Thessaloniki did not have a motorway link until the 1970s; but nowadays this is all a reality. There are two types of local buses: the orange articulated "caterpillar" models which operate within the city, and the deep-red or blue buses which travel further afield. In most cases there's an automatic ticket machine on the bus (correct money only), but there are still a few where you pay the conductor at the rear entrance. Useful lines include #10 and #11, both of which ply the length of Egnatia/Karamanli. From Platia Eleftherias (just behind the seafront), buses initially run east along Mitropoleos; line #5 takes you to the archeological and folklore museums, and #22/28 heads north through Kastra to the highest quarter, known as Eptapyrgio. Taxis (dark-blue and white) are plentiful and reliable.

If you bring your own car or rent a car (The principal Car Rent Office is located at the airport), it's best to use the attended fee-parking area that occupies all of Platia Eleftherias, where you pay on exit. Otherwise, finding a curbside space is a fairly hopeless task, even in the suburbs; if you do manage to find a space you then usually have to go to a periptero to buy blue-and-red strip cards which you cancel yourself for an hour at a time - buy as many as you need in advance for display in the windscreen. Fees are payable 8 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday, 8 am to 3 pm on Saturday. If you intend to drive around the city, you're advised to arm yourself with a map that shows the one-way system (such as the one published by EOT). The speed limits are 100 km /hour on the national network for passenger cars and 70km/hour for other vehicles and motorbikes, whenever there are no signs starting otherwise. Outside residential areas 50km /hour, and 70 km/hour on provincial roads for all vehicles.