[BACK TO HALKIDIKI]

Halkidiki

During recent years an effort has been made to develop alternative tourism through the European Unions “LEADER” program. The traditions, the traditional buildings and the cultural events have been maintained and developed for visitors, who demand something different, and they will find it in Arnea. Tourism in Halkidiki should not start and end at the sea. The uniqueness of Arnea with highland registration, a wonderful climate, hand made textiles, honey and its traditional neighborhoods, gives Arnea an opportunity for alternative tourist development.

Halkidiki makes a wonderful base for sightseeing, both in the immediate vicinity and in Northern Greece generally. No one who has the opportunity should miss the chance to visit Mount Athos. While the most common access is via clique from Ouranoupolis, boats also leave from Ormos Panagias on Sithonia. Travel agents in these places also offer cruises along the coastline of the Holy Mountain so that both sexes can get a glimpse of its centuries-old monasteries.

Another popular pilgrimage on the east coast of Halkidiki is a trip to ancient Stagira, the birthplace of Aristotle. A statue to the great philosopher stands in the very pleasant park of modern Stagira situated approx. 10 km inland.
As for Olympiada, while formally an idyllic fishing village, it now attracts the tourist with its crystal clear waters, for which it is awarded the blue flag. The fresh fish served in its traditional taverns and its family style hotels is a place where visitors soon become friends.

The area Nea Roda, at the narrowest point between Mount Athos and the main Halkidiki peninsula, is of great historical interest. Here in 480 B. C., Xerxes, the king of Persia dug a channel to shorten the route for his fleet during his second attempt to invade Greece. (During the first try eleven years earlier, many ships had been thrown against the rocks by a violent storm.)

In Sithonia, on the other hand, the coast is a contrast in itself. There are picturesque fishing villages like Pirgadikia and Nikitas, charming coves at Vourvourou, old stone houses with half-timbering at Agios Nikolaos, Byzantine fortifications at Toroni. There is also, bustle and nightlife at Neos Marmaras, luxury and elegance at Porto Carras, one of Greece’s major resorts. Early Christian basilicas at Nikiti, Agios Georgios and Elias. On the southwest tip, the mysteriously enclosed harbor at Porto Koufo, called the «deaf» port because the sea is so still it makes no sound here.

Potidea, with its medieval walls, dates back to 600 BC when it was founded by Corinth. Nea Phocea has a Byzantine tower on its waterfront. Near Kalithea are the ruins of the Temple of Ammon Zeus, an Egyptian-Lion desert version of the Greek god, said to have inspired Alexander to set off for the land of the Nile, and Kalandra, whose 7th century church of the Panagia has marvelous frescoes, and is believed to be the site of ancient Mendi, a colony founded around 750 BC by the Eretrians. The cave at Petralona just outside Kassandra goes even further back. In 1960, the skull of a Paleolithic hominid was discovered here; its age was determined to be between 250,000 and 700,000 years old. It was subsequently determined as representing a missing link between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. Adorned with stunning stalactites and stalagmites, the cave is sightseeing must. The bones of long extinct animals excavated from it are on display in the adjacent museum, while some of the niches have been filled with reproductions of cave dwellers, making the cave even more fascinating for children.

Another museum, at Poligiros between Kassandra and Thessaloniki, contains finds collected from archaeological sites all over Halkidiki and mainly from Olynthos. This ancient city is worth visiting as it is a model for the classical town planning first introduced by the ancient architect Hippodamos in the 4th century BC.

<click to go back>