The most important historical site of Halkidiki, ancient Stagira, the home of Aristotle, the greatest philosopher of antiquity, is located about 500m southeast of the current village of Olympiada, on a mountainous peninsula, called “Liotopi”. Today, after systematic excavations, configurations and restorations, ancient Stagira is an attractive archaeological site, within a landscape of special natural beauty, next to the local community of Olympiada, the Municipality of Aristotle. The park is dedicated to the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle and includes a series of interesting instruments which when used properly will show the phenomena of nature. These experimental instruments, operating by rules of physics are mentioned in Aristotle’s textbooks and especially in the one called “The Naturals”. The instruments include a prism, optical discs, sounding bars, a compass, sundial and pendulum – all illustrating important phenomena studied by the great philosopher.
Petralona Cave is one of Europe’s most impressive and important caves thanks to its wealth of fossils (one of the richest collections in Europe) and to the discovery of a human skull that dates back approximately 700.000 years and it is located near the village of Petralona, on Katsika Hill. The cave was discovered by Philippos Hantzaridis on May 10, 1959 and became known for his palaeontological and paleoanthropological findings as early as 1960, after the accidental discovery in the cave by Petralona resident X. Sariyiannidis, the famous fossilized human skull. The value of the find and its uniqueness gave rise to a series of work inside and outside the cave. In 1968 and in the period 1974-1988 excavations were carried out in the cave by the anthropologist Aris Poulianos. Nature has always been an unpredictable designer. This is more than obvious entering Petralona Cave, formed around a million years ago. The locals call it "the red-rock cave" due to the colour that the bauxite deposits give to the stone. The natural hollow stretches over a zone of 10,400m² and comprises of a progression of stoas, chambers, high roofs and pools, loaded with stalactites, stalagmites, draperies and shields, segments and different arrangements.
The site is inhabited since the Neolithic Age (5300-4500 BC), the word “Olynthos” is pre-Hellenic and means, probably, “wild goats”. According to the tradition, it was named by Olynthos, the son of the river Strymon. Herodotus reports that the city was conquered by the Wothians of Imathia in the seventh century BC. Around 650 BC refugees from Pieria, hunted by the Macedonian army, settled in the area. The Persian army destroyed the town in 479 BC and offered the region to their allies from Evia (Halkida). Later on, Olynthos joined the Athenian Alliance and then the Community of Halkida (Evia). From this alliance, the town gained great profits (mainly financial). So, it became the capital of the Euboan colonies in Halkidiki and was able to support a huge army (about 20.000 soldiers).
The Byzantine tower of Ouranoupolis village is known as the Tower of Prosforio. It was built in the 14th century, apparently before 1344 by monks of the Vatopedi Abbey in Mount Athos, to protect the area from enemy invasions. It is situated next to the small harbor of Ouranoupolis. This tower is part of a small fortified complex and serves as a base for the Prosforio monastery, which is a dependency of the Vatopedi Abbey. The building has at least three major building phases. The first, Byzantine (11th-12th century), includes the lower, stone-built section, without the two floors. In the next phase, which was placed in the years of the Ottoman domination and probably after the devastating earthquake of 1585, three more floors were built, of which the two today are preserved. The third phase includes the internal woodworking of the building and the roof that has been rescued to date and was included in the reconstruction works that were completed in 1862. The outer oblique retaining wall was added after the reconstruction.
Located in the Heroes Square in the city center it displays representative archaeological findings from all of Halkidiki. The exhibits cover a time span ranging from the Bronze Age to the Roman period and originate from ancient Stagira, Toroni, Pyrgadikia, Afitos, the ancient city of Olynthos and elsewhere. Among the most important exhibits are included an unfinished Kouros of the Archaic period, a marble head of Dionysus from Ancient Afytos, a column of a black figure from Vrasta (late 6th century BC) and findings from the city and the cemetery of ancient Olynthos. The new building of the Museum, which took place in October 2016, includes 582 square meters of exhibition space, a periodical showroom, a training room, a workshop for maintenance offices and offices, a storage area and a refreshment room. The re-exhibition of archaeological material will be the work of the NSRF 2014-2020. Until the start of the re-exhibition, the Archaeological Museum of Polygyros will host periodic exhibitions and other high-profile, interest and aesthetic activities.
It is located next to the cave, at a distance of 2 kms from the village of Petralona. It features important discoveries, such as copies of the mausoleum of the European Archanthropus of Petralona, the oldest traces of fire ever discovered, the first stone and bone tools (11 million years old) and findings from open spaces before the time of the caves. The museum also has a conference room, geological and paleontological conservation laboratories and a library. The Museum is a traditional two-storey building ~ 1000m2, built with a tile roof, while on its north stone wall is represented the map of Cave along with the tourist route inside it – designed by Panos Polydropopoulos. On the ground floor are the warehouses of the finds, the maintenance and recording workshops, as well as in the separate room the library of the Museum. The upper floor, in addition to the Exhibition Hall, there is also a spacious decorated Anteroom, the Lecture Room (above the library) and the Office of the Directorate.