--- description: Find out why Thessaloniki, Greece is on TIME's list of the world's greatest places of 2022. title: Thessaloniki, Greece: World's Greatest Places 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40ae3e4e8d4f33bd/698a3387b21a9c4c43506354/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-ThessalonikiGreece.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 12, 2022 # Thessaloniki, Greece Culinary melting pot by Margarita Gokun Silver  A popular area with bars and traditional taverns on Thessaloniki, Greece. A popular area with bars and traditional taverns on Thessaloniki, Greece.Shutterstock The second most populous metropolis in Greece, Thessaloniki has long attracted foodies, so it came as no surprise that it recently became the first Greek city to be added to the UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy network. Stay close to all the action at [MonAsty, Thessaloniki, Autograph Collection,](https://www.monastyhotel.com/ "undefined") a new five-star hotel, which is a short walk from the completely refurbished [Modiano Market](https://agoramodiano.com/ "undefined"). The city’s largest market is housed in a basilica-­style building and has been serving shoppers since 1925\. When it reopens in September, the market will be host to gastronomy festivals and pop-ups, in addition to its regular roster of food stalls. Designed and built by a descendant of Sephardic Jews, Modiano is a testament to the city’s diversity; Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures have coexisted in Thessaloniki for centuries. That blended cultural history will also be celebrated throughout the year as Greece commemorates the centennial of the end of the 1921–1922 Greco-Turkish War. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194509/thessaloniki-greece/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194509/thessaloniki-greece/"},"headline":"Thessaloniki, Greece","datePublished":"2022-07-12T11:06:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:04:42.861Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194509/thessaloniki-greece/","keywords":["franchise","Magazine","World's Greatest Places"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40ae3e4e8d4f33bd/698a3387b21a9c4c43506354/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-ThessalonikiGreece.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40ae3e4e8d4f33bd/698a3387b21a9c4c43506354/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-ThessalonikiGreece.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194509/thessaloniki-greece/","name":"Thessaloniki, Greece"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Greatest Places of 2022","description":"50 extraordinary destinations to explore","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/by8VqGWH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-07-11T22:04:53.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/by8VqGWH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194509/thessaloniki-greece/","duration":"PT1M47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194509/thessaloniki-greece/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```