Has anyone of you been to Thessaloniki city in Greece?

Well, in one of our concert tours we hit Thessaloniki and the day is well fixed in my memory as a fellow had a stroke and died during the last piece. The concert hall on the seashore was impressive. The city was in a state of chaos - due to metro construction works, if memory serves. We had not much time for attractions, but we had lunch in a simple restaurant that proved to be a funny place.

1999, I was in Kosovo with the 1st ID as part of the first peacekeeping rotation. When we left we had to drive our vehicles to the port at Thessaloniki to get them loaded on a ship. Now, most Greeks were against the NATO war in Kosovo and there were constant protests at the port so they planned our trip so that we would arrive in the middle of the night to avoid any trouble with the locals. The problem was, the night we rolled in was a Saturday night so when we came rolling through the streets in the wee hours, the discos were just closing and the streets were crowded with drunk, angry young Greeks all dressed in black who did not take kindly to a convoy of HUMVEEs driving through their city so they picked up bottles, rocks, bricks, whatever they could find and pelted us with them as we drove through. It was an ugly scene but thankfully nobody was hurt.

That was my experience in Thessaloniki. I trust others' were better :)

Yes, we stayed there for 3 nights this past summer and it was one of the surprising (for us) highlights of our 12 days in Greece. We flew into Thessaloniki at the beginning of our vacation and used that city as our get over jet lag destination. It was perfect. The town center is very walkable. Walking the sea front promenade is fun. Riding a bike along it would have been even more fun. A visit to the White Tower is a must. Our hotel recommended that we take the "tourist" bus to the top of the town and then, rather than making the loop back to the White Tower, get off and see the city wall and the charming area at the top of the town with tiny winding streets and sweeping views back down over the Thessaloniki to the sea. We walked back to our hotel, visiting one ruin or church after the other. The city has a very different feel from Athens - which is also great -- but is not as overrun with tourists. If you go, I highly recommend the Bristol Hotel. It's a five star boutique hotel with a wonderful staff, the best hotel breakfast that we've ever had, and very affordable prices for what you get. (They also have bikes that they loan out to guests at no extra charge.) The hotel is centrally located, but in a neighborhood with lots of cafes and small shops. We also loved the outdoor tables of the rooftop restaurant of the Electra Palace Hotel. We perched up there both afternoons after sightseeing and loved the drinks and views and comfortable, laid-back ambiance. The city also has a very fine archeological museum which is worth a visit.

I visited Thessaloniki 3 or 4 years ago and especially liked the excellent archeology museum. I spent less time in the Byzantine churches, having already seen many in Bulgaria. Since I've traveled a few times in Turkey, I also visited the (mildly interesting)Ataturk birthplace/Turkish Consulate (not well signed, so follow Google Maps or Lonely Planet advice). The city was dusty with metro construction at that time, but for museum enthusiasts, there is more to see.