 2310-859202, 2310-859224, 2310-859246, 2310-859268, 2310-859280 Psychiatric Hospital ( 36 Kostantinoupoleos Str - Stavroupoli ): 2310-659512, 2310-659534, 2310-659578, 2310-659590, 2310-655103 Chronic Disease Hospital Dermatological & Venereal Disease Hospital ( 13 Grigoriou Lampraki Street ): 2310-202148 Papageorgiou General Hospital ( Circular Road Neas Efkarpias ): 2310-693000 Thessaloniki Airport “ Macedonia ”: Tourism Information Office Of Airport " Macedonia " : 2310-471170 Information Centre: 2310-473212, 2310-473312 Flights information: 2310 - 473977, 2310- 473720 Olympic Airways Thessaloniki : 2310 - 368311 Aegean Airlines Thessaloniki : 2310 - 280050 Tourist Information on Sea Transport: Thessaloniki Port Authority: 2310 - 593120 NATIONAL EMERGENCY SERVICES (The numbers to call for Police, Fire and Ambulance). Medical Emergency 112 Fire Service199 Ambulance Service EKAB 166 Police 100 SOS Doctors 1016 Tourist Police 171 Coast Guard 108 Counterterrorism Agency 1014 Forest Agency 191 Directory Enquiries 11888 National Blood Donation Center +30 210 - 2410100 Greek Red Cross+30 210 - 3603449 Center Immediate Social and Psychological Assistance (EKAKB) 197 SOS Crisis helpline 197 Children's Helpline (The Children’s Smile) 1056 Citizen's Helpline 1595