Why go
- Second-largest city in Greece.
- Served by Thessaloniki Airport (SKG).
History
Thessaloniki is the capital and largest city of the administrative region of Central Macedonia, and the second-largest city in Greece. It is the largest city of Northern Greece, with over 300,000 in the city proper and slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, the capital of the geographic region of Macedonia, and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. It is also known in Greek as i Symprotévousa, literally "the co-capital", a reference to its historical status as the "co-reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire alongside Constantinople.
Airports
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 25 airlines, 54 direct destinations
- Aegean Airlines A3 (A320, A321, 736, Dash 8-400) · 17 routes: Athens, Chania, Copenhagen*, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Heraklion, Larnaca, Moscow, Munich, Mytilini, Nuernberg, Paris, Rhodos, St. Petersburg, Stockholm*, Stuttgart
- Ryanair FR (737-800) · 16 routes: Athens, Bergamo, Bremen, Chania, Charleroi, Gerona, Hahn, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, London, Paphos, Pisa, Rome, Rygge, Stockholm, Warsaw, Weeze
- Air Berlin AB (737-800, A319, A320, A321, Embraer 190) · 7 routes: Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Nuernberg, Stuttgart, Vienna
- easyJet U2 (A319, A320) · 5 routes: Berlin, London, Manchester, Mulhouse, Rome
- Germanwings 4U (A319, A320) · 5 routes: Cologne, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Stuttgart
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (A321, A320) · 5 routes: Athens*, Duesseldorf*, Frankfurt*, Munich*, Stuttgart*
- Olympic Airlines OA (A320, A321, Dash 8-400) · 5 routes: Athens*, Chania*, Heraklion, Mytilini, Rhodos*
- All America A2 (143) · 4 routes: Chios, Kalamata, Kerkyra/corfu, Samos
- Air Nippon EL (AR8) · 3 routes: Donetsk, Moscow, Rostov
- Big Sky Airlines GQ (J41) · 2 routes: Limnos, Skiros
- S7 Airlines S7 (A320) · 2 routes: Moscow, St. Petersburg
- Scandinavian Airlines System SK (A320, 736) · 2 routes: Copenhagen, Stockholm
- US Airways US (A320) · 2 routes: Athens*, Munich*
- Aeroflot Russian Airlines SU (A321) · 1 route: Moscow
- Air Serbia JU (A319) · 1 route: Belgrade
- Alitalia AZ (Embraer 175, Embraer 190) · 1 route: Rome
- Austrian Airlines OS (Fokker 100, A320) · 1 route: Vienna*
- British Airways BA (734) · 1 route: London
- Cyprus Airways CY (A320) · 1 route: Larnaca
- Niki HG (Embraer 190) · 1 route: Vienna
- Tarom RO (ATR 42) · 1 route: Bucharest
- Transavia Holland HV (737-800) · 1 route: Amsterdam
- Turkish Airlines TK (737-800) · 1 route: Istanbul
- Ural Airlines U6 (A320) · 1 route: Athens
- Wizz Air W6 (A320) · 1 route: Budapest
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Getting there by ferry
Where things are
Photographs
credit: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · See source page
When to go
The warmer, longer-day half of the year is the safest bet for a first visit.
Cooler and quieter, with fewer visitors and better value.
Short days and the coldest weather — check local conditions before travelling.
Getting there & around
Getting there. The nearest airport on record is Thessaloniki Airport (SKG); 5 other airports serve the wider area. Check rail and road links from the tourism sources below. By air: SKG has direct flights to 54 destinations on 25 airlines (incl. Athens, Duesseldorf, Munich, Stuttgart, Chania…). By water: 4 ferry terminals within 20 km (nearest: Thessaloniki, 0.5 km); routes include Thessaloniki - Peraia - Neoi Epivates, Thessaloniki - Skiathos, Thessaloniki - Lemnos.
Getting around. Use the map above to orient yourself; nearby hotels, attractions and places to eat are listed from the live Ultimate data for Thessaloniki, Greece. Local transit details will be added as the guide is expanded.
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.