Shopping & Food

Shopping

Whether you prefer shopping for clothes, hunting for fancy souvenirs or hanging out at the marketplace for fresh food that you can cook a delicious dinner with later, Thessaloniki is the place for you. Prices vary from place to place, to some cost of living in Thessaloniki may seem lower, to some higher depending on where you come from. In general though, I think that the city is very student-friendly when it comes to prices of consumer goods.

There are several main shopping venues in Thessaloniki. First, and probably the best one, is Tsimiski Street. It is a long commercial street that cuts the city centre in half. The street is easily accessible by bus, and also every local will know how to guide you there. The street houses a number of private shops, banks, all popular European chain stores such as Bershka, Zara, H&M, Pull&Bear,Stradivarius, Guess, Sephora and many more. Also, many mobile phone operators have their customer service centres located on the street. At the end of the street stands the National Bank of Greece, a massive building which you won't miss. I noticed that the private shops and boutiques offer clothes that are very often significantly more expensive than the clothes you can purchase in chain stores. Also, chain stores in Greece may seem slightly more expensive to students coming from outside of the eurozone (except for Great Britain and Scandinavia). After I had come back home from my Erasmus, I compared prices at H&M, Bershka and Tally Weijl in Poland and Czech Republic to prices at the same stores in Thessaloniki, and Greece was on average 15% more expensive.  

To the left (when coming to the city centre from Aristotle University) of Tsimiski Street lie dozens of small streets which are home to hundreds of boutiques including Louis Vuitton and Burberry. On general, everything you find in that area will be more expensive. To the right of Tsimiski Street lies Egnatia Odos, a long street with cheaper private retail stores and fast food chain restaurants. 

Kamara is home to popular coffee shops, bistros, small shops with rather alternative clothes, music and sport stores. There, you will find many young Greeks chilling with a glass of frappe, and playing tavli. It's a bustling area of the city and I am sure you'll be spending a lot of your spare time there. 

Aristotle Square is where you will find pharmacies, cheap jewellery, cosmetics, souvenir shops, and the police station. 

Mediterranean Cosmos is the biggest shopping centre in Thessaloniki and it's located within close distance to Ikea. You can get there by bus number 36 or 45. You can check the bus timetable on OASTH website (available in English, -> see Transportation).

Food

 Thessaloniki is not as packed with supermarkets as the rest of Europe. They can be found in every area of the city though. They're generally cheap, especially when you want to buy meat, drinks, sweets, dairy products, washing liquids & washing powder. Also, it's the best place to buy alcohol (esp. wine and beer). For fresh fruits and vegetables, shop at one of the city's thousands of street vendors. They offer the best quality products and they're fairly cheap. You can find those around every corner. Also, every district of the city organizes a street market every week where you can buy everything from food to jewellery and clothes. I suggest you find out where and when your nearest street market is open, it's a fantastic opportunity to buy cheap food and small goods like tops, earrings and tights. 

For fresh fish and meat (as well as for souvenirs in particular) visit the market right next to Aristotle Square. To get there, go north (with the sea behind your back) until you almost reach Egnatia Odos and turn left (you'll see vendors without any problems). The market is, in my opinion, the best place to buy souvenirs from Thessaloniki as it houses a lot of souvenir shops which offer some really nice stuff. The place is quite big and you'll find everything you need to prepare a cheap and healthy meal - fruits, spices, vegetables, a huge variety of fish and meat and a bakery or two. 

What surprised me the most in Thessaloniki was the amount of pastry shops and sweet-shops. In the area where I lived, there were hundreds of them, literally every 50 metres. Some of them may not be the cheapest but everything they make tastes FABULOUS. I recommend you try Greek sweets and ice-cream while you're in Thessaloniki, you won't be disappointed! 

If you don't feel like cooking - no problem. The city brings you thousands of taverns and coffee shops. The areas around Aristotle Square, the seaside and Kamara are the places with the biggest amount of taverns and coffee shops. Based on my experience, the places by the sea are more expensive while the taverns around Aristotle Square are fairly cheap and they offer delicious food. I suggest you try as many local dishes as possible.