The city
Thessaloniki is the second largest city in
Greece with a history spanning more than two and a half millennia. Being
a large city throughout its long history, Thessaloniki has always been
on the cultural and commercial crossroads between East and West. This is
reflected to the city's architectural character and its people's
mentality. Remnants of Roman, Byzantine or Ottoman public buildings are
scattered all over the city.
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The venue
The Congress will take place at
Nikolaos Germanos Congress Centre, located at Pavilion 8 of the
Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre, in the centre of the
city.
The Congress venue is served by several bus
lines and is easily accessible from any part of the city. |
Accommodation
The official travel agency of the XIX CBGA Congress is
Charioteer Travel and Tours, which has ensured special reduced
prices for CBGA 2010 participants. As CBGA 2010 will not directly
undertake any accommodation and travel arrangements for the
participants, the latter should contact directly
Charioteer Travel and Tours for hotel bookings, air travel and
any other arrangements. Since September is a quite busy time for Thessaloniki, the participants are strongly
advised to arrange their accommodation well in advance. Flights and
other travel arrangements to and within
Greece
can also be arranged.
To book a hotel with special CBGA 2010 prices, fill in
Form B and send it to
Charioteer Tours of Greece. Deadline for reduced price hotel
reservations is July 31, 2010 (NEW DATE).
Note that reservations will be accepted on a first come first served
basis and would recommend sending the necessary reservation as far
in advance as possible. If accommodation at specified hotels is not
available, alternative accommodation will be offered at similar
hotels of the same category.
Visa
Citizens of certain
countries are required to hold a valid visa for entering Greece and
other countries applying the Schengen acquis in full. Detailed info on
the procedures can be found
here.
CBGA 2010 attendees requiring
a visa should contact
CBGA
Secretariat well in advance in order to avoid last-minute hassle. |
Transportation
By Air
Thessaloniki is connected by air to
important destinations in Greece and Europe. It has one international
airport, the Makedonia International
Airport, which is located 16 km away from the city. Both
domestic and international flights, as well as chartered flights, land
and take off from this airport. The Makedonia International Airport
ranks among the safest of European
airports. The two runways of this airport are not large enough
to accommodate Trans-Atlantic flights. For this purpose, one of the
runways is currently being extended to the Thermaic Gulf.
Thessaloniki's airport services flights to
and from Athens, Ioannina, Heraklion, Hania, Lesvos, Lemnos, Skiathos,
Rhodes and several European cities.
Thessaloniki airport is easily accessible from the city centre.
There are buses, taxis and car rental services between the airport and
the city centre and the journey takes about 20 minutes. Bus No. 78,
which stops at both the train station and the Aristotelous Square, is an
ideal route. It runs between 6.00 a.m. and 11.00 p.m.
By Bus
Long distance buses connect
Thessaloniki to every major Greek city and several cities abroad. The journey from
Athens to Thessaloniki takes around six hours, with a
20-minute halt at a wayside restaurant with cloakroom facilities.
Buses operated by The Thessaloniki Urban
Transport Organisation (OASTH) are
great for getting around in Thessaloniki.
They are cheap, air-conditioned and their routes cover almost every
corner of the city.
By Car
There are highways connecting Thessaloniki
with Athens, Serres, Skopje and Sofia.
Thessaloniki highway
connections
Athens to Thessaloniki - GR - 1/E75
Serres and Sofia to Thessaloniki - GR - 4;
GR - 2/E90 (via Egnatia); GR - 12/E85
Thessaloniki bypass
The city bypass connects the
western quarter of the city, or the industrial belt, to its
south-eastern part and then heads towards Halkidiki and Thermi. Today, Thessaloniki highways are
modern and well connected with many junctions. The most recent was the
connection with Egnatia in the north-western part of Thessaloniki.
By Train
Thessaloniki is well connected by rail to
all important destinations in Greece and Europe. The railway station is
in Odos Monastiriou, the extension of Odos Egnatia, which lies to the
west of Vardari Square.
Thessaloniki trains connect to Macedonia, Thrace and Athens.
Suburban rail services link Thessaloniki to Pieria and Litochoro and the
journey between these two points takes about three quarters of an hour
to 50 minutes. Thessaloniki is linked to Western and
Central Europe via FYROM and Serbia, with the east of Europe via
Bulgaria, and to the countries in the Middle East by the line
passing through Turkey. It is also a major railway junction in the
Balkan region and is directly connected to Skopje,
Sofia, Moscow, Belgrade, Budapest, Vienna, Istanbul and Bucharest.
Check the
Hellenic Railways
Organization
web site for timetables and
destinations.
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