It's a city that produced an easy 40% of the country's best songwriters - and songs - of the last 100+ years. A city that combines sea and mountain, valley and river, history and war, religion and commerce, farming and industry. A city whose annual Festival of Song has consictenty launched a number of 30- and 40-year long singing careers. A city about which at least 8 great songs (to my memory) have been written - and a lesser one that I wrote myself. Now, that's what I call a music city.

It is Thessaloniki (or Salonika), in Central Northern Greece (or Greek Macedonia, as we like to call it).

OK, as a Thessalonikan I am prejudiced. That doesn't stop me from being right, though. Or modest.