Homer called it Tiryns of the great walls, and when you stand next to them you see that he was not exaggerating. The citadel rises from a low limestone ridge in the Argolid plain, and its walls are built of blocks so enormous that later Greeks decided only the Cyclopes, one-eyed giants, could have lifted them. The name stuck: Cyclopean masonry. Tiryns was one of the great centres of the Mycenaean world in the late Bronze Age, linked in legend to Heracles, who was said to have served its king, and its galleries are the best part. These long corridors are roofed with corbelled stone vaults, their walls polished smooth over the centuries by sheep sheltering from the weather.
The site is quiet compared to Mycenae, a short ride north, which means you can wander almost alone in the morning, with only lizards and the drone of insects for company. From the top you look out over a flat sea of orange and lemon groves to the bay and the fortress-crowned town of Nafplio. In spring, when the citrus blossoms, the whole plain smells sweet; in high summer the heat comes off the stones like an oven, so get here early or late.
Riding in the Argolid is a mix. The plain itself is a grid of straight, flat roads lined with groves and irrigation channels, nothing special except for the scent, and you will share them with farm pickups and the odd tractor. But head east towards Epidaurus and the roads begin to climb and twist through olive terraces and pine, with views back over the gulf, and the run to Ancient Epidaurus and its theatre, famous for its acoustics, makes a wonderful afternoon. South-west the coast road towards Leonidio is narrower and more dramatic still.
Nafplio, just three or four kilometres away, is the obvious base. It was the first capital of modern Greece after independence, and its old town of Venetian houses, bougainvillea and marble lanes is one of the prettiest in the country. Fuel, food and accommodation are everywhere, and the Palamidi fortress above town is worth the climb, though there are a lot of steps. Argos, to the north, is the other big town for supplies. Bring water to Tiryns; there is little shade and only basic facilities at the site.