Category Archives: View points

Agioli – Lunch or Dinner with a view !

AgioliOne of the best places to enjoy good food in the city is Agioli Restaruant at Nikis avenue.

Very close to Aristotelous square, this restaurant is known for good quality food, reasonable prices, relaxed atmosphere and amazing city view !

There are actually 3 different food menu options to choose from. On the ground floor you can find the beer house with a big selection of Greek breweries and mostly meet food choices to accompany them. On the other side of the ground floor you will find the “ouzeri” with seafood options.

aTop floor is my personal favourite though, because nothing beats the balcony sea view from white tower to the port. The food choices here have big variety. You can choose excellent set menus or order a la carte. There are also many healthy food options, vegetarian dishes as well as organic !

After a healthy meal you can give an excuse to yourself to enjoy the delicious desserts !

Bon Apetit !

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Place De La Liberté

As we are getting ready for spring, we always search for new places to enjoy the city’s seaside view.

A new place the opened recently close to my office is Place De La Liberté, a french style bistro cafe.

LiberteIt is perfect for a short midday coffee break or after work drink. The area does not actually have many options for this type of coffee bars so this one is highly recommended.

The french style is enhanced by the croissant that comes with your coffee, unless you choose greek coffee, then in this case the classic “biscotoloukoumo” is served !

Place De La Liberté is a great suggestion to enjoy coffee or sunset drink with seaside view in an elegant environment !

It is conveniently located by the port, bank areas, and film festival venues.

Place De La Liberté

Café and Bar

Nikis av. 1 & Venizelou, Thessaloníki

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Paralia is back !

Paralia is the seaside of the city, the favourite stroll and coffee meeting place for all city locals.

Unfortunately for the last 2 years it was closed for renovation works. The wait is finally over and today it was given back to the public ! Yeah !

Paralia 1Although the weather was rather gloomy, many locals did take the first stroll on the new pavements ! The municipality also gave Nikis Avenue to the public following the “one Sunday every month” rule, where the street will be closed for cars during daytime !

I personally could not get enough of it ! I walked, biked and walked again in the evening although it started raining. Major updates include the bright red lights and the location change of the Umbrellas’ installation. The parks are not quite finished yet so more on this around Spring time.

Paralia 2The view of the city is amazing and biking from one end to the other – Megaro to Port – is about 30 minutes, making it the fastest and most relaxing transport method during rush hour.

From now on and as the weather gets better, leading to summer, we will have the seaside stroll back in our everyday life, walking, biking, and relaxing.

More photos and updates as the weather gets better !

Boat Bars

Boat barDo you know that Thessaloniki has not one, not two, but three boat bars ?

There are three boats, that you will find sitting in front of the white tower where you can enjoy your drink while getting a mini cruise on the gulf of Thermaikos !

You get the chance to view the city from a totally different prospective, by the sea, and you might also get the chance to see some huge container ships up close !

Some people find the boat bars touristic and many locals wouldn’t be seen dead in there, but I actually like them a lot, and thankfully have some friends who like them too, so we regularly go there for a drink, even during the winter time if the weather is not very cold.

boatbarEach bar has a different music style so if you are particular about the soundtrack of your mini cruise choose the one you like best: rock, reggae or mainstream.  If you don’t care so much about the music, but want to enjoy the ride just hop on to the first available one to leave next.  There are tables with the times of departure just in front of the boats and also people there who will tell you which one leaves next.

My favourite time to go there is in the evening but it is also great during sunset or on a sunny winter sunday morning !

Entrance is free, and you only pay for your drink.

P.S. If you are lucky enough to get caught by rain during the cruise there is no way to escape it – you just get wet !

Ano Poli

City View from Seih Sou

City View from Seih Sou

Ano Poli which actually means Upper Town is in fact the old part of the city.   It is the district north of Thessaloniki’s city center that was not ruined by the great fire of 1917 and was declared a UNESCO heritage site during the 1980s. It is Thessaloniki’s most traditional part of the city, still featuring small stone paved streets, old squares and homes featuring old Greek and Ottoman architecture.

Ano Poli also, is the highest point in Thessaloniki and as such, is the location of the city’s acropolis, its Byzantine fort, the Heptapyrgion and the city’s remaining walls, with many of its additional Ottoman and Byzantine structures still standing.  There are many things to see and do here so I recomend to spend a whole day.  Start early with the bus or on foot to explore the small streets, old churches, and great views of the city.

The area provides access to the Seih Sou Forest National Park and City Zoo.  It features amphitheatric views of the whole city and the Thermaic Gulf. On clear days Mount Olympus, at about 100 km away across the gulf, can also be seen on the horizon, as you can see on the photo.  If you are here in the summer and there is a concert or theatre performance on Theatro Dasous which is close by, don’t miss it !

Buses  to choose :

# 50 is the cultural route with live guide on board !

# 22 is the small bus that goes inside all the little steers

# 24 takes you up to Seih Sou forest, the City Zoo and Theatro Dasous

Omilos

Omilos

Omilos

This is an all day coffee bar restaurant at one of the best locations in town.  It offers spectacular view in a relaxing atmosphere.

It is one of my favourite places all year long so anything I write is really too little for it.  I’ll let the picture speak for itself and move on to some practical info.

At the moment it has some access problems because of the works taking place at the beachfront.  Hopefully they will be over soon and Omilos will be accessible again by foot and bike.

The best time to go is … anytime, but it’s more crowded during the weekends.

Omilos
Bar, Café, and Restaurant
M. Alexandrou 12,

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Kitchen Bar

View from Kitchen Bar

View from Kitchen Bar

This is one of my favourite all day spots. Ideal for any time of the day and any season. It is loved by locals and visitors equally !

When we have a new person visiting the city this is one of the first places to take them, since it combines great city view, is located in the city centre and has a big variety of dishes so it is ideal for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  You can also go only for coffee or drink. Although you are in the heart of the city, you are also far from the street noise which is ideal.

It is housed in one of the old warehouses of the port so the building itself is very old.   It overlooks the city beachfront, White Tower and all the east side of the city.  It is also the favourite meeting point during the film festivals so if you are visiting during that period, although it is super huge, you might have a problem finding a place to sit !  During christmas the ceiling gets filled with red lights creating a super christmas atmosphere!

My personal favourite dish is the toscani salad, green salad served in a parmesan crust basket !

Kitchen Bar
Bar, Café, and Restaurant
Warehouse B, Port Pier

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White Tower

SONY DSCA visit to Thessaloniki is not complete without a visit to the White Tower, the landmark of the city, and a popular meeting point for locals and not.

The White Tower of Thessaloniki, in greek Lefkos Pyrgos, is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city. The present tower replaced an old Byzantine fortification which was mentioned around the 12th century and reconstructed by the Ottomans to fortify the city’s harbour; it became a notorious prison and scene of mass executions during the period of Ottoman rule. It was substantially remodelled and its exterior was whitewashed after Greece gained control of the city in 1912. It has been adopted as the symbol of the city.

The Tower was for centuries part of the walls of the old city of Thessaloniki, and separated the Jewish quarter of the city from the cemeteries of the Muslims and Jews.  The city walls were demolished in 1866. When Thessaloniki was annexed from the Ottoman Empire to the Hellenic State in 1912 during the First Balkan War, the tower was whitewashed as a symbolic gesture of cleansing, and acquired its present name.

The Tower is now a buff colour but has retained the name White Tower. It now stands on Thessaloniki’s waterfront boulevard, Nikis (Victory) Street. It houses a museum dedicated to the history of Thessaloniki and is one of the city’s leading tourist attractions. The Tower is under the administration of the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture.

Check out museum opening times If you want to visit the tower inside and as a bonus you will get the chance to enjoy the wonderful 360 view of the city !