Thessaloniki, history Thessalonica – a city in the northern part of the country, on the Gulf of Thessalonica. The second largest city. Seats of the Macedonia-Thrace Decentralized Administration, the Central Macedonia Region, the Thessaloniki Regional Unit and the Thessaloniki Municipality. There are three different types of transport in this city:
Thessaloniki International Airport “Macedonia”, an international airport located 10 kilometers south of the center of Thessaloniki, in northern Greece. It is the only airport in this city and the fourth largest in Greece. It is located 7 meters above sea level. Thessaloniki airport borders the towns of: Neoi Epivates, Peraia, Neo Rysio, Tagarades. The closest urban area to the airport is Kalamaria. The airport operates 24 hours a day. There is a restaurant, a first aid point (health clinic) and a large, convenient parking lot.
The owner of the airport is the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority and it was founded in 1930.
The airport consists of two runways with dimensions of 2,440 x 50 meters and 2,410 x 60 meters. In 2019, the airport served 6,897,057 passengers and performed 50,244 operations.
Airlines operating from the airport include Aegean Airlines, Air Berlin, Air France, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Comair / Delta Connection, CSA, Cyprus Airways, easyJet, Ellinair, Germanwings, LOT, Lufthansa, Qatar, Ryanair Smartwings, Swiss International, Tarom, Thomas Cook, Thomsonfly
The Port of Thessaloniki is one of the largest seaports in the Eastern Mediterranean, codenamed GRSKG. It is considered a gateway port to the Balkans and Southeast Europe, located in Macedonia, Greece, close to major trans-European highways and railway networks with direct access to Southeast European countries.
The port is operated by the Port of Thessaloniki Authority (Athex: OLTH). The port is owned by:
South Europe Gateway Thessaloniki Ltd (67%)
Belterra Investments Ltd – 71.85%
Link SAS Terminal – 33%
HRADF (7,27%)
Other shareholders (25,73%)
The port comes in the natural/artificial type. It measures 155ha and has 466 employees. In 2021, 1,852 ships arrived at the port.
The Port of Thessaloniki is home to the second largest maritime container terminal in Greece, which provides convenient access to the Balkan and south-eastern European markets. The majority shareholder of the port is South Europe Gateway Thessaloniki.
Thessaloniki is another Greek port that is establishing cooperation with Chinese partners. In 2014, the Chinese company COSCO bought a majority stake in the Port of Piraeus. COSCO is currently planning to expand the container terminal in this port. Chinese companies are currently also modernizing the Belgrade-Budapest railway line, which will become an important route to Greek ports in the future.
Public transport in Thessaloniki is not only buses. Unlike Athens, the only form of public transport in Thessaloniki is buses. However, a densely developed public transport network allows us to get wherever we need to go.
Tourist bus number 50 To meet the needs of tourists coming to Thessaloniki for a long weekend, public transport has been expanded with bus number 50. Due to its route covering the most important attractions of the city, this vehicle allows you to see Thessaloniki in an easy and comfortable way. Therefore, please remember that bus number 50 leaves from the White Tower and ends there, making a loop around the city. Its route is: White Tower – Archaeological Museum – Galerius Palace – Agia Sophia – Aristotelous Square – City Hall – Dioikitirio – Agios Dimitrios – Koule Kafe – Taxiarchon – Keladis – Trygonia Tower – Vlatadon Monastery – Pasha Gardens – Eastern Walls – Rotunda. You should definitely take a ride on this bus, especially since a 24-hour ticket will cost only €2.
Bicycle rental Undoubtedly, a different way to get around the city is to rent a bike. City Bikes is one of the companies that allows you to rent a bike for only €10/day. This type of transport is undoubtedly the most interesting way to explore the city and the impressions after the ride will stay with us forever.
You can also get around Thessaloniki by taxi.