From the ancient Greek Symposium to the meetings and events of present day, people convene to exchange ideas and goods, and they transform the world as they do so.

At the crossroads of East and West, the city of Thessaloniki has been witnessing these transformations for millennia as a proud host of great people and historic events. Today, the capital of the region of Central Macedonia and the second largest Greek city, Thessaloniki, is a significant business hub for Southeast Europe and a remarkable place to visit.

The city of Thessaloniki is a vibrant modern metropolis. Built on the waters of the North Aegen sea, the city and its 1 million inhabitants are renowned for their hospitality and easy going lifestyle.

It takes a walk on the "paralia" -the longest urban waterfront in Europe- to relax and feel the charm of this unique Greek city.

It takes a few hours in the city centre to turn a stroll into time travel: from Alexander the Great and Aristotle the philosopher, to the inventive Romans or the pious Byzantines through to the lofty Ottomans and the cosmopolitan contemporaty Greeks. It takes less than a two hour drive to the divine Mt Olympos for a climb or to the emerald waters of Halkidiki for a swim; add an hour or two to your day trip and visit Vergina, Pella and Dion to admire the grandeur of the Kingdom of the Macedons.

Thessaloniki is the second biggest city in Greece and a regional business hub and shopping centre with an active commercial port, a significant local industrial activity, and the largest academic and research community in the country. The city hosts the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, the European Centre of Vocational Training, the Alexandria Innovation Zone and several other major institutions. It has rightfully been a European Cultural and Youth Capital: besides the excellent museums and historic buildings, the city is a big stage for creative young people who enjoy all aspects of life. Gastronomy is just one of them. Music, dance and dazzling nightlife is another.

The city is easy to explore. You can go anywhere in about 30 minutes. A modern International airport is just 15 km to the east, a railway station is in walking distance from the city centre, buses and taxis are trustworthy and inexpensive -everything in Thessaloniki puts you at ease. The climate is no exeption: typically Mediterranean with warm-to-hot summers, mild winters and an annual average of 300 days of sunshine.

Warm and generous, Thessaloniki is at the same time historic and avant-garde: the second largest city in Greece is a mosaic of cultures, a safe haven for creative people and the perfect spot for international business and academic meetings.

FLY IN, ENJOY, FEEL SAFE: EASY!

Fifty-eight airlines fly to 121 destinations in 43 countries from the Makedonia International Airport. The airport operates with frequent connections to most Greek cities and islands, since 1930 serving over 2,5 million passengers per year.

Its strategic location on Egnatia Highway connecting East to the West- and in the very heart of Macedonia, in Northern Greece, neighbouring four countries, makes the city easily accessible to travelers from almost every corner of the world.

Thessaloniki offers a wide range of attractions -modern art and history museums, ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman monuments, exhibitions, galleries, spas, restaurants, taverns and coffee shops; along with their unique exhibits and style, they all offer a rare combination of relaxation, safety and entertainment, the sine qua non elements for a succesful conference destination.

Though the multi-coloured and buzzing city feels both european and oriental, it has an age long tradition of security and hospitality; guests in their thousands visit here for business or pleasure the year round -among them quite a few important politicians, artists and academics.

43 airlines fly to 81 destinations worldwide in 31 countries
35 domestic destinations
Thessaloniki is easily reached by direct international flight connections to about 81international destinations, including major cities around the world and has 17 daily flights to Athens.
ΙΝTERNATIONAL FLIGHT (DIRECT AND TRANSIT FLIGHTS)
This destinations should be pictured in a map Worldwide Destinations 31 countries & 81 destinations

• Armenia: Yerevan
• Austria: Vienne, Innsbruck
• Belarus: Gomel, Minsk
• Belgium: Brussels, Charleroi
• Canada: Toronto
• Cyprus: Paphos, Larnaca
• Czech republic: Prague, Turany, Ostrava
• Denmark: Copenhagen
• France: Paris
• Georgia: Tbilisi
• Germany: Bremen, Baden-Baden, Stuttgart, Berlin, Schonefeld, Dusseldorf, Weeze, Frankfurt, Hahn, Munich, Hannover, Bonn - Cologne, Nuremberg, Hamburg,
• Hungary: Budapest
• Israel: Tel Aviv
• Italy: Milan, Pisa, Rome, Ciampino, Verona
• Kazakhstan: Almaty
• Latvia: Riga
• Malta: Valetta
• Netherlands: Amsterdam
• Norway: Oslo Rygge
• Poland: Warsaw modlin, Gdansk, Katowice, Poznan, Wroclaw
• Romania: Bucharest Henri, Coanda
• Russia: Astrakhan, Samara, Rostov, St.petersburg, Moscow, Sheremetyevo, MineralnyeVody, Voronezh, Krasnodar, Ufa, Novosibirsk, Nizhniynovgorod, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Moscow Domodedovo, Kazan, Volgograd, Saratov, Perm
• Serbia: Belgrade
• Slovakia: Bratislava
• Slovenia: Ljubljana
• Spain: Barcelona
• Sweden: Stockholm
• Switzerland: Basel - Mulhouse – Freiburg, Zurich, Geneva
• Turkey: Istanbul, Izmir
• Ukraine: Dnepropetrovsk, lviv, Kharkov, Odessa, Kiev
• U.K. : London, Newcastle, Manchester, Bristol, East midlands

DOMESTIC FLIGHTS (direct and transit)

35 domestic destinations:

Athens, Heraklion, Kalamata, Corfu, Kos, Limnos, Mykonos, Mytilene, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skyros, Chios, Chania, Alexandroupoli, Syros, Skiathos, Sitia, Zakynthos, Araxos, Argostoli, Astypalaia, Icaria, Ioannina, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kastellorizo, Cythera, Leros, Milos, Naxos, Kasos, Paros, Preveza, Sitia

Direct - Non-Stop International Flights to Thessaloniki (66)
Central Europe: Basel– Mulhouse - Freiburg, Zurich, Berlin-Schönefeld, Bonn-Cologne, Düsseldorf Weeze, Hannover, Frankfurt Hanh, Nuremberg, Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, Hambourg, Baden- Baden, Vienna, Innsbruck, Paris – Orlysud, Paris Beauvais, Brussels-Charleroi, Rome-Fiumicino, Rome-Ciampino, , Milan – Linate, Milan-Bergamo, Pisa, Girona Barcelona, Amsterdam Schiphol
United Kingdom: London-Gatwick, LondonStanted,, Manchester, Bristol, East Midlands
Scandinavia: Stockholm Skansta, Stockholm Arlanda, Oslo, Copenhagen
Balkans & Eastern Europe: Belgrade, Bucharest-Henri Coandă, Budapest, Istanbul, Izmir, Kazan, Moscow-Domodedovo, Moscow- sheremetyevo, Prague, Riga, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Volgograd, Kaliningrad, MineralnyeVody, Nizhniy Novgorod, Ufa, Voronezh, Rostov, Samara, Astrakhan, Warshaw, Modlin, Tsibili, Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Lviv, Dnepropetrovsk
Cyprus: Larnaca, Paphos

Everything is on your doorstep. You can explore the city from east to west in about 30 minutes. The city itself puts you at ease, connecting you to all the places you want to explore via a modern airport, a central railway station, buses and taxis, taking you –within minutes– to the location of your choice.

Moreover, the modern Egnatia Motorway extends for more than 670km and connects Northwest with Northeast Greece.

Thessaloniki International Airport

Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia” is the second biggest airport in Greece, located 14 km of the city center and serves over 3.5 million passengers per year. According to an Airports Council International Europe report, passenger traffic at Thessaloniki International Airport increased by 40 percent in early 2015 as carriers expanded service from numerous European cities.Year by year the airport enriches its network with new carriers and destinations.

The website of Thessaloniki's Macedonia Airport is: www.skg-airport.gr

A public bus service is available 24 hours a day from the airport to the city centre, bus number 78 or 78N. These bus services operate from the airport approximately every 30 minutes.Tickets cost €1.00 one-way.

For an up to date time table please visit the official website of OASTH (Thessaloniki's publc bus transportation) – http://www.oasth.gr

Port of Thessaloniki

The International Port of Thessaloniki is one of the largest, busiest and most popular ports in South-Eastern Europe

Greek and international Cruise ships regularly visit the port of Thessaloniki

Commercial Activity and Sea-transportation in the Balkan area, relies on the International Port of Thessaloniki to a great extend

Public Transport

Thessaloniki has a convenient bus system, connecting all areas to the city centre, while plenty of taxis are available for those needing to get somewhere faster.

Thessaloniki Bus Lines are operated by the Organisation of Urban Transportation of Thessaloniki – ‘OASTH’. A fleet of 536 buses and 2.400 employees of OASTH service an average of 150.000.000 passengers per year via 68 bus lines, among which also a sightseeing tour line. OASTH buses are state of art, air-conditioned, feature an anti-pollution system and are equipped with facilities for people with special needs.

Standard adult tickets: 1,00€and 1,10€ when issued by ticket machines on the buses - Valid for up to (4) trips made within seventy (70) minutes from the time of issue. Travel cards of various durations are also available.

Taxi Service

• Taxi service in Thessaloniki is plentiful and economic.
• Taxi companies operate 24-hour call centers, ready to receive your order or make an advance booking for you.
• Most taxis currently use satellite navigator systems that facilitate a fast and easy transfer to any destination in the city.
• Luxury – VIP taxis are also available
• As a rough guide a taxi within the city will cost approximately 5 Euros, a taxi to the airport will cost between 20 –30 Euros.
• A double fare is applicable between midnight and 05:00 am.

PASSPORT AND VISA POLICY

Visa Policy

Greece is a Member-State of the European Union and has ratified the Schengen Agreement. Citizens traveling inside the E.U. just need to display their police I.D. Card without the need of a passport. However, a passport is necessary for a number of other transactions, such as currency exchange, purchases, etc.

Visas are not required by citizens of Member-States of the Schengen Agreement. Greece follows the provisions of the Schengen Agreement, which abolished controls on common internal lands, at air and sea borders and allows Member-State citizens to travel around without a visa for a short stay period of up to three (3) months. However, airlines and other carriers require a valid passport and/or police I.D. Card or other form of official identification means.

Citizens of the majority of the countries that are not Member-States of the Schengen Agreement require a visa to enter Greece and the E.U. Visitors from these countries can obtain further information from the Hellenic Embassies or Consulates in their countries, or even from their travel agencies.

Visas are not required by holders of valid passports from the following non-E.U. countries if they want to visit Greece and remain in the country for up to 3 months (90 days) within a chronological period of 6 months:

Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, CostaRica, Croatia, ElSalvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, NewZealand, Vatican, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, SaintMarino, Singapore, SouthKorea, USA, Uruguay, Venezuela

Note: During their stay in Greece, visitors with a visa must also have suitable insurance coverage for emergency medical or other needs.