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The World’s 100 Best Archaeological Sites & Ruins · 2026

The Best Archaeological Sites & Ruins in Europe

18 of the 100 sites in The World’s 100 Best Archaeological Sites & Ruins 2026 are in Europe, in 6 countries. The highest placed is Nuraghe Santu Antine in Torralba, Italy, at number 8 in the world. Ancient Messene in Mavrommati, Greece (number 10) and Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina, Italy (number 28) follow.

Nuraghe Santu Antine
N° 8 · Nuraghe Santu Antine, Torralba

Greece

Ancient Messene in the south-west Peloponnese has a stadium, a theatre and long stretches of its city wall. Delphi lies on the slope of Mount Parnassus, with the Temple of Apollo, the theatre and the stadium above it. Epidaurus is visited for its theatre, and the Acropolis stands above the centre of Athens.

Italy

Pompeii was buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD and is walked street by street. Ostia Antica was the port of Rome; Hadrian’s Villa lies at Tivoli east of the city. Sicily has the mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casale, the temples of Selinunte and the theatre of Taormina. Paestum has three Greek temples. Santu Antine and Arrubiu are Bronze Age stone towers in Sardinia.

Elsewhere in Europe

Avebury and Stonehenge are stone circles in Wiltshire, about 30 km apart. La Olmeda in the province of Palencia is a Roman villa under a modern roof. Plovdiv’s Roman theatre is still used for performances. The Pula Arena is a Roman amphitheatre on the Croatian coast.

Sites

99. Pula Arena 98. Nuraghe Arrubiu 94. Ostia Antica 92. Ancient Theatre of Taormina 90. Stonehenge 89. Acropolis of Athens 82. Avebury 77. Paestum 66. Hadrian’s Villa 65. Selinunte 50. Pompeii 42. Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis 34. Epidaurus 33. La Olmeda Roman Villa 30. Delphi 28. Villa Romana del Casale 10. Ancient Messene 8. Nuraghe Santu Antine
99. Pula Arena 98. Nuraghe Arrubiu 94. Ostia Antica 92. Ancient Theatre of Taormina 90. Stonehenge 89. Acropolis of Athens 82. Avebury 77. Paestum 66. Hadrian’s Villa 65. Selinunte 50. Pompeii 42. Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis 34. Epidaurus 33. La Olmeda Roman Villa 30. Delphi 28. Villa Romana del Casale 10. Ancient Messene 8. Nuraghe Santu Antine
  1. Nuraghe Santu Antine N° 8 Nuraghe Santu Antine Torralba, Italy Ruin
  2. Ancient Messene N° 10 Ancient Messene Mavrommati, Greece Ancient city
  3. Villa Romana del Casale N° 28 Villa Romana del Casale Piazza Armerina, Italy Ruin
  4. Delphi N° 30 Delphi Delphi, Greece Temple site
  5. La Olmeda Roman Villa N° 33 La Olmeda Roman Villa Pedrosa de la Vega, Spain Ruin
  6. Epidaurus N° 34 Epidaurus Epidaurus, Greece Amphitheatre or theatre
  7. Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis N° 42 Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis Plovdiv, Bulgaria Amphitheatre or theatre
  8. Pompeii N° 50 Pompeii Pompei, Italy Ancient city
  9. Selinunte N° 65 Selinunte Castelvetrano, Italy Ancient city
  10. Hadrian’s Villa N° 66 Hadrian’s Villa Tivoli, Italy Ruin
  11. Paestum N° 77 Paestum Paestum, Italy Temple site
  12. Avebury N° 82 Avebury Avebury, United Kingdom Megalithic site
  13. Acropolis of Athens N° 89 Acropolis of Athens Athens, Greece Temple site
  14. Stonehenge N° 90 Stonehenge Amesbury, United Kingdom Megalithic site
  15. Ancient Theatre of Taormina N° 92 Ancient Theatre of Taormina Taormina, Italy Amphitheatre or theatre
  16. Ostia Antica N° 94 Ostia Antica Ostia, Italy Ancient city
  17. Nuraghe Arrubiu N° 98 Nuraghe Arrubiu Orroli, Italy Ruin
  18. Pula Arena N° 99 Pula Arena Pula, Croatia Amphitheatre or theatre

Best by region

  1. EuropeNuraghe Santu AntineTorralba, ItalyN° 8
  2. AsiaEllora CavesEllora, IndiaN° 6
  3. The Middle EastPetraWadi Musa, JordanN° 2
  4. North AmericaCalakmulCalakmul, MexicoN° 1
  5. Latin AmericaMachu PicchuAguas Calientes, PeruN° 3
  6. AfricaDouggaTéboursouk, TunisiaN° 5

Best by kind

  1. Ancient citiesCalakmulCalakmul, MexicoN° 1
  2. Temple sitesDendera TempleQena, EgyptN° 4
  3. Pyramids & TombsPyramids of GizaGiza, EgyptN° 17
  4. Amphitheatres & TheatresAmphitheatre of El JemEl Jem, TunisiaN° 23
  5. Rock-cut sitesEllora CavesEllora, IndiaN° 6

Best by country

  1. TurkeySagalassosAğlasunN° 16
  2. MexicoCalakmulCalakmulN° 1
  3. EgyptDendera TempleQenaN° 4
  4. IndiaEllora CavesElloraN° 6
  5. ItalyNuraghe Santu AntineTorralbaN° 8