Lord Byron Schools of Languages, Thessaloniki:
Lord Byron Schools of Languages provides year-round Modern Greek Language Courses in our city centre school in Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia in Northern Greece, approximately 515 km (320 miles) north of Athens. We offer special tailor-made courses in Greek for specific
Email: harry@lordbyron.gr or school@lordbyron.gr Contact us 0031 2310 278804.
Thessaloniki’s international airport Macedonia is approximately 15 km (9 miles) south of the city centre, with direct connections to many national and international destinations.
Accreditations:
QLS : Quality in Language Schools is a Greek Association of private schools of languages that promotes and guarantees quality in language teaching and learning. Accredited member institutions are committed to the continuous development of academic excellence which is verified by QLS through regular inspections. Lord Byron School is a founding member. The QLS is a non-governmental organization and in addition has a vision to provide continuing education contributing to the advancement of teaching and learning processes for the benefit of thousands of students.
Students or visitors immediately see the friendly but professional atmosphere of the school, the enthusiasm and dynamism of teachers and students. All our teachers are professional, qualified, highly experienced, hold University Degrees and are bilingual.
Greek Language Courses:
- Year-round Modern Greek language courses for all levels from beginners A1 to advanced C2.
- Special tailor-made Greek language courses for specific purposes to suit the needs and requirements of our students, 3 to 5 hours per day tuition in the morning or the afternoon.
| Welcome to THESSALONIKI: The Coolest City in Greece |
| I have always loved Thessaloniki. It’s a very different city from Athens but no less sophisticated and (some might say) culturally superior. The influence of the east is more pronounced, not just in the delicious food, but in the relaxed lifestyle. It’s a big city with an almost college town feel, like Boston or Austin, but Greek. The nightlife is exceptional, the bars and clubs play great music. The restaurants, tavernas, tsipouradika and ouzeries are among the best in Greece. There are many cinemas showing first-run English language films. The city is also the site of the renowned Thessaloniki Film Festival in October-November. The women, considered the most chic in Greece, support a high-fashion industry that rivals Athens so if you like to shop for clothes, shoes and jewelry you will be quite happy here. There are not a large number of ancient ruins within the city but there are enough Roman and Byzantine sites to keep any visitor happy, plenty of museums and of course the ruins of Vergina which include the tomb of Phillip, father of Alexander the Great. It’s also a good starting point for seeing some of the best beaches and most beautiful spots in Greece in the region known as Macedonia. |
A Very Short History of Thessaloniki
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Thessaloniki is the capital of Macedonia and second
largest city of Greece. It was first established in 316 B.C. by Kassandros
and named after his wife, Thessaloniki, half sister of Alexander the Great.
It means Victory in Thessaly. It is here that the Apostle Paul first brought
the message of Christianity (50 A.D.) and that Demetrius, a Roman officer
died in martyrdom (303 A.D.), thus becoming the holy patron of the city. Thessaloniki was the second most important city of the Byzantine Empire, next to Constantinople and is full of beautiful examples of Byzantine art and architecture. In the 15th Century Thessaloniki became a haven for Jews exiled from Spain, who became an important part of the culture, until they were sent to the concentration camps during the Nazi occupation, thus ending a period of four hundred years of Jewish influence both socially and economically. This period roughly corresponds with the occupation of Greece by the Ottoman Turks. It became a part of the modern state of Greece in 1913, but burned in 1917 creating a homeless population of 70,000. Add to this mix the influx of refugees from Asia minor after the ‘population exchange treaty’ signed in Lausanne in 1923 between Turkey, Greece and her former allies who abandoned Greece after their defeat in Asia Minor, and you have the makings of a social revolution which took the form of Rembetika music. To this day some of Greece’s most creative musicians including Savopoulos, Tsitsanis and Papazoglou, come from Thessaloniki. |
Thessaloniki Today
| The main squares are Platia Elefterias and Platia Aristotelous, both on the waterfront and alive with cafes and restaurants, children playing or people just strolling. The Lefkos Pyrgos, or White Tower is the symbol of the city and is close to the University area with its clubs and bars, and the International Trade fairgrounds are located nearby as it is the excellent archaeology museum. The White Tower itself is also a museum of art and history. It was built in the 15th Century and was at one time a prison for insubordinate Janisaries, the soldiers of the sultan who had been taken from their Christian parents as children and molded into his elite storm troopers. | |
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Above the lively city is the world of the Epimenidou or Kastra, an
area of old neighborhoods with narrow streets and lovely small gardens with
children playing in front of wide open doors. Popular songs from old gramophones
fill the air along with the sweet smell of flowers that emit their incredibly
beautiful aromas at night. This is the old Turkish quarter of the city and is
the remains of 19th century Thessaloniki and the walls that surrounded the
city are still standing. A must-visit place is Moudiano, the meat market, in a restored old building full of energy, smells, and some of the most famous old ouzeries in Thessaloniki, some of them with live rembetika music and spontaneous parties. | |
| Every year in September the INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR is held in Thessaloniki, exhibiting Greek and foreign products of every description. After the International Trade is over the GREEK SONG FESTIVAL takes place as well as the very popular Thessaloniki Film festival. Saint Demetrios, the patron of Thessaloniki has his name day celebrated throughout the city on October 26th. During the year, trade fairs for special interest groups are organized by the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair administration. Almost all of the major hotels have convention facilities. |
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If you have a few days to spare and you like cities
then come to Thessaloniki. Take a visit to Pella, the birthplace of
Alexander. Visit the nearby beaches or wander around the city and see the Archaeology
museum and the museum of Byzantine culture which is according to Frommer’s,
one of the best in the world. But be sure to save enough time to the cafes,
restaurants, bars and ouzeries of the city where you will really feel the
flavor of life in what is surely one of the most interesting and happiest
places in Europe. Thessaloniki is also the birthplace of modern Greek basketball, home of the team Aris and Greece’s superstars Nick Gallis (former Seton Hall), Panagiotis Yannakis, Panagiotis Fassoulas (NC State), Yannis Ioandidis and others. |
What to See in Thessaloniki
| ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES : The Palace of Galerius (300 A.D.) at Navarino Square. Roman Market and Theatre. Ruins standing at the Law Court Square (Dikastiria). Roman Baths. North of the church of Agios Dimitrios. Nymphaion. An elegant monopteral, circular building. Vergina, the ancient site of Aigai and the first capital of Macedonia has extensive ruins including the tomb of Phillip and the summer palace of King Antigonas Gonatas. Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 to 3:30 but stays open until 7 in the summer. Most of the best findings are in the archaeological museum in Thessaloniki. Pella & Dion a few kilometres away from Thessaloniki |
| MONUMENTS – CHURCHES : Galerian Arch (Kamara) erected shortly before 305 A.D. The Rotonda, a domed building of early 4th century A.D., served as a Pantheum or as a Mausoleum for emperor Galerius.Now the church of Saint George. Was a mosque during the Turkish occupation and the minaret still stands. Church of Ossios David (late 5th century A.D.), the chapel of the Latomos Convent, an early Christian church that still stand in Thessaloniki’s Turkish quarter known as Epimenidou or Kastra. The City Walls were erected during the time of Theodossios the Great to guard the city from Democracy Square of nowadays across Eptapyrgio up to the site later occupied by the White Tower, a work of the architect Sinan (first half of 16th century). Agios Dimitrios, was completely rebuilt in 1948 according the original plans. The church has been destroyed twice before by fire. The Crypt, the most easterly section of the Bath, is the place where St Demetrios was imprisoned, tortured and buried. Agia Sofia (8th century) marks the transition from the domed basilica to the domed crusiform church is a copy of the original Agia Sophia in Constantinople.. Panagia Halkeon, a cruciform church, was built in 1028 A.D. according an inscription of that era. Agia Ekaterini (13th century) is very well preserved externally, with traces of frescoes inside. Agfi Apostoli (14th century) retains a rich decoration both externally and in the interior, dating at the time of the Byzantine Pateologos imperial dynasty. Agios Nikolaos Orfanos (14th century), 20 Irodotou Str. tel. 213.627 richly decorated with frescoes in the 17th century it became the chapel of Vlatadon Monastery. Profitis Ilias was built in 1360 upon the ruins of a Byzantine palace by the monk Makarios Houmnos. The post-Byzantine era has also left in Thessaloniki an important number of churches. |
MUSEUMS
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Archaeology Museum: near the
White Tower and fairgrounds, tel. 2310 830538. Displaying sculpture of the
archaic, classical and Roman periods. A special wing houses the impressive
unique findings of Vergina including the contents of the tomb of Phillip of
Macedon, found intact by Professor Andronikos in 1977. Even the bones of
Phillip are on display.According to Frommers this is one of the finest
museums in Europe so don’t miss it. New Museum of Byzantine Culture: 2 Stratou St., tel.: 2310 868570. Ethnological and Popular Art: 68, Vas. Olgas, tel. 2310 830591 displaying costumes and objects of the last 250 years of Greek national life and culture. One of the best in Greece. Museum of the Macedonian Struggle: 23, Proxenou Koromila St. tel. 2310 229778. Exhibits from the years of local national resistance 1878-1912. White Tower Museum: tel. 2310 261732. An exhibition of the history and art of Byzantine Thessaloniki covering the period between 300 and 1430 AD. There is a small cafe with a great view at the top. Gallery of Fine Arts; 1, Nic. Germanou St. inside the building of the National Theatre, tel. 2310 238601. Important works of Greek and foreign painters. Municipal Gallery: 162, Vas. Olgas st., tel. 2310 425531. Museum of the Crypt: Inside the church of Agios Dimitrios, tel. 2310 270591 Museum of the Society for Macedonian Studies: 1, Nic. Germanou St. tel.2310 238601. Northern Greece Cultural Centre: 108, Vas. Olgas St., tel. 2310 834404. Macedonian Centre of Modern Art: International Trade Fair grounds, tel. 2310 281567 Technical Museum of Thessaloniki: Thessaloniki Ind. Area, 2nd Street, Building no 47, tel. 2310 799773. Museum of Attaturk. The founder of modern Turkey was actually born in Thessaloniki and his house has been turned into a historical museum. Don’t be put off if the guard asks for your passport. No, it’s not a small island of Turkish territory in the midst of Greece’s second largest city, but with ocassional tensions between the two countries they don’t want to take any chances of someone defacing the displays. The last time somebody blew up this house in the fifities it set off anti-Greek riots in Istanbul and the expulsion of several thousand remaining Greeks. |
In case you feel hungry:
If you are in the Tsimiski School we recommend the following restaurants, located in a very short distance from the premises in Plateia Ippodromiou (Ippodromiou Square):
- Diavasi – (grill house with local specialities, € 18,00-20,00)
- Ladokolla – (Meat Specialities, €16,00-18,00)
- Ta Aderfia tis Pixarias – To Bakaliko (taverna with local specialities
€ 14,00-16,00)
Olympia – ( Greek specialities cooked by Tia Maria $8.00-12.00 )
If you are in Ladadika :
- Negreponte (Specialities from Konstantinopolis and Asia Minor € 18,00-22,00)
- Zithos (Beer, cold plates and local specialities € 18,00-22,00)
- Pannelinio(Greek specialities € 20,00-22,00)
Not far from where you stay:
There is a big variety of Restaurants, Tavernas, Grill Houses, Tsipouradika and Greek Mezze Spots.
If you spend about €12,00-16,00 you can enjoy a tasty lunch or dinner to remember.
For additional information ask the reception of Lord Byron School and you shall have enough information.
My favourite sea food restaurant in the city centre is Ta nisia (€ 28,00-32,00). It is worth having dinner there.
Best wishes for a productive, enjoyable and relaxing stay from Harry.