I’m in Thessaloniki now after having visited Athens a couple months ago and I really like the energy and vibe in Greek cities. They always seem to have plenty of enjoyable outdoor bars/restaurants, pedestrian areas, rooftops, etc and of course dripping with history.
If you’ve visited Turkey, then you know how big a deal Atatürk is, and I was surprised to find that he was born here (it was under Ottoman control at the time until 1912 I believe). The city got its name from a Macedon king who named it after his wife, Thessalonike, also the half sister of Alexander the Great. It then became an important Byzantine city, almost of equal importance to Constantinople. Then changed hands to the Ottomans for 5 cities. Fascinating history.
The unfortunate thing about Athens and Thessaloniki is that aside from the ruins, they are just super ugly cities architecturally speaking. From what I understand, there was a big migration to those cities from rural areas in Greece in the 60s-80s and corrupt governments had no regard for historical buildings and many were demolished in the rush to put up ugly buildings from that era.
As an example, this is the main coastline in Thessaloniki, the stuff that will show up in all the photos so you’d think they’d make more of an effort to preserve some of the beauty, but it’s all crap from the 70s.
I need advice for Paris. I have never been, just my wife and I going for a week.
We have tickets for the louvre, Versailles and Eiffel Tower, otherwise wide open. We like museums and just generally walking around, and I’m sure she will shop. We’re staying at the north edge of the 8th.
My wife and I enjoyed the Siene river dinner cruise during our honeymoon in Paris. You get to see the city lights from a different angle and the food wasn’t too bad. Touristy? Yes. Good for a couple visiting Paris for the first time together? Absolutely.
Musée d’Orsay is my one recommendation. Actually never been to Paris, but heard so many good things about it, and have seen virtual tours that are amazing, etc.
La Sainte Chapelle is there with Sagrada Familia as 1a and 1b in some order on my list of my favorite buildings in the world. I’m a sucker for stained glass. Definitely go in the morning or towards sunset when the sun would be shining through rather than at high noon. We were lucky and did both: we went in the morning, and then noticed that that evening there was going to be a concert there performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. So, we called an audible and doubled down on it and couldn’t have been happier.
Musee d’Orsay is excellent, I just made my case for it above. It’s focused on the Realists, Impressionists, and some post-Impressionist stuff like Art Nouveau. I love all three of those schools of art.
If you especially like Monet, you can see more at l’Orangerie, a small art museum focused on four of his massive water lily paintings. There’ll be some other assorted things there, but those are why you go in. I’m a fan, so I liked it, but I get it if that’s not your thing.
Musee Picasso we didn’t see but would be high on the list if/when we ever go back. I am a fan, but it’s a harder sell to MrsWookie. Since we knew we’d be doing the Picasso Museum in Barcelona on the same trip, we just did that one.
Some cheap or free things: a cab or bus ride down the Champs-Elysees, especially at twilight. The Trocadero is the perfect spot for a picture of the Eiffel Tower. Jardin des Tuileries is a pleasant spot for a stroll, too.
When you go to Versailles take a picnic lunch. Go to some boutique shops near where you’re staying and buy random bread, cheese, meat etc
Do a history walking tour. I did New Europe Tours who are kind of the OGs but that was 2007, I think, and I’m sure there are many different options now, so maybe see which companies TripAdvisor recommends. These kinds of tours are “free” but tip-based.
If you don’t mind the macabre, the Catacombs are well worth a visit imo.
There’s a cathedral on top of the hill in Montmartre called the Sacre Coeur, the first time I was there people would play music at night and you’d sit on the steps with the city lights laid out in front of you and could drink if you wanted to, but I am uncertain if this is still a thing.
The train network out from Paris is very good of course and I would consider a daytrip out somewhere else. It’s 40 minutes each way if you get the express train to Reims, the capital of Champagne-Ardennes.
Apparently Paris is like a uniquely good place to shop, especially given the exchange rate situation. She’s going to try to knock out Christmas shopping.
My girlfriend and I are like 80% sure we’re just gonna buy a 5-year Thai Elite Visa (for ~22k USD, yikes)
Wow, that sounds crazy to me. I would think that there are probably a hundred thousand folks in Thailand working remotely perpetually on tourist visas. Have they really cracked down on it?
From what I understand, there were thousands of people abusing the covid extensions to stay long term and they’re getting pretty strict now. I suppose it will probably always happen to some degree, but the vibe I got from the Thai visa Facebook group is that you’re playing with fire if you’re staying long-term without a residency visa.
Check out Sacre Coeur and have a picnic on the grounds. Moulin Rouge is nearby, and just walk around Montmartre - really cool neighborhood with great views.
There’s a bar right behind the Moulin Rouge windmill that for some crazy reason wasn’t expensive or crowded on a Saturday night. Really neat to be right behind the windmill at night. There’s a club on the second level, the bar is on the third level.
Just got back from Savannah as it’s where my wife’s family is from, with several relative still living there. Very pretty place but hard for me to get past how typically Southern and antebellum it feels. Her aunt and uncle live in a massive house on Skidaway Island, which seems to be one of the places that rich people like to go and pretend climate change doesn’t exist as it’s likely in danger as sea levels rise, not to mention there is a single bridge that leads to the island.
I think I forgot to mention it earlier but the food blog was excellent, we had several great meals between Banff and Canmore and went to Whitebark Coffee every morning. Also we went to Moraine Lake early before it was too busy and it was quite beautiful (shoutout to @JonnyA for telling me about making a public bus reservation).
