Valley of the Temples (Agrigento)

The Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi) near Agrigento on the southern coast of Sicily is the most impressive collection of Greek temples outside Greece — and in some respects better preserved than the originals in Athens. Seven temples from the 5th and 6th centuries BC line up on a rocky ridge above the sea.

The Temple of Concordia (430 BC) is one of the best-preserved Greek temples in the world — 34 Doric columns, almost intact, golden-brown in the evening light. Next to it: the Temple of Hera (450 BC), the massive Temple of Zeus (the largest Doric temple ever planned — never completed), the Temple of Heracles, and the Temple of the Dioscuri.

Especially impressive at sunset, when the temples glow in warm light, and in the evening with night lighting (summer: extended until 10:00 PM). The adjacent Giardino della Kolymbetra (€5) is an enchanting garden with citrus and olive trees in an ancient cistern.