2 Best Sights in Kentro, Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia

The unpretentious, single-story white structure gives no hint from the outside of the treasures within. A superb collection of artifacts from Neolithic times; sculptures from the Archaic, classical, and Roman eras; and remains from the Archaic temple at Thermi all reside under this roof. Objects discovered during construction of the Egnatia and Thessaloniki–North Macedonia highways were added in 2005 to the collection, which is displayed in eight galleries. Thessaloniki, the Metropolis of Macedonia traces the city's history through artifacts and a multimedia collection. Towards the Birth of Cities shows prehistoric artifacts from settlements from Kastoria to Mt. Athos that date to as early as the Iron Age. In Macedonia from the 7th Century BC until the Late Antiquity charts the rise and fall from the foundation of the Macedonian kingdom in the 7th century BC to the late antiquity.

Much of the country's finest Byzantine art—priceless icons, frescoes, sculpted reliefs, jewelry, glasswork, manuscripts, pottery, and coins—is on exhibit here. Ten rooms contain striking treasures, notably an exquisite enamel-and-gold "woven" bracelet (Room 4), and an enormous altar with piratical skull-and-crossbones. A mezzanine (Room 7) shows how early pottery was made. Check the museum's website for the current temporary exhibitions.