Thessaloniki, Greece

Ecem Caliskan Sahin
Jan 16
3 min read

At the end of 2025, we wanted to welcome the new year in a different city, so we turned our route toward Thessaloniki. Expecting the New Year period to be crowded, we made our hotel reservation about three months in advance—and we’re really glad we did.

Accommodation: A Central Hotel in Ladadika

The hotel we stayed at in Thessaloniki was Colors Ladadika Central.It is located in the Ladadika district, which is famous for its restaurants and nightlife. The hotel does not have its own parking, but you can easily use the nearby paid parking areas.

The biggest reason we chose this hotel was its central location. As soon as we stepped outside, we could reach almost everywhere on foot, which was a huge advantage, especially during the busy New Year season.

New Year’s Eve: Unplanned but Very Enjoyable

We didn’t have any restaurant or entertainment reservations for New Year’s Eve. Honestly, we decided to leave it to chance 🙂When we left the hotel, we found a table at a restaurant just across the street. Since the inside was completely full, we had dinner outside under the heaters, but the atmosphere was so lively and enjoyable that it didn’t bother us at all.

After dinner, we joined the DJ performance under the White Tower and welcomed 2026 on the streets, with music. New Year’s Eve in Thessaloniki is truly vibrant and fun.

What We Did in Thessaloniki, Day by Day

📍 Day 1: First Steps in the City

We arrived in Thessaloniki on the 30th of the month. From the very first day, we could feel how crowded the city was—streets, cafés, restaurants… everything was full.

After heading down to the seaside, we parked our car in a parking lot.
Then we made our way to Aristotelous Square. We walked around the square, checked out the cafés and restaurants along the waterfront, and took a coffee break.
After coffee, we headed toward the shopping streets and did a bit of browsing.
Toward the evening, we went to the hotel’s main building to check in, got our room details, and settled into our actual hotel.
We had dinner at a restaurant on the hotel’s street: Kazaviti.
After dinner, we returned to Aristotelous Square to take lots of photos.
We ended the day at the famous profiterole shop we had already added to our list: Choureal. It was absolutely delicious!

📍 Day 2: Atatürk’s House & New Year’s Eve

We started the day by visiting Atatürk’s House. Since the house had just undergone restoration, it was very clean and well maintained. While you might look for a bit more of a “lived-in” feeling, the atmosphere is truly emotional and moving.
Most of the cafés around and in front of the house speak Turkish, which makes you feel like you’re suddenly back in Turkey.
After the visit, we went to an outlet mall about 15 minutes from the city center. To be honest, it was a bit of a disappointment for us—we didn’t really find what we were looking for.
After returning from the mall, we went back to the hotel and got ready for New Year’s Eve.
We had our New Year’s dinner at Kav Touvi, a restaurant located right across from the hotel.
After dinner, with more walks around the square and concerts near the White Tower, we welcomed 2026 on the streets of Thessaloniki 🎆

📍 Day 3: Time to Say Goodbye

On the last day, we had breakfast at the square with Greek pastries - although we did find ourselves missing a traditional Turkish breakfast 🙂
After having our coffees, we started our journey back home.

And just like that, our Thessaloniki New Year trip came to an end, filled with beautiful memories ✨