Teleporio™ — Greek Island Travel Intelligence

Northern Greece Travel Outlook — Today

Today's Northern Greece travel conditions. Beaufort forecast and the best experiences in Thessaloniki, Halkidiki and the north today.

Northern Greece — Thessaloniki, Halkidiki, and the North

Northern Greece is the most undervisited part of the country and arguably the most rewarding for travellers who go beyond the package-holiday circuits. Thessaloniki, Greece's second city, has the finest Byzantine churches in the country, a food culture that most Greeks consider superior to Athens, and a waterfront promenade that is genuinely one of the great urban walks of the Mediterranean. Halkidiki, the three-pronged peninsula an hour from Thessaloniki, offers some of the best beaches on the Greek mainland. The conditions in northern Greece are generally cooler and more variable than the Aegean islands in summer.

Thessaloniki — Greece's Best Food City

Thessaloniki has a legitimate claim to being the best place to eat in Greece. The city's food culture reflects its layered history — Byzantine, Ottoman, Sephardic Jewish, Greek — in a way that produces a culinary tradition of unusual depth and variety. The Modiano and Kapani markets in the city centre, the Ladadika district near the port, and the tavernas of the upper city near the Byzantine walls are the starting points. The White Tower, the symbol of the city, sits on the waterfront; the Byzantine churches of Agios Demetrios and Agia Sofia are UNESCO World Heritage sites. The city is less affected by Meltemi conditions than the islands but can be very hot in July and August.

Halkidiki — Three Peninsulas

Halkidiki projects three fingers into the northern Aegean. The first (Kassandra) and second (Sithonia) peninsulas have some of the best beaches on the mainland — particularly Sithonia, which is less developed and has bays of exceptional clarity. The third finger (Athos) is occupied entirely by the monastic community of Mount Athos, one of the most significant Orthodox Christian sites in the world — access for women is permanently prohibited; male visitors require a special permit (diamonitirion) obtained months in advance. The Halkidiki coast faces east and is generally sheltered from the northwest Meltemi, making beach conditions reliably good on most summer days.

Vergina and the Archaeological North

Vergina, an hour from Thessaloniki, is the site of ancient Aigai — the first capital of the Macedonian kingdom and the burial place of Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. The Royal Tombs, discovered intact in 1977, are now enclosed in a museum built directly into the burial mound: the tombs, their contents, and the golden larnax (casket) containing the bones of Philip II are displayed in the conditions in which they were found. It is one of the most affecting museum experiences in Greece — and almost entirely off the main tourist circuit.