Ancient Stagira, on the eastern coast of Halkidiki near the modern village of Olympiada, is the birthplace of Aristotle. The town was founded in the seventh century BC by colonists from Andros and lasted, in various forms, into the Byzantine period. The remains today sit on a small forested peninsula jutting into a clear blue bay — the setting alone is reason enough to visit.
You can walk a circuit through stretches of the city walls, a small acropolis, a Hellenistic stoa, and the foundations of a Byzantine basilica, with information panels in Greek and English. A statue of Aristotle stands on a hilltop above the modern village of Stagira, fifteen kilometres inland — the philosopher in a meditative pose, looking out across the gulf.