Halkidiki attractions include Poliyiros Archaeological Museum, Petralona’s cave, Akanthos ruins, and Bousoulas beach.
Archaeological Museum of Poliyiros is centrally located in the village, within Iroou square, and exhibits archaeological findings from all over Halkidiki.
The best collections at the museum are from the Bronze Age to the ancient Roman period…
…with the objects showcasing findings from ancient villages of Stageira, Toroni, Pyrgadikia, Afytos, Poliyiros, Ierissos, and Stratoni, as well as from the famous ancient city of Olynthos.
Most important individual objects within the museum collection include:
- an unfinished kouros statue from the archaic period,
- weapons and jewelry from the classical period, and
- an ancient Dionysus marble head from Aphytos (from around 300 BC).
Petralona’s cave, meanwhile, which is decorated with various multi-colored stalactites, is the region’s most beautiful natural attraction, located on mountain Katsiki, 300 m (984 ft) above sea level.
The cave has also been an important source of research for paleontology, as researchers have found rare, in European terms, fossils of lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, rhinoes, and hippopotamus.
Petralona’s cave can be visited daily from 9 am, with the site being closed to visitors an hour before sunset.
Akanthos ruins, on the other hand, are located about 600 m (1,968 ft) north of the present village of Ierissos, represent remnants of an ancient colony of Andris, which was founded around 5th century BC.
Highlights at the ruins include…
- the remaining portions of a Andris’ defensive wall,
- an sizable acropolis, and
- structrures from Classical and Hellenistic periods.
Finally, Bousoulas beach is a 7 km (4.3 mile) long beach next to the Sani Beach Hotel (www.sani-resort.com).
The beach is widely considered the most beautiful beach in the region, offering a white sand beach with crystal clear waters.
The beach is advertised also in terms of being a Blue Flag (www.blueflag.org) eco-label beach, whose waters are calm and easy to wade through for most of the year.
Services at the beach, which has its own lifeguards, include lounge chairs, towel services, showers, and food and drinks from the Bousoulas bar.