Greece: Travel Guide: Macedonia: Thessaloniki

Greece: Macedonia: Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki or Salonica (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη) is Greece's second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia. According to official data, the Thessaloniki Urban Area extends around the Thermaic Gulf for approximately 17 km and comprises 16 municipalities. According to the 2001 census, the municipality of Thessaloniki had a population of 363,987. The Thessaloniki prefecture has a population of 1,057,825 (including rural area).

Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre. It is a major transportation hub for rest of southeastern Europe. Its commercial port is of a great importance for Greece and its southeast European hinterland. The Prime Minister gives his annual governmental speech outlining plans for the year to come from Thessaloniki.

Thessaloniki retains several Ottoman, and Jewish structures, as well as a large number of Byzantine architectural monuments. The city hosts an annual International Trade Fair, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora.