Olynthus sits on two low hills above the plain in central Halkidiki, a short drive inland from Nea Moudania. After Philip II destroyed it in 348 BC, the town was abandoned and never rebuilt, leaving a textbook example of a Greek city laid out on a Hippodamian grid plan — straight streets at right angles, blocks of well-proportioned houses, public buildings clearly visible.
Several houses retain their original pebble mosaic floors, kept in situ under protective shelters. The on-site archaeological museum (opened 1998) holds the smaller finds. Olynthus is rarely crowded; an unhurried two-hour visit is one of the most rewarding archaeological half-days in northern Greece.