6 Best Sights in Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia, Greece

The founder of the last royal dynasty to rule Eygpt, Mohamed Ali, was born in this two-story, 18th-century konak-style house in the Old Town. Considered one of the best examples of Ottoman architecture in Greece, the home now functions as a museum and institute dedicated to intercultural dialogue and exchange between the Middle Eastern and Western worlds. Guided tours take place daily, while educational lectures, conferences, symposia, and exhibitions examine subjects like Islamic gardens, ceramic decoration, regional archaeology, and the origin of the number zero.

Overhauled in 1922 by the architect Eli Modiano, this old landmark is basically a rectangular building with a glass roof and pediment facade. Inside, the rich aromas of food—fish, meats, vegetables, fruits, breads, and spices—compete with music and the noisy, colorful market characters, from the market owners to the bargain hunters. In the little tavernas nearby, ouzo and mezedes are sold at all hours. It is worth a visit—as is the generally cheaper open-air market (on the north side of Ermou)—even if you have no intention of buying anything.

The imposing kamára (arch) is one of a number of monuments built by Galerius around AD 305, during his reign as co-emperor of Diocletian's divided Roman Empire. It commemorated the Roman victory over Persia in AD 297, and you can still see scenes of those battles on the badly eroded bas-reliefs. Originally, the arch had four pediments and a dome and was intended to span not only the Via Egnatia, the ancient Roman road, but also a passageway leading north to the Rotunda. Only the large arches remain.

The soldier and statesman who established the Republic of Turkey and became its president, Atatürk (Mustafa Kemal) was born here in 1881. He participated in the city's Young Turk Movement, which eventually led to the collapse of the sultanate and the formation of the modern Turkish state. About eight blocks east of the Ayios Dimitrios church, the modest pink house is decorated in Ottoman style. It has been turned into a museum, with personal items and documents of Turkey's founding father.

This art gallery has a distinctive icon collection from the Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods, engravings that highlight the development of the craft of icon making in Greece, and a representative collection of modern Greek art. One section shows the work of three generations of Thessalonian artists, documenting modern art in the city from the turn of the 20th century to 1967. The museum collection, once housed in the nearby Villa Mordoh, is now in Casa Bianca, a large three-story art nouveaux villa.

This moody box of experimental and conceptual art, inside a remodeled warehouse on Thessaloniki's port, features a wide range of new-media art and video installations. It showcases some of the most exciting young Greek artists around and hosts cutting-edge, temporary exhibitions.