Things to do in Northern Greece
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Hatzis
In operation since 1908, when Thessaloniki was still an Ottoman city, this local legend brings the tastes of old Constantinople to you. After Hatzis, you'll never ask for a simple 'baklava' again.
The veritable symphony of sweets served at Hatzis includes vezir parmak (politika syrup cake with cream filling), hanoum bourek (hand-made pastry with raisins, peanuts and cream) and a dish of malempi mastiha (cream from milk and rice porridge, flavoured with mastiha from Chios and served with rose syrup).
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Kitchen Bar
Whether you're just coming for a cool waterside coffee or seek some inventive international fare, this lofty, sumptuously decorated café-restaurant on the port is fab. The salads and risotto are as bright as the flames in the open kitchen where the chefs, like the style-conscious clientele, are always on display.
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Church of Agios Dimitrios
Thessaloniki's enormous, 5th-century Church of Agios Dimitrios , is named in honour of the city's patron saint. A Roman soldier, Dimitrios was killed around 303 on the site (then a Roman bath), on the command of Galerius, infamous for persecuting Christians. The martyrdom site is now an eerie underground crypt, which you can visit during the day or during the special Friday-night service. In 1980, the saint's relics were returned from Italy, and now lie in an elaborate silver reliquary inside.
The Ottomans made Agios Dimitrios a mosque and plastered the walls. After they were kicked out, the plaster was removed, revealing Thessaloniki's finest church mosaics. While the 19…
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White Tower
The history of Thessaloniki's most famous landmark, the pacific White Tower , is actually bathed in blood. In 1826, Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II ordered here the massacre of janissaries (elite troops made up of forcibly Islamicised Christian boys) deemed disloyal. After Greeks captured the city in 1913, the 'bloody tower' was whitewashed to expunge the dark memories.
The whitewash has long been removed, though the name stuck. At time of writing, the tower's small Byzantine Museum was about to get a new permanent exhibit; it's up a wide circular stairway, where stands a small café offering impressive views of the city and sea.
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Museum of Byzantine Culture
The Museum of Byzantine Culture is a well-presented modern museum that uses ambient lighting and a good running wall text to enliven the 3000 or so artefacts in its permanent collection. They include frescoes, mosaics, embroidery, ceramics, inscriptions and icons from the early Christian period to the Fall of Constantinople (1453) in Macedonia.
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Ouzou Melathron
Just from the sight of the scroll-like menu at this very popular sidestreet ouzerie, you know you're in for something special. Occupy yourself with ouzo and mezedhes, then dig into heartier fare like lamb in sweet wine sauce.
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Art House
Go up the old stair and open the door to the party at standing-room-only Art House, full of dark curves and Vulcan tints in the arches, mottled walls and worn wood floors. Music is funk and Eurohouse, the clientele mid-twenties.
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Mount Olympus Guided Walk
8 days (Litochoro)
Ascend the legendary peaks of Mount Olympus.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,420 -
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Archaeological Museum
The Archaeological Museum has finds from the prehistoric period through to ancient Macedonian and Hellenistic times. The most famous exhibit, the Gold of Macedon, presents precious objects (6th- to 2nd-century BC) from the royal tombs and other central Macedonian excavation sites. The craftsmanship is phenomenal; delicate filigree wreaths, pins for fastening dresses, and grave masks from Sindos are among the best.
The Derveni Crater (330-320 BC), a vast, ornate Hellenistic vase of bronze and tin used initially for mixing wine and water and later as a funerary urn, has intricate relief carvings illustrating the life of Dionysus, with mythical figures, animals, vines and iv…
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Byzantine Museum
The best sight within the sublime Its Kale (Inner Citadel; h08:00-17:00, 20:00-22:00 Tue-Sun)is the Byzantine Museum , housed in two buildings near the Fetiye Cami(Victory Mosque), which include Ali Pasha's former palace. The museum features early Christian and Byzantine art, pottery, coins and silverware, and even post-Byzantine icons and manuscripts. The priceless treasures include early printed Greek books from Venice and ornate silver jewellery boxes with cloisonné enamel. Textual accompaniments give a fascinating overview of Ioannina's history from the 4th to the 17th century, and divulge other unexpected facts, like that the Rome-based jewellery empire, Bulgari, was…
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Loxias
Thessaloniki's first bookstore-ouzerie, Loxias is that great rarity, a café with culture. Educated Greeks started gravitating years ago to this whimsical steki (hangout) to discuss philosophy or literature over ouzo and snacks. Loxias is decorated with wine casks, bursting bookshelves in the basement shop, and photos of Greek writers, Montenegrin princesses and the dervishes of old Hania.
Charismatic owner Ioannis Kyprianidis has revived the old Thessaloniki tradition of the bookshop as a place for ideas - assisted by Greek firewater and good European beers, of course. Romantics can duck the commotion out on the back balcony's table for two, which overlooks Roman ruins.
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Rihardos
Who knew there were so many different kinds of bouzouki? Rihardos, one of Greece's biggest purveyors of traditional instruments, has a huge array of Greek instruments, as well as Western brand-name guitars and Chinese knock-offs that sound just as sweet for half the price. The friendly old owner, Rihardos, and his English-speaking son, Joseph, explain everything about the hundreds of unusual instruments. To get there, take Bus 31 from Egnatia east to the Faliro stop (five to 10 minutes).
Continue across the intersection with Paraskeopoulos, turn left and Rihardos is facing you.
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Myrsini
Myrsini serves up hearty portions of authentic Cretan dishes for Thessasloniki's boisterous young hedonists. The food is delicious and healthy, from rusks topped with tomato, Cretan olive oil and soft cheese (dakos) and flavourful wild greens (horta) to roast rabbit, pork and - crucially - mizithropitakia (flaky filo triangles with sweet mizithra cheese).
Décor is simple, with worn wood floors and traditional accoutrements. Violin and bouzouki music from Greece's best island plays on in the background.
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Palace of Galerius
Very close to one another, from Plateia Navarinou north across Egnatia, stand three major monuments associated with the early-4th century Roman emperor Galerius. The ruined Palace of Galerius sprawls east-west across the square. You can descend into it, or just peer over the handrail. Pieces of floor mosaic, columns and a few walls survive.
Across Egnatia is the Arch of Galerius, featuring sculpted soldiers in combat; it was erected in 303 AD to celebrate the emperor's victories over the Persians in 297.
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Church of Agia Sofia
The 8th-century Church of Agia Sofia , a not-so-small miniature of its namesake in İstanbul, occupies Plateia Agias Sofias south of Egnatia. The dome has a striking mosaic of the Ascension of Christ.
Also see the restored, 5th-century Church of the Panagia Ahiropiitos, which has an early basilica form; some mosaics and frescoes remain. The name, meaning 'made without hands', refers to the miraculous 12th-century appearance of an icon of the Virgin.
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Galerius Rotunda
Just north of the Arch of Galerius is the Galerius Rotunda. Galerius built this hulking brick structure as his future mausoleum, though he never used it, dying in retirement in what is now Serbia instead. Constantine the Great made the Rotunda Thessaloniki's first church (Agiou Giorgou); the Ottomans would transform it into a mosque (the minaret's been mostly restored). There are surviving frescoes inside the enormous building.
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1900 Café Restaurant
If you want to wow a date - or simply enjoy a really good Italian meal - this is the place to come. Genial owner Miltos Miltiadis provides a warm welcome at this restored, two-floor mansion, a living lesson in style with thick-painted crimson walls, Latin music, worn wood floors and soft light. Everything is good, from the penne and parmesan to Portobello mushrooms with mavrodafni wine sauce.
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Roman Agora
The Roman Agora lies north of Plateia Aristotelous, across Egnatia on upper Plateia Dikastirion. Commercial activity began in the 3rd century BC and peaked under the Romans, when the area was buzzing with public affairs, services and shops. A helpful, English-language board explains the layout of the remains, which include clustered shop walls and a few mosaic floor remnants.
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Molyvos
This place has a lovely refined setting and elevates Greek cuisine to fine dining; nearby Molyvos Ethnik (2310 555 952), located on the corner of Ionos Dragoumi and Papadopoulou is its freewheeling companion eatery, with a smooth interior of high ceilings and polished mirrors, imaginative almost-fusion cuisine and Latin music.
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Baccara Bar Restaurant
A sure sign that a city has arrived is when it spawns fully formed temples to conspicuous consumption. The see-and-be-seen Baccara, with its cavernous interior, fusion menu and tropical fishtank that runs the length of the entire back wall, is such a place. There's no middle ground; you'll either detest it or be impressed.
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Amvrosios
From sardines to swordfish, they have it all at this iconic fish taverna spilling out onto a flowering side lane by the waterfront. Everyone comes here, from confident cats to boisterous assortments of Greek students. Choose from the catch of the day, relax with a beer or wine and let the chefs get to work.
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Museum of the Macedonian Struggle
The story of how heroic Greek revolutionaries wrested Macedonia from the clutches of both Turks and Bulgars is graphically told at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle . Housed in the former Greek consulate to the Ottoman Empire, this museum has hard-to-find maps, old firearms, photos, uniforms and more.
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Trigones Elenidis
A veritable institution since 1960, Elenidis is a very rare thing in today's world: a shop that sells only one product. Its sweet, flaky triangular cones filled with cool and unbelievably tasty cream are legendary; locals come out with two-kilo boxes, but one large triangle will certainly fill you up.
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Stoa Louli
The Stoa Louli has been through many incarnations since being built in 1875; first it was an inn, later a trade centre for Jewish leather merchants, and even an Ottoman Bank. This tastefully lit place, fronted by grand arches, serves an alluring range of Greek favourites with a contemporary twist.
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Church of Osios David
Just down from the Monastary of Vlatadon is the little 5th-century Church of Osios David , allegedly built to commemorate the secret baptism of Galerius' daughter, Theodora, while father was away. It contains well-preserved mosaics and rare 12th-century frescoes depicting the baptism of Christ.
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