A modern road runs through the two separate sites of Xanthos. To the west of the road stands the 2nd century AD Roman theatre, originally with seats for 2200 spectators. The upper rows of the cavea are missing and the stage building is only partially standing. South of the theatre is the original 8th century BCE Lycian acropolis with foundations of a square building destroyed at the time of the Persian capture and mass suicide in 540 BCE. Higher up to the west are the scanty remains of a temple of Artemis; which probably contained the shrine dedicated to Sarpedon.

To the west of the theatre are three dramatic tombs close together. Furthest south is the 1st century AD Roman pillar tomb. Adjacent to the north is the 4th century BCE Lycian pillar tomb supporting a sarcophagus (3,6 m high) with a pointed arch on top of a pillar made of stone blocks.

The third is the famous Harpy Tomb (8,9 m high) dating back to 480-470 BCE, given its name by the British Archaeologist Sir Charles Fellows in 1838. The Harpy Tomb is a single monolithic column rising more than 5 m high set upon a two-stepped podium. The grave chamber was at the top of the column. Its reliefs depict the deceased in battle, and separately a man and his wife receiving homage from their children. On all four sides seated figures receive gifts. On the south and east sides are birds; on the north side a helmet and on the west side are two seated females, three standing figures approach the one to the right, the other receives an indistinct object. On the east side are three other female figures, one apparently accompanied by a dog. The figures Sir Charles Fellows misidentified as Harpies are on the north and south sides on either side of the seated figures. They are bird-women with female heads, wings and tails, carrying children in their arms. These winged females are sirens, bird-women who carry the souls of the dead, in the form of children, to the Isles of the Blessed. The seated figures are members of the ruling family. Crosses were painted on the back of the reliefs, suggesting that a Christian hermit once used the grave-chamber as a refuge. Concrete reproductions stand in place of the original, which is at the British Museum in London.

To the north-east of the Xanthos agora along the road is the Inscribed Pillar, a 5th century BCE house tomb with reliefs, which recount the life of King Kerei in Lycian and Greek. He fought for Lycian independence from Athens during the Peloponnesian War. This monument is famous because it is the longest Lycian inscription known, over 250 lines of text. The grave chamber of this monument is now at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

Across the modern road from the theatre is an excavated late Roman street, once lined with shops on both sides. To the south-east of that road are remains of a late Roman basilica with mosaics. To the south is the famous Nereid monument, actually the tomb of King Arbinas built in 380 BCE. The monument contains friezes of Greeks in battle with barbarians, and hunting scenes. Arbinas was a 4th century BCE Lycian ruler who first built the temple of Leto, the Letoon. The name Nereid derives from the female Nereids or sea nymphs appearing between the Ionic columns. The main Nereid monument can be seen today at the British Museum in London, here only the monument base remains are in situ.

To the south-east is the Hellenistic gateway to Xanthos, built during the period when Macedonian Seleucid King Antiochus III ruled the city. The 1st century AD Vespasian Gate stands north-west of the Hellenistic Gate directly along the modern road. That gate was the main entrance to Xanthos and the starting point for the sacred road to Letoon, 8 km away. Further to the north-east lies the Lion Tomb, which depicts scenes of lions and men and dates back to 500-550 BCE.