There are a few complexes of ancient sites scattered across the city. The most prominent is the main archaeological complex containing the following sites:

• the Agora (mostly ruins)
• the ancient theater (see below)
• well-preserved ancient baths
• a Roman Odeon
• a well-preserved ancient limestone relief with a rider on a horse

Other sites:

• the Mycenaean cemetery Deirada
• the Sanctuaries of Apollo Deiradiotes and Athena Oxyderkes
• a Kriterion (old court)
• a Nympheon (fountain) from Roman/Hadrian times
• an aqueduct from Hadrian times
• an ancient villa (Casa de Spiridón Tricupis)
• an Isis temple
• some other excavations (Anaskaphés)

Unfortunately, a few of the less prominent ancient sites in Argos are in a rather bad shape.

The Hellenistic theater of Argos was built in 320 BC and is famously cut into the hillside of the Larissa Hill. It has 90 steps with a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and among the largest theaters in Greece. It held up to 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos. British archaeologist Richard Allan Tomlinson describes the positions of the steps as not conforming to any regular plan, and the blocks are consequently of varying sizes. A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics. As shown by excavations in 1988, it is the second of only two known examples of a Greek theater with a circular orchestra – the first one being the theater of the Asklepeion at Epidaurus.

Nearby its site, there´s a second theater. Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated reflecting the Roman style. The smaller of the theaters was converted to an Odeon. The Romans constructed a proskenion that covered part of the orchestra with a hyposkenion below it. The cavea doesn’t show evidence of renovation so it can be assumed that they remain original. Another notable feature is the Charonian stairway. Actually more like a tunnel, the stairway lead underground from the backstage to the orchestra pit and is presumed to be used to “sudden appear” among the actors in play. Other reports suggest these tunnels were too short and narrow to operate effectively for actors, especially actors in costume.

In direct vicinity of the theater, the ancient Agora and the ancient baths of Argos can be found.

The Byzantine Museum of Argos is located in the Barracks of Kapodistrias, a preservable building with a long history. Built in the 1690s during the Venetian domination of Greece, they initially served as a hospital run by the Sisters of Mercy. During the Tourkokratia, they served as a market and a post office. Later, in 1829, significant damage caused during the Greek revolution was repaired by Kapodistrias who turned the building into a cavalry barrack, a school (1893-1894), an exhibition space (1899), a shelter for Greek refugees displaced during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey (since 1920) and an interrogation and torture space (during the German occupation of Greece). In 1955-68, it was used by the army for the last time; it now also accommodates local corporations and also serves as an exhibition space.

The Arkadiko Bridges, or Kazarma Bridges, are Mycenaean bridges near the modern road from Tiryns to Epidaurus, dating back to the Bronze Age, built in the late Late Helladic III (ca. 1300–1190 BC). The best-preserved main bridge is the oldest arch bridge in Europe and probably even the oldest in the world. It is one of only a few ancient bridges still in its full original existence and use today.

In Mycenaean times, the corbel arch bridges belonged to a highway between the two cities, which formed part of a wider military road network. The main bridge has a culvert span of ca. 1 m and is made in the typical Mycenaean manner of Cyclopean stones. The structure is 22 meters (72 ft) long, 5.60 meters (18.4 ft) wide at the base and 4 meters (13 ft) high. The width of the roadway atop is about 2.50 meters (8 ft 2 in). The sophisticated layout of the bridge and the road indicate that they were specifically constructed for chariots.

There are four known Mycenaean corbel arch bridges near Arkadiko, all belonging to the same Bronze Age highway, and all of similar design and age. One of them is the structure just 100 meters away rom the main bridge to the northeast (37.594331, 22.938573). Another one is the Petrogephyri bridge, which crosses the same stream ca. 700m to the southwest of the main bridge (37.590883, 22.926723). Otherwise similar in size and appearance, the structure has a larger span and a little higher vault. It, too, is still used as a local track.

In direct vicinity, there are also the Tholos Tomb (37.593733, 22.942677) and the Acropolis (37.597024, 22.941977) of Kazarma.

Asine (ancient Greek Ασίνη) was an ancient settlement in Greece. It was located on Cape Kastraki near the modern seaside resort of Tolo in the Argolis (Peloponnese). The place has been inhabited since the early Helladikum. Already for earliest times, contacts to the Cyclades, Melos and Crete can be proven. The place had its greatest importance as a port during the Mycenaean period and remained continuously populated even during the sub-Mycenaean and protogeometric period. Asine is also mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad as one of the places subject to Diomedes, king of Argos. It is said to have been founded by the Dryopes, who originally dwelt on Mount Parnassus.

In one of the early wars (740 BCE) between the Lacedaemonians and the Argives, the Asinaeans joined the former when they invaded the Argive territory under their king Nicander; but as soon as the Lacedaemonians returned home, the Argives laid siege to Asine and razed it to the ground, sparing only the temple of the Pythaëus Apollo. The Asinaeans escaped by sea; and the Lacedaemonians gave to them, after the end of the First Messenian War, a portion of the Messenian territory, where they built a new town (also named Asine). After an interruption of the settlement, a fortified place was built again in the 2nd century B.C.

Nearly ten centuries after the destruction of the city, in the 2nd century AD. its ruins were visited by Pausanias, who found the temple of Apollo still standing, but the place of the ancient settlement still abandoned. Excavations made from 1922 by Swedish archaeologists led by Axel W. Persson (and involving the then Crown Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden) found the acropolis of ancient Asine surrounded by a Cyclopean wall (much modified in the Hellenistic era) and a Mycenaean era necropolis with many Mycenaean chamber tombs containing skeletal remains and grave goods. Excavations have continued since the 1920s almost continuously under the Swedish Institute at Athens. The site was last used as a fortified position by Italian troops during the second world war when machine gun nests were built.

Profitis Ilias hill near ancient Tiryns with a orthodox chapel on top, which has a large white cross at the side and is beautifully illuminated at night. During the day the view from the hill at around 200 meters is incredible. At night, it´s a great spot for campers on the huge lower terrace below the church, where you wake up in the morning with a dream view.

There´s also an anecdote concerning Tiryns:

Until the beginning of the 12th century BC, the Lakissa, coming from the east, flowed north past the Profitis Ilias hill and about 1 km further west south past the castle of Tiryns. A mudslide, possibly caused by an earthquake, buried the settlement around 1190/80 B.C. (at the end of Late Helladic III B2) south of the castle. The mud deposit changed the course of the river, which now flowed north past Tiryns.

Probably to prevent another catastrophe, the Lakissa was diverted a short time later (early in the Late Helladikum III C). For this purpose, about 4 km east of Tiryns, shortly after the mouth of two streams into the Lakissa, a 1.5 km long channel was dug from the old riverbed in southwestern direction. Here the canal met the river bed of the Manessi west of the today’s village Ag. Adrianos. This flowed first south of the Profitis Ilias hill and then north of the Agia Kyriaki hill and flowed about 1.5 km south of Tiryns into the Argolic Gulf. The old riverbed was closed with a dam about 10 m high and 300 m long.

The ancient Epidaurus was independent of Argos and not integrated into the region of Argolis until the time of the Romans. With its supporting territory, it formed a small territory called Epidauria. Reputed to be founded by or named for the Argolid Epidaurus, and to be the birthplace of Apollo’s son Asclepius the healer, Epidaurus was known for its sanctuary, as well as its theater, which is among the best-preserved ancient theaters and still (again) in use today. The cult of Asclepius at Epidaurus is first attested in the 6th century BC, when the older hill-top sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas was no longer spacious enough.

The Temple of Asclepius was a sanctuary in Epidaurus dedicated to Asclepius. It was the main holy site of Asclepius throughout the ancient Greek world. The sanctuary at Epidaurus was the rival of such major cult sites as the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia and Apollo at Delphi. The temple was built in the early 4th century BC. While still in use by the 4th century AD, the temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, when the Christian Emperors issued edicts prohibiting non-Christian worship.

The Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus is noted for its reconstructions of temples and their columns and inscriptions. It was established in 1902 and opened in 1909 to display artifacts unearthed in the ancient sites of Epidaurus and the surrounding area.

The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is a theatre in the Greek city of Epidaurus, located on the southeast end of the sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Greek God of medicine, Asclepius. It is built on the west side of Cynortion Mountain, near modern Lygourio, and belongs to the Epidaurus Municipality. It is considered to be the most perfect ancient Greek theatre with regard to acoustics and aesthetics.

The prosperity brought by the asclepeion enabled Epidaurus to construct civic monuments, including the huge theatre that delighted Pausanias for its symmetry and beauty, used again today for dramatic performances, the ceremonial hestiatoreion (banqueting hall), and a palaestra. The ancient theatre of Epidaurus was designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows. As is usual for Greek theatres (and as opposed to Roman ones), the view on a lush landscape behind the skênê is an integral part of the theatre itself and is not to be obscured. It seats up to 14,000 people.

The theatre is admired for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium or skēnē to all 14,000 spectators, regardless of their seating (see Ref., in Greek). Famously, tour guides have their groups scattered in the stands and show them how they can easily hear the sound of a match struck at center-stage. A 2007 study by Nico F. Declercq and Cindy Dekeyser of the Georgia Institute of Technology indicates that the astonishing acoustic properties may be the result of the advanced design: the rows of limestone seats filter out low-frequency sounds, such as the murmur of the crowd, and also amplify the high-frequency sounds of the stage.

Halieis (Ancient Greek: Ἁλιεῖς) was a port town of Hermionis, in ancient Argolis at the mouth of the Argolic Gulf. The district is called Halias (ἡ Ἁλιάς) by Thucydides.

The townsfolk derived their name from their fisheries. The Tirynthians and Hermionians took refuge at Halieis when they were expelled from their own cities by the Argives. This town was taken about Olympiad 80 (c. 460 BCE) by Aneristus, the son of Sperthias, and made subject to Sparta. The district was afterwards ravaged on more than one occasion by the Athenians. After the Peloponnesian War Halieis is mentioned by Xenophon as autonomous.

The town was no longer inhabited in the time of Pausanias, and its position is not fixed by that writer. He only says that, seven stadia from Hermione, the road from Halice separated from that to Mases, and that the former led between the mountains Pron and Coccygius, of which the ancient name was Thornax.

Its site is located near the modern Porto Cheli.

The Mycenaean Tholos Tombs is located near Kokla and a somewhat hidden gem. Also it seems to be closed for the public, but you can manage to get around and take some nice pictures.

In classical Greece, Lerna was a region of springs and a former lake near the east coast of the Peloponnesus, south of Argos. Even though much of the area is marshy, Lerna is located on a geographically narrow point between mountains and the sea, along an ancient route from the Argolid to the southern Peloponnese; this location could have potentially resulted in the importance of the settlement.

Its site near the village Mili at the Argolic Gulf is most famous as the lair of the Lernaean Hydra, the chthonic many-headed water snake, a creature of great antiquity when Heracles killed it, as the second of his labors. The strong Karstic springs remained; the lake, diminished to a silt lagoon by the 19th century, has vanished.

Lerna is notable for several archaeological sites, including an Early Bronze Age structure known as House of the Tiles, dating to the Early Helladic period II (2500–2300 BC).

Midea is a village and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafplio, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 178.306 km², and a population of 5,631 (2011). The seat of the municipality was in Agia Triada.

Within the boundaries of the municipal unit are two significant archaeological sites dating to the bronze age or earlier. One is the site of Dendra located outside the village of the same name. The other is the citadel site of Midea. Both sites were originally excavated by the archaeologist Axel W. Persson between the 1920s and World War II.

Mycenae is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south-west of Athens; 11 kilometres (7 miles) north of Argos; and 48 kilometres (30 miles) south of Corinth. The site is 19 kilometres (12 miles) inland from the Saronic Gulf and built upon a hill rising 900 feet above sea level.

In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece, Crete, the Cyclades and parts of southwest Anatolia. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae. At its peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares.

The first correct identification of Mycenae in modern literature was during a survey conducted by Francesco Grimani, commissioned by the Provveditore Generale of the Kingdom of the Morea in 1700, who used Pausanias’s description of the Lion Gate to identify the ruins of Mycenae.

Nafplio Department of the National Gallery of Greece with great paintings and exhibits especially on the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire and the Greek Revolution. The museum is not very spacious, but nevertheless very rewarding.

The Archaeological Museum of Nafplio is a museum in the town of Nafplio of Argolis, in Greece. It has exhibits of the Neolithic period, Chalcolithic period, Helladic period, mycenaean period, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods from all over southern Argolis. The museum is situated in the central square of Nafplio. It is housed on the top floor of the old Venetian barracks.

This 18th-century former mosque in the historical center of Nafplio held the first Hellenic Parliament. When the Ottoman Empire invaded the Kingdom of Morea in the Seventh Ottoman-Venetian War, many Venetians were forced to flee the area quickly. Legend has it that when two Venetian brothers went to Nafplio in 1730 to retrieve gold their father left behind, a sinister Agha murdered them and stole the gold. The Agha later felt guilty and decided to use his blood money to gain redemption by funding the construction of a new mosque.

Later that year, construction began on a mosque in the town square. It was built in the traditional Ottoman architecture of the time, using large blocks of gray stone. The main building was square and capped with a large dome, while on the west side there was an arcade that was capped with a smaller dome. A large terrace on the second floor showcased a view over a large portion of the city and port.

Shortly after the Greeks won their independence from the Ottomans, the building was converted for use as the first Hellenic Parliament and operated as such until the capital was moved to Athens in 1826. From 1828 to 1831, the building served as a public gathering place, hosting meetings and dances. In 1831 a Hellenic school opened upstairs but closed the following year. Also opening in 1831 was a prison in the downstairs areas. The prison ceased operating in 1834, but not before serving as the site for treason trials of several Greek revolutionaries who were charged with conspiring against King Otto, including Generals Theodoros Kolokotronis and Dimitrios Plapoutas.

The building mostly sat idle until suffering earthquake damage in 1928, which caused the smaller dome to collapse. The roof was repaired, but the building was still rarely used until the Greek government rehabilitated it and turned it over to the Ministry of Culture, which currently uses a portion to house the Municipal Art Gallery of Nafplio.

Opening Hours:

The hours of operation are sporadic and are generally dependent upon the building’s use as a museum. The second floor terrace is accessible most days and evenings and has a nice view over a portion of the city. The outer courtyard of the property hosts a collection of rare relics.

The water castle of Bourtzi is a Venetian castle, located in the middle of the harbour of Nafplio.

Palamidi is a fortress to the east of the Acronauplia in the town of Nafplio in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. Nestled on the crest of a 216-metre high hill, the fortress was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the area (1686–1715).

The fortress was a very large and ambitious project, but was finished within a relatively short period from 1711 until 1714. It is a typical baroque fortress based on the plans of the engineers Giaxich and Lasalle. In 1715 it was captured by the Turks and remained under their control until 1822, when it was captured by the Greeks.

The eight bastions of the fortress were originally named after the Venetian provveditori. However, when it fell to the Ottoman Empire, the bastions were given Turkish names. Lastly, when the Greeks overthrew the Turks the bastions were renamed after ancient Greek leaders and heroes (Epaminondas, Miltiades, Leonidas, Phocion, Achilles, Themistocles. The two remaining bastions were named after St. Andrew (Agios Andreas) and the French Philhellene Robert who died in battle on the Acropolis of Athens. The “Miltiades,” was used as a prison and among its walls was also held Theodoros Kolokotronis, hero of the Greek Revolution.

The fortress commands an impressive view over the Argolic Gulf, the city of Náfplio and the surrounding country. There are 913 steps in the winding stair from the town to the fortress. However, to reach the top of the fortress there are over one thousand. Locals in the town of Nafplion will say there are 999 steps to the top of the castle, and specials can be found on menus that incorporate this number to catch a tourist’s eye.

The natural bay of Karathona south of Nafplio with its long sandy beach is one of the prettiest in the area and make it a nice place for a swim, as well as an ideal stop to relax after visiting the Palmidi fortress. The archaeologist Evangelia Protonotariou-Deilaki found prehistoric tools, bones and ceramics in Kokkinovrachos, above the shore of Karathona. On the small island of Karathona, there was a small church dating from the middle ages that was dedicated to Aghios Theodoros. Today the Karathona area boasts many beautiful churches such as: Aghia Paraskevi; the Church of Panaghia Katakekrimmeni, hidden in the rocks; Aghios Konstantinos and Aghios Nikolaos Krassoktistos.

You can get to Karathone either by road, around the mountain on which the Palamidi fortress was built, going uphill along 25th March Street and crossing the Pronia neighbourhood; or on foot, continuing the Arvanitia Promenade (which has a beach as well). A few beach bars like the “Outopia” open in summer. In low season, it´s a great place for wild camping and campervans.

Prosymna was an ancient (Myceneaen) settlement in Argolis and a place that seems to have been inhabited since the Neolithic period. Pausanias reports that Prosymna was named after Greek mythological figure of Prosymna, together with her sisters Acrea and Euboea one of the nurses of the goddess Hera, and constituted an area below the celebrated Heraeum, or temple of Hera. According to Strabon and Stephanos of Byzantium, Prosymna was the town in whose realm the Hera temple stood.

In 1878, archaeologist Panagiotis Stamatakis found a tomb in the form of a tholos that was built during the Mycenaean epoch and that was also reused in later periods. Archaeological investigations continued under the auspices of the Swedish Institute at Athens in the 1930s and then during the 1980s and 1990s, that found two settlement areas on two different sides of the Mastos hill slope, belonging to the Ancient Helladic and the Recent Heladic periods, respectively. They have found chamber tombs and large amounts of pottery that testify that the place was an important center of production of this material for many centuries. During the Hellenistic period and the early and late Roman the area also experienced a boom.

Tolo is a small village in Greece on the Peloponnese peninsula. It is part of the municipal unit Asini, in Argolis. Tolo has a history reaching as far back as to Homer`s Iliad, but turned into a summer holiday resort in the 20th century with lots of bars, restaurants, and a long sandy beach.

Tiryns is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which mythical hero Heracles performed his 12 labors. Tiryns was a hill fort with occupation ranging back seven thousand years, from before the beginning of the Bronze Age. It reached its height between 1400 and 1200 BC, when it was one of the most important centers of the Mycenaean world, and in particular in Argolis. Its most notable features were its palace, its Cyclopean tunnels and especially its walls, which gave the city its Homeric epithet of “mighty walled Tiryns”. Tiryns is linked with the myths surrounding Heracles, as the city was the residence of the hero during his labors, and some sources even cite it as his birthplace.

The famous megaron of the palace of Tiryns has a large reception hall, the main room of which had a throne placed against the right wall and a central hearth bordered by four Minoan-style wooden columns that served as supports for the roof. Two of the three walls of the megaron were incorporated into an archaic temple of Hera. The site went into decline at the end of the Mycenaean period, and was completely deserted by the time Pausanias visited in the 2nd century AD. This site was excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in 1884–1885, and is the subject of ongoing excavations by the German Archaeological Institute at Athens and the University of Heidelberg. In 1300 BC the citadel and lower town had a population of 10,000 people covering 20–25 hectares. Despite the destruction of the palace in 1200 BC, the city population continued to increase and by 1150 BC it had a population of 15,000 people.

Tiryns was recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1999.

The tomb of Tholos of Tiryns (Greek Θολωτός Τάφος Τίρυνθας) is an underground Tholos building which was erected during the Late Helladic period around 1300 BC. It was excavated in 1913 by Hans Dragendorff under the direction of Georg Karo.

The tomb is located about 1 km east of Tiryns Castle at the western foot of Profitis Ilias Hill. The dromos is 13.70 m long and 3 m wide and runs from west to east. It is built of coarsely hewn limestone slabs. The façade was decorated with spirals. The gate way (Stomion) is about 5 m long, 4 m high and 2 m wide. It is covered with three thick stone slabs. While the relief triangle above the capstones has disappeared on the outside, it can still be seen inside. The grave could be closed with a two-wing door.

2 km east of Nea Tiryns and about 5 km from Tiryns Castle a unique technical work of antiquity was discovered. In this area a huge earth wall was built, surrounded by a cladding of stone blocks – some stone blocks are visible today – to drain the water from the Manesi stream, which seems to have flowed towards Tiryns and had caused flooding since the early Bronze Age (FH II).

Megali Magoula (Greek Μεγάλη Μαγούλα, large hill) is an archaeological site near the Greek port of Galata. The excavations brought to light a Mycenaean dome with dromos and other tombs and sacrificial sites, as well as a Mycenaean acropolis. Some of these finds are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Poros.