Thessaloniki Takes Part in “Open Museum” Program

Mayor of Thessaloniki Vassilios Papageorgopoulos recently announced the municipality of Thessaloniki would take part in the European Union “Open Air Museum” project. The project is part of the Interreg IIIB Medocc program and is 80 percent funded by the European Union and 20 percent by the ministry of economy and finance. This project, according to the mayor of Thessaloniki, “constitutes evidence of the progress made with regard to the realization of European programs and the utilization of vital European Union funding.”

The first phase of the program includes the acquisition of a special transport vehicle with which visitors to the city can use to see selected archeological sites and locations of interest. The program, costing some 1.6 million euros, also includes signposting of the aforementioned, the production of DVD’s and a website and the construction of the office that would run the program.

The mayor of Thessaloniki also asserted, “This program is not just a tour of the city sights, but a proposal for the complete familiarization with the cultural, archeological and gastronomical dimension of the city.” He concluded, “Visitors will have the option to follow pre-planned excursions or create their own itinerary.”