Chalkis

Euboean capital on the Euripus Strait, where the tidal current famously reverses direction.

Chalkis (also spelled Chalcis or Halkida) is the capital of Euboea, Greece's second-largest island, connected to the mainland by a bridge so short that most people don't realize they've crossed to an island. The city sits on the narrow Euripus Strait, where one of the most baffling natural phenomena in the Mediterranean occurs: the current reverses direction multiple times each day, sometimes surging so fast it's impossible to swim across. The philosopher Aristotle is said to have been so frustrated by his inability to explain the phenomenon that he threw himself into the strait — a story almost certainly apocryphal, but telling.

Modern Chalkis is a working Greek city — not a tourist destination in the conventional sense — with a lively waterfront promenade, good seafood restaurants, and a covered market. The old Euripus bridge (now pedestrian) still crosses the strait alongside the modern vehicle bridge. It's an easy day trip from Athens (about 90 minutes by train), and serves as the main gateway for exploring the rest of Euboea.

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Eating Out

Chalkis takes its food seriously. The town is famous for seafood (the reversing currents stock the strait with fish), and for a clutch of long-established ouzeries and tavernas along the seafront. Sunday-lunch tables can be hard to get without booking.

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Getting There

Chalkis is one of the easiest day-trips out of Athens. Suburban trains run from Athens central station to Chalkis station roughly hourly, taking just over an hour. The station is on the mainland side of the strait, a five-minute walk across the new bridge to the city centre.

By road, Chalkis is 80 km north of Athens on the A1 motorway and a connecting national road, around 90 minutes in normal traffic. Long-distance KTEL buses also link Athens, Thessaloniki, and other towns on Euboea with the central bus station.

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Things to Do

The big draw is the Euripus Strait itself, with the famous tidal currents that flip direction multiple times each day, watched best from the old bridge. Beyond that, Chalkis is a working Greek port city with a small archaeological museum, a 14th-century mosque on the seafront, and good waterfront tavernas. Most sights are a short walk from the strait.