Music festivals in Thessaloniki

Summer in Thessaloniki is less a single festival weekend than a long run of open-air concerts. From early June the Moni Lazariston Festival sets up in the courtyard of the old Lazarist monastery in Stavroupoli, on the western side of the city, with a programme that jumps from Greek pop and rock to songwriters and the occasional international band. Up on the edge of the Seich Sou forest, Theatro Gis and Theatro Dasous look out over the city and the Thermaic Gulf; through the summer they host the big names of Greek music, from rock bands to laiko nights, and they are part of the Forest Festival run by the National Theatre of Northern Greece from May into September. Crowds here are mixed: students still in town, families, couples who have seen the same singer every summer for twenty years.

When the heat eases, the city switches to electronic music. Reworks, running for more than two decades, spreads five days of DJs and live electronic sets across several venues in September, from open-air stages to the old Kivernio building on the waterfront, with day programmes and late nights. Then comes the Dimitria, the city's autumn cultural festival, around October. It is a multi-arts programme rather than a pure music festival, but it brings concerts, opera and music theatre to the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, historic churches and stages around the centre, and it reached its 60th edition recently.

A few tips from locals. Evenings are a little kinder than in Athens thanks to the sea breeze, but a summer day on the concrete still runs hot, so shows start around nine and run late. For Theatro Dasous and Theatro Gis, bus 24 climbs up from the centre and there is free parking; many people walk back down through the forest edge towards the university area, which takes about 20 minutes. Moni Lazariston is best reached by city bus or taxi. For Reworks, check each night's venue, as they change across the week.