National Geographic: Thessaloniki One of World's Top 20 Places to Visit

 National Geographic Traveler magazine has named Thessaloniki in its "Top 20 Places to Visit" list for 2013. The city in Northern Greece is not on the radar for many casual travelers to Greece, but that may change. This year, it shares honors with places such as Ravenna, Italy and Marseille, France, along with Uganda and Malawi.

Thessaloniki is a beautiful city with a great Archaeological Museum and many local sites. It's a great base for exploring Northern Greece, and it has many international flights, making it an alternative gateway to Greece for many travelers. 

Thessaloniki is among the the 20 travelers destinations that someone should visit on 2013 according to the list of National Geographic. The article focuses on the city port, which calls it ”luminous” due to the fact that it is not closed by any gigantic construction like many others is southern Europe.

The magazine gave a picturesque image of the city and described its traditional markets and historic places of interest including museums and art galleries, the variety of traditional restaurants and the ”do-it-yourself” culture of the people, specially the young.

The article suggests that the best way of visiting the city is walking from the ruins of Ano Poli to the Aristotelous Square and the beach front. And that’s where the problem begins because this itinerary is for almost a year now foul with garbage.

The constant strikes of garbage crews has soiled the city’s image. A tourist who now visits the city is going to see dirty road and piles of rubbish.

Despite its favorable designation, Thessaloniki has few direct airline flights, although Turkish Airlines said it is expanding service to the city from Istanbul. Like all Greek municipalities, Thessaloniki is struggling through a crushing economic crisis.