Reading list | Salonica (Thessaloniki)

Greece’s second city is said to take its name from Thessalonike, half-sister of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great, and its port has ensured its importance. There is a lovely view across the bay towards snow-capped Mt Olympus. Atatürk was born here in 1881, but the great fire of 1917 left little of the city he knew. The covered Modiano market dates from 1922 and is an atmospheric place to eat. The university gives the city a liveliness, and it will become the European Youth Capital in 2014. The tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander, was discovered in 1977 at Vergina, 60km west of Salonica, and a museum with spectacular gold artefacts, ivory carvings and wall paintings has been established inside the tumulus.