Thessaloniki

Currency budget Greece

Euro, and cards work everywhere in the cities. Cash still matters at the village kafeneion, the roadside stall and the small museums, and a lot of the countryside rounds to the nearest note anyway.

ATMs & cards

Piraeus, Alpha, Eurobank and the National Bank machines are the ones to use; the Euronet machines in the tourist streets charge and push the conversion. Decline it. Draw in the town before heading into the mountains.

Decline the conversion. Draw in the town before heading into the mountains or the villages.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of Greece

Comfortable, and a real city rather than a resort: pickpockets in the markets and on the busy buses, the area around the old railway station is unlovely at night, and demonstrations happen around the university and are best walked away from. The waterfront is busy until very late and feels it.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa Greece visa rules

Health & emergencies all of Greece

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

The best eating in Greece by common consent: bougatsa for breakfast, gyros at any hour, mezedopoleia in Ladadika and Valaoritou, and the Jewish and Anatolian layers that other Greek cities lost. Cheap, and late.

Nightlife

A student city that starts at midnight: bars in Valaoritou’s converted warehouses, tavernas with music in Ladadika, and the waterfront full until three.

• Valaoritou — the bars, in old workshops
• Ladadika — mezedopoleia with live music

Closing: Bars 03:00, clubs later.

Getting around

• Walking — the waterfront and the old town are a walk apart, uphill
• Metro — one line, new, and it runs past most of the Roman ruins it delayed itself for
• Bus — everywhere, and the 50 does the sights
• Taxi — cheap and everywhere; the apps run too
• Airport: Thessaloniki (SKG), 30 minutes by the 01X bus

Internet speedall of Greece

Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Greece, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.

Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Greek

• HelloΓεια σας — Yia sasyah sas
• PleaseΠαρακαλώ — Parakalópa-ra-ka-LO
• Thank youΕυχαριστώ — Efharistóef-ha-ri-STO
• Yes / NoΝαι / Όχι — Ne / Óhineh / O-hee

The trap: "ne" means yes, not no. No is "óhi".

Religion

Greek Orthodox

Orthodoxy is written into the constitution and is closely tied to national identity. Do not enter a church in shorts, and do not photograph during a service.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Accept offered food or drink — refusing outright reads as a rejection of the host
• Share plates; ordering individually is not how a Greek table works
• Learn efharistó, it goes a long way
• Put toilet paper in the bin, not the bowl — the plumbing genuinely cannot take it

Don't

• Do not show an open palm towards someone — the moutza is a serious insult
• Do not nod up for yes; a single upward head tilt means no
• Do not rush a meal or ask for the bill early; the table is yours for the evening
• Do not photograph inside monasteries without checking, and dress modestly at them