Things to do in  Macedonia

Looming over the waterfront, Thessaloniki’s 15th-century White Tower (Lefkós Pýrgos) is one of the city’s most famous attractions and the star of sightseeing tours. This imposing tower was originally built by the Ottomans as part of the city’s fortifications and was later used by Turkish invaders for public executions.

Thessaloniki's Aristotelous Square was designed by French architect Ernest Hébrard in 1918 after the devastating fire of 1917 destroyed much of the city center. One of Greece's largest and most impressive squares, it offers a view of Thermaikos Gulf and up the grand boulevard of Aristotelous to the gardens of Platia Dikastirion.

The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki looks unremarkable from the outside, but inside, it is a very different story. Exhibition rooms lined with ancient sculptures and busy with artifacts from across Macedonia make this one of the city’s best museums for learning about the prehistoric and ancient history of this region of Greece.

A Byzantine architectural gem and one of Thessaloniki’s main attractions, the UNESCO-listed Church and Crypt of Ayios Dimitrios is a highlight of city sightseeing tours. Built in the fourth century, the basilica was transformed into a mosque during Ottoman rule, but a few original features remain, including mosaics and frescoes and a subterranean crypt.

Tucked away in the inner city streets of Thessaloniki, the Bezesteni Market is one of the city’s finest Ottoman landmarks. This covered market with its domed roof has stood here since the 15th century, and while it’s a little quieter than it probably was centuries ago, it’s still home to shops selling fabrics, flowers, and jewelry, waiting for tourists keen on window shopping.

A small beachside village, Karydi (Karidi) is one of the many summer getaways that grace the coast of Greece’s Halkidiki region. Shallow, sheltered coves line Karydi’s shore, offering soft sand beaches and picturesque rocky shores. Swimming, sunbathing, and snorkeling are the main activities for visitors, making the area especially popular among families after a beach getaway.

Stalactites, stalagmites, and underground lakes fill the caverns of the Dragon’s Cave (Spileo Drakou), located outside the small Greek city of Kastoria. Sitting on a peninsula within Lake Orestiada, the cave is hidden behind steep cliffs of rock, with nothing but a humble gate indicating that there’s more to see here than you might otherwise suspect.

Thessaloniki’s contemporary Museum of Byzantine Culture is home to a treasure trove of Byzantine art and artifacts dating from between the fifth and 13th centuries, when the city was under Byzantine rule. Explore its halls stuffed with thousands of mosaic fragments, icons, inscribed stone tablets, and tomb paintings.