Guide to Halkidiki

Beaches

Wherever you lay your sunhat, in Halkidiki you'll find glorious sand and pebble bays aplenty. On the Kassandra peninsula, sandy beaches come thick and fast complete with green backdrops and child-friendly shallows. Kalithea beach is a case in point, with shimmering sands and calm turquoise seas that look like they've been shipped in from the Caribbean. It's the same story at Afitos and Sani. Watersports fiends won't be disappointed either. At Kalithea, Sani and Pefkohori in particular, you'll find an excellent choice of ocean-going pursuits. On the Sithonia and Mount Athos peninsulas, there's a wider variety of sandy beaches and pebbly coves. Quieter than Kassandra, Sithonia mixes popular beaches like those at Agios Ioannis and Spathies with romantic rocky coves, like the ones at Elia. At the same time, you'll find loads of near-empty stretches offering almost complete privacy, as well as the glittering sandy beaches at Sarti and Sykia. And further east on the Athos peninsula, Ouranoupolis boasts lovely sand-and-gravel swathes with more secluded and dreamy rocky bays out towards Tripiti.

Eating out

• Traditional tavernas. Souvlaki grills. Cosy kafenion. Everything and anything goes in Halkidiki. When it comes to menus though, we're talking typically Greek. Tuck into 'moussaka' - thick layers of aubergine, minced lamb and bechamel sauce. Then there's 'mezes'. Eaten as a snack, starter or main meal, it involves grazing on everything from lemon-suffused 'dolmades' - stuffed vine leaves - spicy 'keftedes' – meatballs – and mounds of soft pink 'taramasalata' dip. Enjoyed with an ice-cold ouzo or crisp Mythos beer, nothing gets closer to a taste of pure Greece. And of course, as well as grilled meat dishes like lemon-flavoured chicken 'souvlaki', there's the fresh fish and seafood to think about. Most waterfront and larger tavernas will tempt you with a choice of daily catches straight from the sea, like calamari, red mullet and swordfish or more exotic concoctions like slow-cooked octopus stew. On the drinks side, Halkidiki's wines are some of Greece's best, so take your pick from fruity local reds and zesty whites. And why not finish your feasting with a local liqueur or 'metaxa' brandy?
  
  
• Pazar Hamami, Thessaloniki If you're looking for somewhere atmospheric, you'll love this converted Turkish bath with its pavement tables and excellent fish dishes.
  
  
• Paniyotes, Afitos An Afitos favourite, this welcoming family-run taverna is especially popular for its scrumptious whole spit-roasted chickens.
  
  
• Klimataria, Afitos Join the locals who pour into this traditional eaterie off Afitos' main square to feast on fried pumpkin and 'soutsoukakia' - spicy meatballs cooked in garlic-infused tomato sauce.
  
  
• Viktorias, Fourka A popular eaterie in Fourka, Viktorias serves up well-cooked Greek dishes in big portions.
  
  
• Donkey Island Beach Taverna, Ouranoupolis Head out to this island opposite Ouranoupolis and feast on the steamed mussels with the sand beneath your feet.

Nightlife

• Nights here stay mostly in the moonlit-stroll-and-supper groove. This is especially true in the smaller villages and hotel-based resorts like Sani and Gerakina, where evenings unfold at a waterside bar over a glass of icy ouzo before moving onto a candlelit taverna for home-cooked Greek fare. Also, many of the bigger hotels stage their own after-dark entertainments in the shape of folklore recitals and bouzouki shows. Yet while many of the less developed resorts revel in their low-key atmosphere, some of Halkidiki's larger haunts offer a livelier dose of nightlife. In Fourka and Afioti, you'll find great music spots and discos if you're in the mood for dancing the night away. Hanioti also has out-of-town clubs playing electronic dancebeats during high-season weekends, while Kalithea has beach bars, clubs and discos aplenty. And as you'd expect, Thessaloniki does a mean line in both modern nightclubs and live music bars.
  
  
• Principal Club, Thessaloniki On the road towards Moudania near Thessaloniki airport, this cultish small club is a brilliant live music venue – even Morrissey's played here.
  
  
• Kleio Boat Bar, Thessaloniki Down by the quayside near the White Tower, this converted boat-bar plays thumping rock music and sometimes heads out to sea at the same time.
  
  
• Sunshine Cocktail Bar, Hanioti Famed for its banana martinis and lethal fishbowl cocktails, this hangout off Hanioti's main square offers plump leather sofas and great dance tunes.
  
  
• Waikiki Bar, Hanioti Another of Hanioti's hip bars, this place is a magnet for twenty-somethings looking to chill out over cocktails and liqueur-laced frappes.
  
  
• Ahoy, Kalithea Probably Kalithea's best-known club, the packed dancefloors groove until about 4am.

Shopping

There's something for everyone in Halkidiki's shopping department, from the glossy stores of Thessaloniki to the tiny treasure troves that are part of the furniture in tourist towns and villages. In virtually every resort, you'll find gift shops specialising in local crafts like olive wood carvings, colourful hand-woven textiles and traditional glazed ceramics. Gold and silver jewellery, a lot of which revolves around on religious or classical imagery, is reasonably priced and plentiful, too. But don't just stick to the stock mementoes. For something a bit different, make a beeline for jars of Halkidiki honey, once praised by Aristotle for its curative powers. For shopping on a bigger scale, Nea Moudania and Thessaloniki come up trumps. Halkidiki's main commercial centre, Nea Moudania, holds a Wednesday market that's an extravaganza of outdoor stalls trading locally-grown olives, fruit and other fresh produce. In Thessaloniki, meanwhile, you'll find fresh food markets mingling with antique shops, glitzy malls and designer boutiques. Avenues like Aghias Sophias and Tsimiski street are particularly good on this front.