Money and buying

• Cash is the most common form of payment in Greece, especially in small stores. Actually, it can be the only acceptable form of payment, especially in villages in the countryside or even many stores at small towns.

• Debit or credit cards are accepted in the big stores and supermarkets. Most restaurants in Greece accept cards too. Some petrol stations in the countryside might not accept cards. In general, it is wise to always keep some cash with you, when travelling away from major cities/ towns.

You will face no problem in finding ATMs in Thessaloniki.

Buying everyday things:

• There are a lot of kiosks or very small stores in the streets, called “periptero”. There you can find things like newspapers, cigarettes, water & refreshments, snacks like chocolates & biscuits, ice creams and many more. Some of them offer an impressive variety of toiletries including coffee, sugar, painkillers, toilet paper and many more.

Cost & prices

• Living in Greece is not as cheap as it used to be, and there are many things that are unusually expensive. If you wish to purchase something, please talk to your escort, so that he will give you proper advice. There are differences when buying from different locations and stores.

For example you can buy a pack of 6x 1.5 liter water in a super-market for about €1.50 and you wont find the 1.5 liter bottle for less than €0.80 in the kiosks (usually around €1). You will pay it even more expensive, if you buy it near tourist attractions

• Some indicative prices

Coffee at a café:
From €3 to €5 (near tourist attractions). Expensive!

Dinner for 2:
At local restaurant / tavern about €30 to €40 (no drinks)
At seaside restaurant / gourmet restaurant €50 to €100

Bottle of Greek wine:
Αt restaurant from €15
A glass of wine in a bar: Around €5

People & behaviour

• Greeks are generally friendly and open, especially in the countryside. In the city, people usually are in a hurry or in a bad mood due to traffic, so they may be a little impolite sometimes.

• You do not have to worry if you see people talking loudly and making gestures, they are probably having a friendly chat!

Also, hugging and kissing is very common, instead of a handshake, so do not be caught by surprise if someone you have never met before hugs you like your best friend that you have not seen for years!

Communication

• A lot of people in Greece speak at least English. In the city, almost everybody under the age of 40-45 will be in position to understand and give basic information. In the countryside just look for the youth, the possibilities that they speak English are high.

Almost all signs and road signs are bilingual (Greek-English)

•  Some useful words and expressions:

Yes - nέ

No - όhi

Hello and bye - Υάsu

Thank you - Efharistό

You are welcome - parakalό

Good morning - Kalimέra

Food & Eating

• Finding something quick to eat on the street is very easy, not only in Thessaloniki, but in Greece in general.

• If you are keen on meat you should definitely try “Gyros”. It is a local sandwich, very cheap (usually at around 2- 2.5 euros) and will definitely feel you up as it includes pork, tomato and fried potatos in a small bread or pita! You can also try different versions of this sandwich such as: sandwich with souvlaki or with soutzoukaki.

• There are hundreds of restaurants in Thessaloniki, from small taverns to gourmet restaurants. We strongly suggest that you choose those places the locals preffer and enjoy fresh, home-style food at very reasonable prices.

Sweets

From the moment that you are visiting Thessaloniki you should not miss the chance to taste the variety fo Greek sweets.

Thessaloniki has a reputation for“Syropiasta”, which are sweets that Greeks that came from Konstantinoupoli, with the 1922s exchange population brought with them as traditional recipes. Today there are some traditional shops that are still making those sweets! Join our Thessaloniki Urban Adventure Tours and your escort will take care of it.

Electricity

Electricity plugs in Greece are the European ones and the plug’s power is 220 Volts.

Traffic and driving

First of all, we drive on the right side of the road!

Pedestrians and zebra crossings.
Be careful of Greek drivers, most do not respect the pedestrian’s priority! Although the law is the same as all European countries, very few drivers in Greece stop at zebra crossings (the crosswalks) without traffic lights for pedestrians to cross the road.

In case that you have arranged a car rental in Thessaloniki…
before you break at a zebra crossing check your mirrors - the car following you might have a different opinion! In most of the cases, pedestrians will wait on the side for you and your car to pass. On the other hand, pedestrians do cross the road at any point, not using the zebra crossing, so they might surprise you!

Traffic lights
Another bad habit of drivers in Greece is ignoring the orange light. They will continue or even worse accelerate, and most of the times pass with a red light.

So in traffic lights:

• Before you break at an orange light check your mirrors - the car following you might have a different opinion!

• Do not hurry and before you start at a green light, check that all cars have stopped.

Roundabouts
Very few roundabouts work like the rest of Europe (you stop before you enter). You can spot those roundabouts from the big and plenty “STOP” signs… In all the other roundabouts (without signs) the vehicle entering has priority….for a few meters….It is silly, but it is the law….

Traffic Police and fines
The law about traffic violations is very strict and fines very expensive.  The law enforcement is another story! In most cases, you will get a cheaper fine (!) or just an advice!

Transportation

• Thessaloniki International Airport “Macedonia” is located 15km from the city centre.
• Taxi from the Airport to downtown Thessaloniki costs around EUR 20-25
• City bus from Airport to downtown Thessaloniki costs less than EUR 2, and there are buses every 20 minutes during the day (No 78) and 30 minutes during the night (No 78N).
• Normal city bus ticket (for the centre of the city) costs EUR 0.60 if bought in advance and EUR 0.70 if issued in the bus. The ticket is valid for 70minutes and you can change up to 4 buses.
• You can buy tickets at the bus terminals, mini markets and kiosks.
• The ticket machines in the busses do not return change!
  24 hour ticket costs EUR 3, and 7 days ticket costs EUR 10.
• It is very common that Taxi drivers stop and pick-up other customers on the way.
• The city centre is jammed during working hours, so you better avoid driving or using a taxi.
• Parking is a huge problem in Thessaloniki centre – you must be very lucky to find a free parking space.
• In many roads you can park for free on the one side but you have to pay to park on the other!