Highlights of Central Halkidiki

Some like it hot! But the Greeks like it cold! Ok, maybe not cold, but cool. They like cool coffee, called frappe. And when the summer heat becomes unbearable they want to escape, heading for the cool mountain air in the spectacular Halkidiki mountains where many locals call home.

What is Central Halkidiki?

If you are searching for Central Halkidiki in travel guides or on a map as a destination, you probably won’t find it. So, what do we consider as Central Halkidiki? If you take Halkidiki with it’s pudgy round body with three legs (the peninsulas of Kassandra, Sithonia and Athos), then we classify Central Halkidiki as the body minus the legs. This region is a varied and vast territory that begins with soft sandy beaches to the west and rises over 1000 meters as tree clad mountains and then steeply drops off into the Strymonic Gulf to the east.

Mountain paradise

The centre of this wild territory is mountainous. The peak, Mount Holomontas, rises to 1165 meters about sea level and the slopes are densely covered in groves of oak, chestnut, pine, fir and beech trees. In spring, the unmistakable scent of wild oregano permeates the air of the flower carpeted alpine meadows. In the winter snow is no foreigner to these mountains as the trees become coated like a cotton fairyland. The Taxiarchis forest has become an all season escape with quaint stone cottages for rent where your evenings are spent cozying up around the warm fireplace.

History Happy Halkidiki

Central Halkidiki will give you more history lessons that you can possibly take in. Starting with the birthplace of Aristotle on the east coast in Olympiada, you can meander the ruins and climb the walls of ancient Stagira. Further inland you will find Olynthus, one of Halkidiki’s oldest and largest historical cities that met disaster by Philip, the father of Alexander the Great. Why not go underground to see the spectacular caves of Petralona just north of Kassandra, and roam the caverns that supposedly hold the key to the beginning of European man. Archeological history in Halkidiki has no limits!

What we like about Central Halkidiki

If we haven’t impressed you so far with the possibilities then we won’t stop here! See the well preserved and colorful Macedonian architecture in Arnea. Sample wine from one of Northern Greece’s renowned estates - Domaine Claudia Papayianni. Educate yourself with our Aristotle Tour and let the kids have fun in the Aristotle science park. Challenge your abilities as you cycle the winding roads around Mount Holomontas. Absorb the stunning nature while riding a horse along the trails of the mountainous coastline. Central Halkidiki is wide open to those who are looking for adventure!