Halkida

Halkida or Halkis is the capital city of Evia and one of the oldest Greek cities. It took its name from the Greek word for copper(“halkos”) and has as its emblem the two natural harbours of Euripus.

It forms a coastal, cosmopolitan area that retains both urban and island features, combining the population density (about 100,000 inhabitants) and liveliness of a large urban center with the tranquility and natural beauty of its coastline. Halkida is a vibrant city with rich cultural and night life and wide variety of options for shopping, dining and entertainment.

Halkida is close to Athens and the Athens International Airport (around 80 km).

Our cruises to the north Evoikos Gulf depart from Halkida.

Perhaps the largest colonial Greek city of antiquity. A crossroad of cultures throughout the centuries, it owed its prominence and power to its strategic position at the the Strait of Euripus.

Colonists from Halkida travelled everywhere, from Thrace and Halkidiki in northern Greece to Sicily. The colonists of Halkidiki included the mother of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who spent in Halkida the last two years of his life and died at his mother’s home.

At Byzantine times Halkida enjoyed a period of renewed prosperity, which continued during the subsequent period of Venetian domination. It was completed by the Ottomans in 1470 AD. It was liberated in 1833 and became part of the new Greek state. .

Halkida is the birthplace of leading figures in modern Greek culture such as the writer and poet Yiannis Skarimpas, the composer Nikos Skalkotas, the actors Orestis Makris and Eleni Hatziargyri and the painter Dimitris Mitaras.