Seven Days of Ancient Aegean Cities

This route strings together the best-known ancient cities of western Turkey, heading south along the coast and then inland up the valley of the Büyük Menderes, the river the Greeks called the Maeander. Distances are too long for buses to fit into a week, so plan on a hire car. Each day follows the same pattern: one site early, a museum or a drive in the heat of the day, a second site in the late afternoon.

Day 1: Pergamon

Bergama is the modern town below Pergamon. Drive up to the acropolis and look down the steep theatre that clings to the hillside; allow two hours. Then cross to the other end of town for the Asclepieion, the ancient healing sanctuary, for about an hour. In the afternoon walk to the Red Basilica (Kızıl Avlu) in the old town and the Bergama Museum.

Day 2: İzmir

Stop in İzmir on the way south. The Agora of Smyrna and the İzmir Archaeological Museum fill half a day; the İzmir day route has more if you want to stay. Drive on to Selçuk for the night.

Day 3: Ephesus

Arrive at Ephesus near opening time, enter at the upper gate and walk down to the lower one. It is downhill all the way, but the marble is slippery. Allow three to four hours, then spend the afternoon at the Ephesus Museum and the Temple of Artemis in Selçuk. The Ephesus and Selçuk route has the details.

Day 4: Priene, Miletus, Didyma

These three are close together and make a natural day. Priene is a small hillside town laid out in a grid of stepped streets, with a climb up to the Temple of Athena; two hours. At Miletus (Milet), climb to the top rows of the great theatre for a view over the scattered ruins; the small museum nearby is a quick stop. Finish at the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, inside the modern town of Didim; an hour is enough.

Day 5: Nysa and Aphrodisias

Drive east along the Meander valley. Nysa, built on both sides of a stream gully, is a quiet hour's stop. At Aphrodisias the stadium, the Tetrapylon gateway and the Sebasteion are spread over a wide area, so expect a long walk. The Aphrodisias Museum by the entrance holds the carved reliefs and needs another hour. Sleep in Pamukkale.

Day 6: Hierapolis and Pamukkale

Hierapolis and the white travertine terraces of Pamukkale share one site. Shoes are not allowed on the travertines, so be ready to walk barefoot; sunglasses help, as the white rock reflects the glare. The necropolis, theatre and city centre cover a large area: allow four to five hours. The Hierapolis Archaeological Museum is inside the site.

Day 7: Laodicea and Tripolis

Laodicea is only a short drive from Pamukkale; its long colonnaded streets and theatres need about two hours. Then head north towards Buldan for Tripolis, a quieter site. Denizli is the place to finish the trip.

Practical notes

Summer shade is almost non-existent at these sites: bring a hat, sunscreen, two or three litres of water a day and closed shoes. Some sites close one day a week, so check the hours on each museum page. Museum passes cover most of the state-run sites here, but confirm each one on the official list; see our museum pass page. For more places like these, browse the ancient cities category.