Late antiquity, the rise of Christianity and the early Byzantine empire are periods of history I have grown fond of. When you come from a site like the Pantheon in Rome or Diocletian’s palace in Split and go to a church like San Vitale in Ravenna, you actually see the epic change that took place in late antiquity. Thessaloniki is part of the transition and you will find plenty of sites from the late Roman (300 CE) period as well as early Byzantine period.

Thessaloniki functioned as my hub during my exploration of the Northern Greek WHS. So most of the site seeing was done at late hours and I did not manage to see all I had set out to visit. But possibly due to the upcoming Easter holiday, church services were held mostly in the evenings allowing me to sneak into most. Of the churches I found St Demetrios the most impressive. Also the tiny chapels gave a good impression of early Christianity.

Comparatively, though, Thessaloniki is a bit underwhelming. To me Ravenna offers the better early Byzantine churches. I also found the paleo Christian sites in Italy more appealing (e.g. St Ambrosius in Milan, not a WHS). And the ruins scattered across the city are similar to a site like Merida in Spain. I did wonder why the Roman forum and the palace of Galerius are not included.

Generally, I approve of the reduced scope of the inscription. Sure, Thessaloniki has a nice coast line, but the city itself isn’t nice, featuring primarily Mediterranean concrete appartment blocks. It’s really only about the sites themselves.

Hotspot

Thessaloniki has it’s own hotspot. Aigai, Philippi and the city itself are easy. Meteora is straightforward, too, but it’s a long, possibly very early, but certainly very rewarding day trip. Mount Athos meanwhile could be difficult to do in a day by public transport. And it doesn’t really make sense anyhow if you can get a permit. Finally, Pirin seems impossible, taking into account that you need to cross the border. Twice. And getting into the park isn’t all that straightforward.

The train station is within walking distance of the city center, albeit due to the ongoing construction work for the new metro it’s a bit more complicated. The main bus station for all destinations other than Ouranoupoulis is in the North and well connected via bus line #8. For Ouranoupolis you have to go to the Southern terminal, the easiest option being a cab.

Hotels

For some strange reason the hotels are regularly fully booked over weekends. I normally book really late and rarely had any issues with this approach. In Thessaloniki it cost me dearly. In the end I was just happy to find a room. My recommendation would be to skip Thessaloniki over the weekend or to reserve well in advance.