Ephesus

One of the best-preserved ancient cities in the Mediterranean, once the capital of Roman Asia Minor with up to 250,000 people. Walk down the marble Curetes Street past temples and fountains to the two-storey façade of the Library of Celsus, the most photographed building in Turkey, and on to the Great Theatre, which seated 24,000.

Pay the extra to see the Terrace Houses, where the homes of wealthy Romans are protected under a roof with their mosaics and wall paintings intact; many visitors say it's the highlight. Arrive at opening time or late afternoon, as cruise-ship groups from Kuşadası crowd the site in the middle of the day, and bring water and a hat. If you start at the upper (Magnesian) gate and walk down, it's downhill all the way.

The Ephesus Museum in Selçuk holds the finds from the site, and the single remaining column of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is on the edge of town. The House of the Virgin Mary is 7 km up the hill. Avoid 'free lifts' that end at a carpet shop.