Must-see attractions in Macedonia

  • 07.13.2022 Thessaloniki, Greece. Beautifully preserved artwork statue of a muscular short-haired man with a naked torso covering with cape. High quality photo; Shutterstock ID 2194941033; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi
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    Archaeological Museum

    Thessaloniki

    Macedonia's prehistory, Hellenistic and Roman periods are charted in this wonderful museum, home to many of the region's major archaeological discoveries…

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    Vergina Royal Tombs Museum

    Macedonia

    A grass-covered tumulus (burial mound) has been converted into a truly spine-tingling museum where visitors can descend to unspoiled royal Macedonian…

  • Beautiful sunset over Mount Olympus in Greece. This is the small road to Enipea source of the river Zeus Bath near the village of Litochoro; Shutterstock ID 1789244651; your: Erin Lenczycki; gl: 65050 ; netsuite: Digital; full: Digital
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    Mt Olympus

    Macedonia

    The cloud-covered lair of the Ancient Greek pantheon, awe-inspiring Mt Olympus is simply spectacular. It fires visitors' imaginations today, just as it…

  • Ruins of the Antique city of Philippi, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece; Shutterstock ID 2189838665; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi
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    Philippi Archaeological Site

    Macedonia

    Founded in 356 BC by the energetic Macedonian dynast Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, this evocatively sited ancient city is on Unesco's World…

  • THESSALONIKI, GREECE - DECEMBER 29: Interior of the Basilica of Hagios Demetrios on December 29, 2015 in Thessaloniki, Greece. Saint Demetrios is the patron saint of Thessaloniki city.; Shutterstock ID 753257872; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi
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    Church of Agios Dimitrios

    Thessaloniki

    This enormous 7th-century basilica honours Thessaloniki’s patron saint. A Roman soldier, Dimitrios was killed around AD 306 at this former Roman bath site…

  • Museum of Byzantine Culture

    Thessaloniki

    This fascinating museum has plenty of treasures to please Byzantine buffs, plus simple explanations to introduce this long-lived empire and its culture to…

  • Church of Osios David

    Thessaloniki

    This serene little 5th-century church, once the katholikon (major church) of the Monastery of Saviour Christ of Latomos, is one of the most significant…

  • Castle of Platamonas, Macedonia, Greece.

    Castle of Platamonas

    Macedonia

    Looming from an imposing coastal bluff near Platamonas village, 20km south of Plaka Litohorou, this well-preserved stronghold assumed much of its present…

  • Ruins of Episcopal Basilica at the Archaeological Park of Dion.

    Ancient Dion

    Macedonia

    Dating to the 5th century BC, Dion was sacred to ancient Macedonians worshipping the Olympian gods, especially Zeus, thought to reside on the awesome…

  • Greece, Thessaloniki, The White Tower

    White Tower

    Thessaloniki

    Thessaloniki's iconic landmark, the 34m-high White Tower has a harrowing history as a prison and place of execution. Built by the Ottomans in the 15th…

  • View of the Umbrellas sculpture created in 1997 by the sculptor Georgios Zongolopoulos, located at the seafront of Thessaloniki.

    New Waterfront

    Thessaloniki

    Thessaloniki's New Waterfront is evidence that architecture can improve urban life through intelligent redesign of the space in which it is lived…

  • The monastery of Vlatadon in Thessaloniki.

    Monastery of Vlatadon

    Thessaloniki

    Believed to have been founded around 1351 on the place where Paul preached in Thessaloniki, this secluded monastery blends fascinating history with some…

  • Concert hall of Thessaloniki designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.

    Thessaloniki Concert Hall

    Thessaloniki

    Japanese architect Arata Isozaki created the M2, one of two waterfront buildings that house Thessaloniki's high-brow music scene. It's a strikingly…

  • Greece, Thessaloniki,  triumphal arch of Galerius

    Palace of Galerius

    Thessaloniki

    Sprawling in splendid incongruity amidst the souvenir shops and crêperies of Plateia Navarinou, the ruins of this 3rd- to 4th-century palace remain…

  • Simonos Petras Monastery, Mount Athos, Greece.

    Moni Simonos Petras

    Macedonia

    Spectacular Moni Simonos Petras rears seven stone-and-wood-fronted storeys above the west coast of Athos. Shorn of frescoes, icons and precious books by…

  • Archaeological Museum of Amphipolis

    Macedonia

    This well-curated museum shows artefacts from the Athenian colony of Amphipolis (later a Macedonian and Roman city) and its surrounding area, from 5000 BC…

  • Petralona Cave

    Macedonia

    Some 50km southeast of Thessaloniki on the main road is the stalagmite-rich Petralona Cave. Discovered by Petralona village locals in 1959, it became…

  • Roman Forum

    Thessaloniki

    As immaculately laid out as you'd expect of the Romans, this rectangular site was the centre of public and commercial Thessaloniki from the 1st to the 4th…

  • Villa Bianca

    Thessaloniki

    One of Thessaloniki's most famous mansions, built in 1912 by Pierro Arrigoni for Sephardic entrepreneur Dino Fernandez Siaz, the White House features art…

  • Church of Agia Sofia

    Thessaloniki

    Candlelight on gold chandeliers pierces the gloom in this stunning 8th-century church, modelled on its İstanbul namesake. Among many striking 8th- and 9th…

  • Arch of Galerius

    Thessaloniki

    South of the Rotunda on Egnatia, the Arch of Galerius (AD 303) celebrates the eponymous emperor's victory over the Persians in martial scenes carved into…

  • Archaeological Museum of Pella

    Macedonia

    Overlooking the northern end of the ancient city, Pella has been provided with a modern, meticulously curated museum that befits the site's importance and…

  • Barbouta

    Macedonia

    Walk from Plateia Antoniou down Vasileos Konstantinou to find Veria's atmospheric former Jewish quarter. The synagogue (with the bright blue-and-yellow…

  • Rotunda of Galerius

    Thessaloniki

    In AD 306 Roman emperor Galerius built this harmonious 30m-high dome, comparable to Rome's Pantheon and possibly intended as his mausoleum. Marking the…

  • Archaeological Site of Pella

    Macedonia

    Pella rose to fame when dynastic King Archelaos (413–399 BC) made it Macedon's capital. While not much rises above carefully excavated footings and low…

  • Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki

    Thessaloniki

    This touching museum is housed in one of the few Jewish buildings to survive the great fire of 1917, the former office of Jewish newspaper L'Independent…

  • Plateia Aristotelous

    Thessaloniki

    Built after the great fire of 1917, this is where Thessaloniki looked away from its Ottoman and Byzantine past towards modernity, aspiring to the planned…

  • Eptapyrgion

    Thessaloniki

    A former Byzantine fortress repurposed as a prison by the Ottomans and only decommissioned in 1989, the Eptapyrgion (‘Seven Towers’) is a grim reminder of…

  • Agios Germanos Watermill

    Macedonia

    Built in 1930 to take advantage of the Agios Germanos River, this handsome old stone mill has been restored to working order by the dedicated folk of the…

  • Arcturos Bear Sanctuary

    Macedonia

    Twenty minutes' drive up the eastern flank of the mountains separating Kastoria and Florina is this sanctuary for the brown bears native to the Pindos…

  • Museum of Water & Water Power

    Macedonia

    The abundance of streams in Edessa led sensibly to an abundance of mills and other machinery to exploit this renewable power. Scattered around this open…

  • Archaeological Museum of Dion

    Macedonia

    This three-floor museum in Dion village is packed with votive statues from the sanctuaries at Ancient Dion, plus grave monuments and a large collection of…

  • Old Metropolis

    Macedonia

    One of the largest Byzantine buildings in the Balkans, this basilica has a chequered past. Dedicated to St Paul in the 11th century, it was remade as a…

  • Church of the Panagia Achiropiitos

    Thessaloniki

    This basilica-style 5th-century Byzantine church, built over Roman baths and one of the oldest in Greece, has notable mosaics and frescoes. The name,…

  • Kastra

    Thessaloniki

    The kastra (castle) encloses Byzantine churches and timber-framed houses with overhanging upper storeys. Enjoy panoramic views from the tower by the…

  • Panagia Quarter

    Macedonia

    Named for the Panagia church, this historic peninsula's narrow, tangled streets are lined by pretty pastel houses. A calf-stiffening walk leads up to the…

  • Archaeological Museum

    Macedonia

    Browse an impressive haul of Neolithic artefacts from the settlement of Nea Nicomedia, treasures from the Vergina tombs and other Classical, Hellenistic…

  • Mohamed Ali House

    Macedonia

    Dating to around 1770, this superb example of late-Ottoman architecture was birthplace and home to Pasha Mohamed (or Mehmet) Ali, wali of Egypt and an…

  • Noesis

    Thessaloniki

    Although 6km east of town, this fascinating museum of science and technology, old and new, is worth visiting. There's a planetarium, a giant-screen cinema…

  • Church of the Taxiarchis of the Metropolis

    Macedonia

    Dedicated to the Archangel Michael and built in the 9th century over earlier Christian ruins, this precious (but irregularly open) Byzantine church boasts…

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