Thessaloniki_EN

96
BUYS IN THESSALONIKI
Since Thessaloniki’s
founding days and on account
of its location, the town was
always seen as a stopover
place on the route used for
East to West trading and vice
versa. Today, the Thessaloniki
town centre is the ideal
destination for those who
wish to add shopping to
their travelling experience.
The traditional roofed and
open-air marketplaces are
well known (see p. 21). You
will find foodstuffs, spices,
clothes, furniture and small
objects in reasonable prices.
Make a note of visiting Bit-
Pazar (see p. 36) the place
where second-hand and
antique dealers’ shops are
to be found.
The city’s modern
commercial centre (see p. 27)
is in the area encompassed by
Aristotelous Street (see p. 15),
the White Tower (see p. 24)
and Tsimiski Street. You will
find stylish clothing boutiques,
department stores as well
as decoration and fur shops.
BUYS
IN THESSALONIKI
Visit also the Hirsch Building
Mall (see p 20) and Plateia
[Square] Mall (see p. 20).
Other interesting shopping
areas, for lower budgets,
include Venizelou St. (see p.
20), Egnatia St. (see p. 34)
and Agiou Dimitriou St.
(see p. 39).
Two particularly popular
shopping centres are:
a) the Mediterranean
Cosmos Mall (Pylaia area)
where visitors will find
over 200 shops as well
as cafés, restaurants, a
multiplex, a bowling room,
a playground area, a 400-
seat amphitheatre and the
representation of a traditional
greek village.
b) The Apollonia Politeia
Mall, by the A.S. IKEA bus
station.
Modern shopping areas
with a large variety of
products are to be found
in Kalamaria and in most
of the city suburbs.
Thessaloniki is well known
for the intense nightlife and
the diverse options offered
to visitors. Some say that
this is the greek ‘capital’ of
entertainment as many trends
and new fashions spread
out from this town in the
last decades and were later
adopted across the country.
Ranking high in the list of
options are the numerous bars
(most of them with an avantgarde
design), tavernas, ouzo
restaurants (called ouzeri),
modern cuisine restaurants,
clubs with live greek music,
particularly those playing
rebetiko - a typical genre of
greek popular music which
grew to new heights in this
town – seaside bars and music
stages.
In the city centre, Ladadika
(see p. 18) has been a
favourite nightlife area
since the early 1990s; the
neighbouring Kalapothaki
Street (see p. 17), the cafés
and bars by the old beachfront
(see p. 16) and the modern
restaurants and bars housed
in the historic city arcades all
add to the picture. Worthy of
notice are also the tavernas in
NIGHTLIFE
the traditional town market
places (see p. 21), the bars and
the cosy, elegant restaurants
lining the bustling city streets
(see p. 27), as well as the area
between Zefxidos and Iktinou
Streets (see p. 28). The
numerous students living in
town prefer to hang out in the
area about Navarinou square
(see p. 28), Rotonta [Rotunda]
(see p. 37) and Angelaki
Street (see p. 32) as well as
in Bit-Pazar area and the
streets around it (see p. 36).
Tavernas, ouzo-restaurants,
and small café-bars, located in
Ano Poli (see p. 42), are some
of the alternative places where
Thessalonians love to hang
out. In recent years, the area
around Valaoritou Street (see
p. 23) has become a nightlife
hotspot; in the evening -
particularly during the summer
months – people swarm the
area, the restaurants, and
music venues!
West of the harbour
(Slaughterhouse area, see
p. 60), there are huge venues
for live Greek music (also
known as bouzoukia) and the
biggest clubs in town, as well
as multi-purpose cultural
NIGHTLIFE
97
115 116 117
115.
Plateia Mall in
Tsimiski Street.
116.
You will find an
open air flower
marketplace
called
Louloudadika
in the vicinity of
Pazar (Yahoudi)
Hamami.
117.
Most arcades
in the city
house quite
a few popular
restaurants
and bars.