The Gastronomic Capital

Charming Thessaloniki is filled with smells, images and colours all seasons of the year.  Its multicultural wealth and its centuries-old history makes it an unforgettable destination.

It is a welcoming place. You can see and feel it in its neighbourhoods and in the amphitheatrical feeling from above, through your strolls along the sea and in the charming people who are the city’s heart and soul. You feel it the most however, in Thessaloniki’s restaurants, ouzeries and cafes, where the title of culinary metropolis is most evident.

It is a culinary mosaic, where for centuries residents and visitors have enjoyed a harmony of flavours of high nutritional value. As the first city in the country to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, the city's cuisine is a place of brilliant culinary creation.

You just have to listen to the beat of its culinary heart beginning- from Kedrinos Lofos, Pasha Gardens, all the way to Ano Poli and Tsinari. Try authentic meze, Smyrneika Soutzoukakia, Sarmadakia with vine leaves, the famous Yalanzi Dolmadakia, as well as pies stuffed with eggplant. This is where the flavours of the East and the Sephardic Jews meet!

Head down to the Ancient Agora, the Bit Bazaar with its second-hand shops and excellent ouzeris. Wander through Aristotelous Square with its arcades, peristyles and impatient pigeons. Rest in the parks around the White Tower. Then make your way towards the sea. Cross the 5 km of its beachfront and try the famous street food of the city. Experience the city from the sea with either a coffee, a bougatsa or koulouri in hand.

Walk towards Ladadika to try local products, meat, seafood, tsipouro as well as wine from local producers. You’ll be impressed by modern alternative dining areas with chefs who not only share their joy of food and creation but who also continuously advance the city's culinary presence through original gourmet proposals.

In Thessaloniki the smells from Kapani and Modiano markets intermingle: cumin and cardamom with cinnamon, curry and oregano, spices and tea, herbs and nuts. Every part of the city offers a feast for the palate, but also for all the senses!

You simply haven't experienced culinary perfection until you’ve been to Thessaloniki, the gastronomic capital of Greece!