ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

This little museum is well worth a visit - whether you're staying in Chalcis or just passing through - as it houses some interesting exhibits scattered between the courtyard and the cramped building. The main challenge, as elsewhere in the town, is just parking. Today, the building consists of a large courtyard and three rooms, where the exhibits are housed. In the entrance courtyard, you'll find a number of funerary monuments and a marble bench from a theater whose whereabouts are still unknown. At the far end of the courtyard, opposite the entrance to the building, are Roman statues and four Doric capitals said to have come from the temple of Zeus at Chalkis.

Visit. The museum presents some very fine works in an educational and chronological order. Showcases 5 and 6 display objects found in tombs dating from the Mycenaean period, between 1500 and 1050 BC. Showcase no. 9 features unusual Cycladic marble figurines. The room on the left contains beautiful Kouroi statues from the ^6th century BC. Showcase no. 11 displays superb archaic and classical pottery. In the middle room, in addition to the large acephalous statue of Dionysus or Apollo, on the right you won't want to miss the statue of Antinous, Hadrian's favorite, dressed, like Dionysus, in a panther skin, with a crown of ivy and vine leaves. The museum's courtyard also features funerary monuments and Roman sculptures.