The World’s Greatest Places of 2025:Royal Palace of Aigai

 

 

by Julia Buckley

 There are moments in time when the world shifts. One such was the crowning of Alexander the Great, the legendary king of Macedon who went on to conquer land from Egypt to India, kickstart cross-cultural pollination between Europe and Asia, inspire the Roman empire, and change the course of history. Now, following nearly five decades of excavation and 16 years of painstaking restoration, visitors can enter the Royal Palace of Aigai—the ceremonial hub for the Macedonian dynasty—and step into the column-fringed courtyard where the 20-year-old was crowned in 336 BCE.

They can dial back time walking through dining rooms where Alexander’s father, Philip II, entertained Greek politicians and Persian royalty amid mosaic floors and colorful stucco-clad walls. Three times larger than the Parthenon in Athens (its courtyard alone could hold 4,000 people), the palace, located an hour west of modern-day Thessaloniki, inspired buildings as far afield as Uzbekistan. After being overlooked for centuries, northern Greece is opening a flurry of archaeological sites.

The newest: Thessaloniki’s November-debuted metro system, which cleaves through the 2,300-year-old city (which was named for a sister of Alexander’s). Thirteen “archaeo-stations” display ancient finds uncovered during the build, including Venizelou, which deposits riders plumb on the city’s Roman-era main drag.

TIME