Thessaloniki: getting there by bus X3 and metro, neighbourhoods, museums, Aigai, Pella, Dion and Halkidiki

Thessaloniki suits you if you want to combine Byzantine churches, Roman ruins and museums with trips to the sea and to the sites of the Macedonian kings. The early Christian and Byzantine monuments of Greece's second-largest city have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. The places on Halkidiki are 45 to 120 km from the airport.

What is new in 2026 is above all the route from the airport. Since 27 August the metro runs as far as Mikra in Kalamaria, and the new bus X3 connects Mikra with the airport. The White Tower is open daily until 21:00 for the first time from 8 August to 1 November 2026. The visitor centre opened at the Palace of Pella in 2026.

Thessaloniki suits you less if you cope badly with heat and can only travel in July or August: the average maximum is then above 32 °C. In winter many state sites close as early as 15:30 and stay closed on Tuesdays (as of September 2026).

Getting there and from the airport into the city

In 2025 Thessaloniki ranked 24th among all foreign destinations from the main German airports, with 880,632 passengers. Among Greek destinations, only Heraklion and Athens had more passengers from Germany. Most Thessaloniki passengers boarded in Frankfurt (133,811) and Munich (129,409); most flew in July, fewest in January. From January to July 2026 there were 1.8% more than in the same period of the previous year (German Federal Statistical Office; rank within Greece, departure airports, months and 2026: our own evaluation, 2026 provisional).

Makedonia Airport (SKG): around 15 km to the centre

For the roughly 15 km to the centre, the Greek tourism authority gives about 20 minutes by car. “Makedonia” airport is open around the clock (as of September 2026).

Bus X3 to the metro: new since 27 August 2026

The X3 bus runs from the airport to Mikra metro station, to the same timetable on every day of the year. The first departure is at 05:30, buses follow about every 20 to 30 minutes until 23:30, and after that there is only one at 00:25. The scheduled journey time is 25 minutes (timetable attached to Decision 47/2026 of the transport authority OSETH), and the airport fare of €2.00 applies (as of September 2026). According to OSETH, the new bus network is still being reviewed and may be adjusted.

In Mikra you change to the metro; according to EU Transport Commissioner Tzitzikostas it is about 15 minutes to the centre. The bus ticket is not valid there; you buy the €0.60 metro ticket from the machine at the station (as of September 2026).

Buses 01X, 01N and 02X

The 01X runs from the airport to the centre, the new railway station and the KTEL Makedonia long-distance bus station, and at night the 01N does. The 02X takes you to Nea Elvetia metro station. Departure is in front of exit 4 of Terminal 1 on the arrivals level. The sources evaluated do not give the journey time and frequency of the 01X.

A special ticket for €2.00 (reduced €1.00), valid for 70 minutes from first validation, applies to the 01X and 02X (fare since 1 December 2024). City tickets and the day ticket are not valid there; for the night bus 01N the fare page gives no price. The OSETH counter at the stop is staffed Monday to Friday from 09:05 to 16:45 and Saturdays from 08:05 to 15:45, otherwise machines remain (as of September 2026).

Taxi and car hire

The taxi rank is between exits 3 and 4 of the arrivals level, that is, between Terminals 1 and 2. The sources evaluated contain no officially published fare to the centre, so none is given here. Car hire companies such as Avis Budget, Hertz Thrifty and Sixt have counters on the ground floor of the arrivals area.

Onward to Halkidiki

Halkidiki has no rail network. By car you take the Egnatia Odos and the Thessaloniki ring road to the national road to Halkidiki. According to the tourism association, intercity buses run several times a day all year from Thessaloniki to all the towns and beaches of the region (as of September 2026).

They start from the KTEL Halkidiki bus station, which is not in the centre but at kilometre 9 of the road to Nea Moudania. City bus route 79A runs there from the airport, and routes 36 and 45 run there from the city.

Where to stay: the neighbourhoods compared

For visitors, according to the Region of Central Macedonia, two areas are particularly important: the waterfront between the port and the White Tower, and the slope up to the Upper Town.

Where “—” appears, the sources name no drawback.

Sights and day trips: times, prices and rules in 2026

The World Heritage listing includes churches from the 4th to the 15th century and 4 km of city walls. As masterpieces of early Christian art, UNESCO particularly highlights the mosaics, for example in the Rotunda, in Agios Dimitrios and in Osios David. Admission to the state sites is free on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September and 28 October (as of September 2026).

White Tower: open daily until 21:00 until 1 November

The tower on the waterfront took its present form in the 15th century and is 33.90 m high. It has had its name since 1883, when it was whitewashed on the sultan's orders. Before that it was a prison and place of execution. The exhibition on the city's history runs across all floors, and the tour ends on the balcony.

Admission costs €8 (reduced €4). From 8 August to 1 November 2026 it is open daily until 21:00 for the first time, in winter daily from 08:30 to 15:30 (as of September 2026). Getting there: metro to Sintrivani or on the “Culture Line 50” city tour to “Lefkos Pyrgos”.

Rotunda and Palace of Galerius

In AD 299 Emperor Galerius moved his seat to Thessaloniki. His palace complex included the Rotunda, the triumphal arch (Kamara), the palace, the octagon and the hippodrome. The Rotunda was built as a temple or as the emperor's mausoleum; early Byzantine gold mosaics can be seen in its dome.

The Rotunda costs €10 (reduced €5). According to the state ticketing platform, in October it closes at 19:00 until the 15th, then at 18:00. It is closed on Tuesdays, and in winter 08:30 to 15:30 applies (as of September 2026). The palace site costs €5 (reduced €3) and is open until 31 October from 08:00 to 20:00, except on Tuesdays.

Roman Forum and museums

The Roman Forum from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD is an 8-minute walk from Aristotelous Square, and a museum underground shows its finds. Excavation and museum cost €10 (reduced €5), and it is open until 31 October from 08:00 to 20:00, except on Tuesdays (as of September 2026).

The Archaeological Museum is a 5-minute walk from the White Tower. The Derveni bronze krater from the 4th century BC is among its famous pieces. Admission costs €10 (reduced €5), and until 31 October it is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00. From November to March it is closed on Tuesdays, and on the first and third Sunday of the month admission is free (as of September 2026).

The Museum of Byzantine Culture also costs €10 (reduced €5). According to its visitor page it is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00 until 31 October, but according to the state ticketing platform it is closed on Tuesdays. In winter 08:30 to 15:30 applies, except on Tuesdays (as of September 2026).

Upper Town and Heptapyrgion

In the Upper Town stand the World Heritage monuments Agia Aikaterini, Agios Nikolaos Orphanos, Osios David and the Vlatadon Monastery. At the north-eastern end of the city walls is the Heptapyrgion fortress, a prison from 1890 to 1989. It costs €10 (reduced €5) and, according to the ticketing platform, is open from June to October from 10:00 to 17:00, except on Tuesdays (as of September 2026).

Thessalonikeon Metropolis: finds from the metro construction

The new museum in Pavlos Melas Park shows finds from the excavations for the metro, from the founding of the city in 316/315 BC to the fire of 1917. It lies outside the centre, costs €10 (reduced €5) and is open until 31 October from 08:00 to 16:00, except on Tuesdays (as of September 2026).

Aigai (Vergina): royal tombs, palace and theatre with one ticket

Aigai was the ancient royal city of Macedonia, seat of the Temenids, from whom Philip II and Alexander the Great descended. Since 1996 the site near Vergina has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It includes a palace from around 340 BC, the theatre and a necropolis with over 500 burial mounds, along with the unlooted royal tombs discovered in 1977/78.

One ticket for €20 (reduced €10) covers the central building, royal tombs, necropolis, theatre, palace and the church of Agios Dimitrios. In October it is open Wednesday to Monday from 08:00, and on Tuesdays from 12:00. Until 15 October Aigai closes at 18:30, then at 18:00. In winter 09:00 to 17:00 applies, and it is closed on Tuesdays. The necropolis was closed entirely in winter 2025/26 (as of September 2026).

Only a footpath leads to the palace and theatre; cars stay in the municipal car park of Vergina. From Thessaloniki you need about an hour by car; the sources evaluated name no buses.

Pella: birthplace of Alexander the Great

Pella replaced Aigai as the capital at the end of the 5th century BC under King Archelaus, and Alexander the Great was born here. No square agora of Greek antiquity was larger than that of Pella, and there are also courtyards with colonnades and mosaics. Excavation and museum cost €10 each (reduced €5); until 31 October it is open Mondays and Wednesdays to Sundays from 08:00 to 20:00, and on Tuesdays from 12:00 (as of September 2026).

A large part of the restoration of the palace was inaugurated in 2025, and the visitor centre opened in 2026. From April to October it is open only on Saturdays and Sundays from 09:00 to 16:00, with free admission (as of September 2026). You reach Pella, according to the ticketing platform, by intercity bus from Thessaloniki or in 45 to 60 minutes by car.

Dion and Mount Olympus

Greece's highest mountain is Mount Olympus with the summit Mytikas (2,918 m); it was also the country's first national park. The most popular route begins at Milloi in Litochoro and leads through the Enipeas Gorge to Prionia.

For the Macedonians, Dion at the foot of Olympus was the holy city, and Alexander the Great began his Asian campaign here. Park and museum cost €10 each (reduced €5). In October the park opens daily at 08:00, and on Tuesdays at 08:30. It closes at 18:30 until 15 October, then at 18:00, and on Tuesdays as early as 15:30. In winter it is open Mondays and Thursdays to Sundays from 08:30 to 15:30 (as of September 2026).

From Thessaloniki the KTEL bus takes 50 minutes to Katerini, Monday to Friday about every half hour, for €7.50 (winter timetable 2026). From there city bus 3 continues to the “Archaeological Museum” stop.

Halkidiki: Stageira, Olynthus and Mount Athos

Halkidiki consists of the mainland and three peninsulas: Kassandra, Sithonia and the area around Mount Athos. At Stageira, the birthplace of Aristotle, admission is free, and Olynthus costs €10 (reduced €5); both open all year from 08:30 to 15:30, except on Tuesdays (as of September 2026). Athos has been a World Heritage Site since 1988. Women and children may not enter it, and anyone who is allowed in needs a special permit, the Diamonitirion.

Best time to visit: Thessaloniki's climate month by month

The figures come from the Greek weather service HNMS, Thessaloniki station (2 m): temperatures as averages for 1991 to 2020, precipitation and days with precipitation (no threshold given) as averages for 1959 to 2010. The portal shows the hours of sunshine without a period.

May, September and October bring average maximums of 21.5 to 27.3 °C. In July and August the average maximum is above 32 °C; for July it was still 31.4 °C in 1961 to 1990.

Costs

The table gives only prices from operators and authorities. No official price was found for taxis and the buses to Halkidiki.

Climate resilience fee: per room, not per person

Instead of the earlier tourist tax, Greece charges a climate resilience fee per night and per room or apartment, not per person. You pay it at the end of your stay, before departure. The rates have applied since 1 January 2025 for April to October; from November to March they are lower (as of September 2026):

• Hotels: €2.00 (1 to 2 stars), €5.00 (3 stars), €10.00 (4 stars), €15.00 (5 stars); in winter €0.50, €1.50, €3.00 and €4.00
• Rented rooms: €2.00, in winter €0.50
• Short-term lets: €8.00, in winter €2.00; detached houses over 80 m² €15.00, in winter €4.00

Two people therefore pay €30 for three nights in a double room of a 4-star hotel in September (our own calculation).

Practical information

Metro and city bus

The first metro trains leave the terminus stations at 05:15, the last ones Sunday to Thursday at 00:30, Fridays and Saturdays at 02:00. Monday to Saturday from 07:30 a train comes between New Railway Station and 25th Martiou almost every 3 minutes, and on to Mikra every 4:23 minutes (as of September 2026).

A metro journey costs €0.60, the day ticket €2.50 (as of September 2026). Tickets are available only from the machines at the stations, and you hold them against the gate on entering and on leaving.

On the city bus, a €0.60 ticket lets you change as often as you like for 70 minutes, as long as you stay in the city zone. Once four tickets from a 10+1 pack costing €5.80 have been deducted in one day, no more are deducted for further bus journeys that day (fare since 1 December 2024). Children under 6 travel free on the bus with an adult.

Money, time, emergencies

You pay in euros, and clocks are one hour ahead of Germany. Besides 112 you can reach the ambulance service on 166, the police on 100 and the tourist police on 1571. According to the tourism authority, type F plugs (Schuko) fit; the voltage is 230 V.

Tipping is voluntary; in restaurants, 5 to 10% is welcome for good service, according to the tourism authority. People have lunch from around 14:00 and dinner after 21:00 (as of September 2026).

The current rules on entry, safety and health can be found at the German Foreign Office.

Who this is not for

• If you cope badly with heat and can only travel in July or August: The average maximum is then above 32 °C. During the heatwave on 27 July 2025 the palace, theatre and necropolis of Aigai closed from 13:00 to 18:00.
• If you want to go straight from the plane into the metro: The metro does not stop at the airport, and bus tickets are not valid on it.
• If you want to explore Halkidiki without a car: There is no railway, and the intercity buses start outside the centre.
• If you want to sleep peacefully in the centre: According to the Region there is activity day and night at Aristotelous Square, and Ladadika comes alive mainly at night.
• If you plan trips in winter: Many sites close at 15:30 from November to March and on Tuesdays; the necropolis of Aigai was closed entirely in winter 2025/26.
• Women who want to go to Mount Athos: Women and children may not enter it.