Thessaloniki to Veria and the Pella Museum: Private day trip

Settled since around 1000 BC, Veria was the second most important city of the Macedon Empire, hosted Olympic-style games during the Hellenistic Era, and an important place of worship under the Romans. Saint Paul the Apostle visited the city in the 1st century, an even recorded in the Bible, and his the podium is a landmark within the city to this day. The 11th century Old Cathedral is filled with medieval artwork, but it’s just one of the many Byzantine churches in the city, which earned it the nickname ‘Little Jerusalem’. Visitors can also head to the 19th century Jewish quarter, where the stately homes still bear Hebrew inscriptions. However, the city’s greatest cultural treasure is also the oldest. In the Aigai-Vergina Museum, the treasures of the Temenid dynasty, the house of Alexander the Great, are on display in their golden glory, giving visitors some context for their visit to the UNESCO-listed tombs.

Built around the 5th century BC, the ancient city of Pella would become not just a regional capital, but the center of one of the greatest empires of the ancient world. The Macedonian capital was the birthplace of Alexander the Great, who conquered lands as far as the Indian Punjab. Artefacts from the region have been collected and arranged into exhibitions that shed insight on Pella’s predecessors, as well as ancient Macedonian culture, exhibiting everything from floor mosaics and walls, to pottery, jewelry, and everyday items. One of the gems of the museum is the “Lady of Aigai”, the 6th century BC queen and high priestess of the Macedonians, whose golden jewelry and gilded garments are on display. There’s also a photographic exhibition dedicated to Alexander the great, which depicts the ways the ancient people perceived the Creator of the Hellenistic Ecumene.