Epidaurus

Epidaurus is one of the essential day trips of the Peloponnese, an archaeological site set in a quiet, wooded valley in the Argolid, roughly a 40-minute drive from Nafplio and reachable in a long day from Athens. Its full name is the Sanctuary of Asklepios, and in antiquity it was among the most important healing centres of the Greek and Roman worlds, drawing the sick from across the Mediterranean to be treated in the name of the god of medicine. The whole site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

The undisputed star is the ancient theatre, built into the west slope of Mount Kynortion in the late 4th century BC. Rising in graceful tiers of pale limestone, it seats around 14,000 spectators and is widely considered the most perfect theatre to survive from antiquity, admired for both its proportions and its extraordinary sound. Guides and visitors alike test the famous acoustics: a coin dropped or a match struck at the centre of the orchestra can be heard clearly from the highest seats, with no amplification at all. It is still a living stage, hosting classical drama each summer during the Athens Epidaurus Festival.

Beyond the theatre lies the sanctuary itself, a spread of ruins across two terraces. Here you can trace the foundations of temples, the tholos, the abaton where patients slept in hope of a healing dream, a stadium and bath houses, all set among pines and wildflowers. The site museum displays surgical instruments, inscriptions recording cures and fragments of the once-elegant buildings.

Epidaurus rewards an unhurried visit. Come early or late to escape the midday heat and the tour groups, and give yourself time to walk the sanctuary as well as the theatre. Most travellers base themselves in nearby Nafplio, combining Epidaurus with Mycenae and ancient Argos to make a rich circuit of the Argolid. If you can, time your trip to catch a summer performance, when the ancient stone fills with sound just as it did more than two thousand years ago.