Thessaloniki

Lower town, Ano Poli and a day out to Vergina

Two days fit Thessaloniki, with a third for the Macedonian royal tombs at Vergina or a beach. Spend one day in the lower town at the White Tower, the Rotunda, the Arch of Galerius and the Kapani and Modiano markets, and one in the upper town among the Byzantine churches and the walls of Ano Poli.

Orientation is simple because the centre burned in 1917 and was rebuilt on a grid running parallel to the water. Nikis follows the seafront. Behind it come Tsimiski, Egnatia and Agiou Dimitriou, each a little higher up the slope. Ano Poli crowns the hill above them all.

• The lower town: lunch around the markets near Aristotelous Square, and dinner in Ladadika, the old warehouse quarter beside the port.
• The upper town: Hagios Demetrios and the smaller Byzantine churches in the morning, when they are most likely to be open. Then climb into Ano Poli, which survived the fire with its stone-paved lanes, and follow the walls until the late-afternoon light falls across the gulf.
• Out of town: the royal tombs at Vergina, about an hour away by road (KTEL to Veria, then a local bus), or a ferry from the White Tower to the sandy beaches at Peraia, roughly 40 minutes each way.

Short on time, ride bus 50. This Cultural Route leaves the White Tower every hour on the hour and loops past the main monuments in 50 minutes with an English-speaking guide. Rooms need booking well ahead for the International Fair in September and the film festival in November. Give Halkidiki and Mount Olympus their own overnight stays, since summer weekend traffic towards Halkidiki is heavy.

Hellenic Train links the city with Athens via Larissa in four to five hours while flood repairs continue, and the Proastiakos covers the Larissa run via Katerini in 1 hour 33 minutes. A hire car pays off for Halkidiki beaches.

Northern winters and breezy summers in Thessaloniki

Visit Thessaloniki from late April through June or in September and October, when highs range from about 20°C to 30°C. Summer reaches around 32°C, but a breeze off the Thermaic Gulf cools the waterfront, and winter is properly northern, with January highs of 11°C, morning frost and snow most years.

January lows are around 3°C. Morning frost is common and snow falls most years without settling for long. Students fill the cafés while the concert hall season runs, and Aristotelous Square hosts the Christmas celebrations and later the carnival.

Summer thunderstorms sometimes break the heat. Evening cruises on the floating bars leave the White Tower area through the summer.

Spring highs climb from 20°C to 30°C; autumn ones fall from 28°C to 22°C. Both events that fill hotels land in these shoulder months or just after. The Thessaloniki International Fair takes over the exhibition grounds in September. In November the International Film Festival draws a young crowd to the waterfront cinemas. If your dates overlap either, book a room early and expect higher rates. The annual Book Fair arrives in late spring, a quieter draw.

Bougatsa, ouzeri meze and freddo espresso in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki eats bougatsa for breakfast, ouzeri meze in the evening and coffee all day. Try the filo pie sweet with custard or salted, spiced soutzoukakia and mussel dishes from the gulf, small plates with ouzo or tsipouro in Ladadika, and freddo espresso, which has largely replaced the frappé invented here in 1957.

Bougatsa comes sweet with custard or in a salted version; order a coffee or a chocolate milk with it. Street carts sell koulouri (sesame bread rings) and raisin-studded stafidopsomo. In winter they roast chestnuts; in summer, corn on the cob.

Ottoman rule lasted here about a century longer than in southern Greece, and the kitchen shows it in a heavier hand with spice. Try soutzoukakia Smyrna-style, meatballs simmered in tomato with cumin. From the gulf come mussels: cooked with rice as mydopilafo, or bubbling in a hot cheese sauce as saganaki. The local way to eat is the ouzeri: small plates arrive in waves alongside ouzo or tsipouro. Order fava and octopus, plus the cabbage-and-pickle salad politiki in winter. Ladadika has the thickest cluster of them. Kapani, the oldest market in town, is the place to shop for olives and spices; the back alleys of Modiano hide the Terpsis and Omega delicatessens. Night owls finish with patsas, tripe soup.

Coffee is a social ritual. Freddo espresso is shaken over ice. In winter, warm up with salepi, a creamy hot milk drink. Look for the city's own sweets too: trigona Panoramatos and kourkoubinia. On Iktinou, students buy beer from the kiosks and drink on the benches, one of the cheapest nights out in town.