Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese in the Aegean Sea. Κοs is full of archaeological sites and monuments , has a 5,000 years long history and has been influenced by many cultures, such as the Ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Venetians, the medieval Knights, and the Ottomans. Asklepieion, one of the top holistic healing centers of the ancient world, which followed the medical guidelines of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. Some other sights worth visiting include churches, Neratzia medieval castle, the ancient Greek Agora, and Antimachia Castle. . Kos is also known as the “Cycling island”, as bicycling is a very popular means of transportation there a 13 km long cycling road, ideal for bike strolls, starting from Faros beach and ending at Psalidi beach! Apart from the cycling road, though, there are many mountain cycling trails, ideal for cycling in nature. Visit some of the island’s best seashores, such as Kardamena beach, Tigaki beach, Mastichari beach, Marmari beach, and Kefalos beach.
The city of Kos spreads out in all directions from perfectly protected Mandráki harbour, with Bodrum (a major day-trip destination) just visible on the Asia Minor mainland. Despite its size the town feels low-density; thanks to the Italians it’s rigorously planned, executed in two phases either side of the 1933 quake. From 1926–29 and again from 1934–39 they endowed it with clusters of mock-Ottoman, Art Deco-ish and Rationalist style buildings to meet both the social and political needs of colonialism and fascism – including a large central square, today Platía Eleftherías, where crowds could be harangued from a speaker’s tribune. Large areas of archeological “park” were created by removing the rubble of collapsed houses to reveal ancient remains. Yet some care was taken to preserve or highlight the castle and the traditional quarters – the Muslim bazaar, and the old blacksmiths’ quarter of Haluvaziá just behind the port – which had survived the tremor. Residential, cantonment-style suburbs were laid out, particularly on the east, and today their original landscaping has matured, giving Kos the feel of a lush garden town.
The Castle of the Knights of Saint John (8am–8pm daily through October; back to shorter hours (8.30am–3pm) in winter) with its double fortification dominates the harbor. The castle is linked by a bridge over its former moat (now Finikon Avenue) to the square where the so-called, very decrepit Plane Tree of Hippocrates stands. In legend the great healer taught under its boughs, though in fact this is unlikely as the tree is only about 700 years old. Flanking the plaza is the Loggia Mosque, from 1786; as at the contemporary Defterdar Mosque on Platía Eleftherías, rent from the shops on its ground floor goes to the vakuf or local Islamic benevolent foundation. Neither of these mosques is used much for worship by local Muslims, though the minaret-less Atik Mosque in the Ottoman bazaar still functions normally.
Just south of the harbour lies the ancient agora (always open), excavated after the 1933 quake: no compelling sights other than foundations of a Hellenistic Aphrodite temple and re-erected Roman columns from a stoa, but a pleasant wander nonetheless. The other, more extensive archeological zone lies well inland beyond the Ottoman bazaar, featuring the Xystos or colonnade of a covered running track, and – viewable from a slight distance – mosaics of a boar hunt, gladiators and the nymph Europa. There are more floor mosaics – of a tiger, and assorted beasts attacking a goat and an antelope – in the Casa Romana (Tues–Sat 8am–7.30pm, Sun 1.30–7.30pm, Mon closed), a 3d-century AD Roman villa across the street, which finally re-opened in 2010 after a lengthy refit. Also refurbished recently was the contemporaneous Roman odeion adjacent – its undercroft now houses a well-done mini-museum (daily April–Oct 8am–8pm) on odeia in general, and this one in particular. The main, Italian-built archeological museum (Tues–Sun 8am–2.30pm) is up on Platía Eleftherías, containing Hellenistic and Roman statuary, as well as two more fine mosaics. Just opposite, beyond the Defterdar Mosque, is the covered Italian market from 1934; lately its produce stalls have been exiled in favour of tourist stalls peddling honey and herbs – no bargains here – but it’s still an atmospheric spot to stock up on gifts.
The ruins of the Asklepion (summer 8am–8pm, winter 8.30am–2.30pm; closed Mon all year) lie 4km southwest of town on a series of terraces overlooking Kos and the Turkish coast. Hippocrates was the first healer adopting a rational approach to diagnosis, and the first – as witness his treatise Airs, Waters and Places – to lay stress on the importance of environment in therapy. In its day – which ended in 554 AD – the Asklepion was as much spa and teaching facility as religious sanctuary, and the site chosen had ample springs (which ran above ground until recently – you can still see fountain-niches and clay piping). The three terraces, connected by broad stairways, feature a Doric Temple of Asklepios on the top level, and a Roman Corinthian temple partly rebuilt by nationalistically minded Italian archeologists, but don’t get your hopes pitched too high – little else stands much above ground level, as the crusading Knights thoroughly scoured the site for ready-cut masonry.

The Asklepion is easy to reach by bicycle, fake train or (in cooler weather) on foot, passing through the partly ethnic-Turkish village of Platáni (aka Kermedés) with its active mosque and cluster of Anatolian-style tavernas at the central junction, of which Arap is the most consistent, famous and open much of the year. Hasan, across the street from Arap, as a worthwhile, cheaper alternative, with good kebabs and the odd vegetable stew. Opposite, superb ice cream is served at Paradosi. There were once nearly 3000 island Turks living here and in Kos town, but after the successive Cyprus crises of 1963–74 numbers dropped to under 1000. Between Platáni and town are the adjacent Muslim and Jewish cemeteries. The island’s 120 Jews were deported to their deaths at Auschwitz during summer 1944, and the only other trace of the long-running Jewish community is their wonderful Italian-era synagogue on Diákou near the “Pub Lanes”.