Which are the best places to experience ancient culture?

I just went to the Caucasus: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. I will strongly recommend these places. These are countries to the south of Russia. Armenia is to the north of Iran, Georgia is to the southeast of Turkey. The countries are called the Caucasus because they are located near the Caucasus mountains. The Caucasian or the Indo- European race is believed to have originated there.  I have traveled a lot and these places just blew my mind. Historically, a bulk of these places were part of the Greater Persia..They fell under the Sassasid empire, then the Ottomans, etc. The people look eastern European but culturally, they are a mixture of Asian and European. The Azerbajanis are a Turkic group of people, while the Georgians and Armenians are Indo- Europeans. Hence, by virtue of the culture and the geography, these countries are neither fully in Asia nor in Europe. They are uniquely Eurasian. 1)Georgia, not to be confused with the US state, is the birth place of Joseph Stalin. you should visit Stalin's museum there. You should visit Tblisi (capital)' s old city and new city!  If you want, Visit Batumi to explore the Black sea, which I did not. Churches in Georgia  are amazing, especially those in the city,Mtskheta. Mtskheta Georgian orthodox church Tblisi old city 2)Next Armenia. -Nice country, nice people, relatively safe except border with Azerbaijan--to be avoided at all costs. Places to see: Mainly churches and historical sites. Garni temple (a pagan sun-temple before christ), Geghard monastery, Sevanavank monastery, republic square are the must-visits. Great place if you like exploring ancient stuff..like architecture. It is interesting to note that Armenia is the 1st christian country in the world to officially accept the religion (in 300AD) , followed by Georgia. Pagan temple, Armenia (an ancient pre- christ temple) 3) Richest of all the three countries. Baku, the capital is glitzy and nice. This is predominantly a Muslim country made up of Turkic people who speak Azeri, a Turkic language. Places to visit: Shirvanshas' Palace  Maiden Tower Caspian Sea, The Atesgah( Zoroastrian Fire temple) The Gobustan Rock Art Museam( awesome stuff !!) are the must-visit places. Gobustan Rock Art (has carvings dating to 10000 years!!) Ateshgah!, The Fire temple ( an ancient place for Zoroastrians and Hindus who live there in the past Communication: I travelled with my family and we stayed in Budget hotels and hired tour guides who speak good english. With the locals, we communicated mainly using sign language, and very very basic english they understand. It will be very useful to carry a Russian phrasebook because everyone in these countries learn it as a second language. Do let me know if you are considering. I will be happy to give you more information!!

South of France. There are a lot of Roman ruins in Provence and I recommend visiting Arles, Nimes and Orange,. Should also trip to Avignon - all this is possible in a small area.