The city of Thessaloniki is located in the western part of the prefecture of Thessaloniki, in the Bay of the Thermaic Gulf. It is the second largest city in Greece with more than 1,000,000 residents. The city is built on the slopes of Kedrinou hill surrounded to the north by the forest of Sheikh Sou. Thessaloniki is a very historic city in Greece. In the long course of history, the city was in possession of various peoples and found cultural convergence of many ethnicities. Its strategic position is highlighted as one of the most important crossroads of the ancient times until today.
Today Thessaloniki is the administrative and economic center of northern Greece and one of the largest cities in the Balkan Peninsula. The city is growing rapidly, and plays an important role in the entire Balkan region. The city offers a variety of attractions from all over the historical period, with numerous of Roman, early Christian and Byzantine buildings. A well-known monument and landmark of Thessaloniki is the White Tower, which houses know a museum of the history of Byzantine Thessaloniki. The round tower (29 m high), with its loopholes and tin walls testifies to centuries of foreign rule of the Ottomans, which ended in 1912 with the conquest of Thessaloniki by the Greeks. Other major attractions include the Roman market, the Arch of Galerius (Kamara) and the grave of St. George Rotunda, the church of St. Demetrius, and many other Byzantine churches.
Also the very popular place of Aristotle, which was planned and created in 1917 by French architect Ernest Hebrard and inviting with a wonderful view of the sea to relax. At the "Nea Paralia" (new beach), the statue of Alexander the Great was built in 1970 and on the Freedom Square is the memorial of the Holocaust to commemorate the Jews of Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki is multitude of young people gives it a vivacious, stylish mood, which can be felt in its cafés, restaurants and bars, even in its shops and designer hair salons. True, it’s no budget destination, but Thessaloniki is packed with life and should be on every traveler’s itinerary.
