Thessaloniki is a rare example of a city that has maintained its urban character for more than 2,300 years – essentially, throughout its entire history. This sets it apart from other large cities with rich pasts, both in Greece and across Europe, where urbanization often began with small villages that gradually expanded, or where once-thriving centers later declined and even disappeared.
The City
Over time, Thessaloniki has sparked significant spiritual and cultural movements that shaped Hellenism, influenced the Greek people, and left their mark on European history. It has always been – and still remains – a multicultural hub, fostering a dynamic, forward-looking atmosphere that, until the last 50 to 100 years, has been relatively rare worldwide. In recognition of its cultural importance, fifteen of Thessaloniki’s monuments were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1988.
Today, it is considered the city with perhaps the strongest surviving Byzantine heritage in Europe.
Thessaloniki also stands out for its educational landscape. It hosts four public universities—including Greece’s largest— and together they serve about 130,000 students. Overall, around 200,000 young people live here, making up about half of the central municipality’s population.
This youthful demographic gives Thessaloniki one of the highest concentrations of young adults anywhere in the world.
