Country guide
Türkiye is 783,562 km² across 81 provinces, most of it Anatolia in West Asia with East Thrace on the European side of the straits. It has three coasts to choose...
Photograph · Benh LIEU SONG · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Türkiye is 783,562 km² across 81 provinces, most of it Anatolia in West Asia with East Thrace on the European side of the straits. It has three coasts to choose between — the Black Sea to the north, the Aegean to the west, the Mediterranean to the south — and an interior plateau that behaves like a different country in winter. Istanbul is the largest city and the economic centre, Ankara the capital and the second-largest, and the December 2025 population of 86,092,168 is weighted heavily to the west. A first trip is usually Istanbul and one coast; the plateau is the second trip.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Ben Morlok · CC BY-SA 2.0
Photograph · Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · REHBER0770 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Anonymous · CC0
Photograph · Dan Taylor · CC BY 2.0
Photograph · Dogaaunlu · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Egemenakgul · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
84 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Göreme Açık Hava Müzesi
Churches of Göreme is the rock-cut monastic heart of the Göreme Open-Air Museum in Cappadocia. Chapels, monasteries and decorated cave interiors are carved into soft volcanic tuff, creating a religious landscape rather than a single monumental building.
Agora Açık Hava Müzesi
The Agora of Smyrna is the excavated state agora of ancient Smyrna in central İzmir, in Namazgah near Mezarlıkbaşı.
Ankara Palas is a historic building in Ulus that now operates as Ankara Palas Museum. It stands opposite the Second Assembly building and connects architecture with the political and social history of early Republican Ankara.
TCG Pirireis
USS Tang is the submarine displayed in İzmir as TCG PİRİREİS, a museum vessel at the İzmir Naval Museum’s İnciraltı quay.
İzmir Etnografya Müzesi
İzmir Ethnography Museum occupies a historic three-storey building in Konak, on Halil Rıfat Paşa Caddesi beside the Varyant route. The building was constructed in 1831 as St.
Ulucanlar Cezaevi Müzesi
Ulucanlar Prison Museum occupies Ankara’s former Ulucanlar Prison, built in 1925 as the first prison of the Republic of Türkiye.
İzmir Müze Gemiler Müdürlüğü
İnciraltı Sea Museum is a waterfront collection of former naval vessels at İnciraltı pier in Balçova, İzmir.
Gökyay Vakfı Satranç Müzesi
Gökyay Association Chess Museum is a specialist Ankara museum built around Akın Gökyay’s chess-set collection, which he began in 1975. It presents chess through design, craftsmanship, history, symbolism, and cultural exchange, rather than only as a competitive game.
Cumhuriyet Müzesi
Republic Museum is housed in Ankara’s former 2nd Grand National Assembly building in Ulus, where parliament met from 1924 to 1960.
Türkiye İş Bankası İktisadi Bağımsızlık Müzesi
Türkiye İş Bankası Economic Independence Museum is a museum in Ankara’s Ulus district at Çam Sokak No: 3. It presents the history of Türkiye İş Bankası alongside Türkiye’s economic development and the broader story of economic independence.
Akhisar Müzesi
Akhisar Museum, in the Paşa neighbourhood of Akhisar district, opened on 6 August 2012 in a building with a longer history than the museum itself: built in 1932 as the Ali Şefik Hospital, endowed by Ayşe Aloğlu, it later became…
PTT Pul Müzesi
Stamp Museum is the PTT museum in Ankara’s historic Ulus district, housed in the restored Emlak ve Eytam Bank building.
Kurtuluş Savaşı Müzesi
The War of Independence Museum occupies the building of the First Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara’s Ulus Square. This is the historic building where the Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi first met during the War of Independence.
Arkas Art Center is a temporary-exhibition venue in İzmir’s Alsancak district, housed in a restored historic building whose rooms shape the visit.
Gordion Müzesi
Gordion Museum stands beside Yassıhöyük, the village associated with the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordion in Ankara Province. Established in 1963, it presents archaeological finds from the settlement and helps visitors understand the site’s long occupation.
Havacılık Müzesi
Ankara Aviation Museum is a Turkish Air Force museum beside the 11th Air Transport Main Base Command in Etimesgut. It opened to the public on 18 September 1998, with Sabiha Gökçen attending the opening.
Pembe Köşk is the historic Ankara house where İsmet İnönü lived with his family from 1925 to 1973.
Galata Mevlevihanesi Müzesi
The Galata Mevlevihanesi is the oldest Mevlevi dervish lodge in Istanbul, established in 1491 during the reign of Bayezid II on land that had belonged to İskender Pasha, a prominent governor of the period.
İzmir Kadın Müzesi
İzmir Women's Museum is a Konak Municipality museum in Basmane, opened on 23 January 2014 and identified by İzmir's public bodies as Turkey's first women's museum.
İzmir Bergama Müzesi
Bergama Museum is an indoor museum in Bergama, İzmir, bringing together archaeology from the ancient city’s major excavation areas and objects from the region’s traditional life.
Atatürk Müzesi
İzmir Atatürk Museum is a house museum on Atatürk Caddesi, the First Kordon waterfront road in Alsancak.
TCG Ege
USS Ainsworth is preserved as TCG EGE at İzmir Naval Museum, where the former warship is displayed as a museum ship at İnciraltı pier.
ODTÜ Bilim ve Teknoloji Müzesi
METU Science and Technology Museum occupies a university setting on the Middle East Technical University campus in Ankara and brings together three distinct exhibition areas: the Science and Technology History Exhibition, the Classical Automobile Exhibition and the Open-Air Exhibition.
Ümran Baradan Oyun ve Oyuncak Müzesi
İzmir Toy Museum is a specialised Konak Municipality collection in Varyant, built around toys gathered by ceramic artist and painter Ümran Baradan.
Feza Gürsey Bilim Merkezi
Feza Gürsey Science Center is an interactive science venue inside Ankara’s Altınpark. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality founded the center on 23 April 1993 to make scientific ideas accessible through hands-on discovery.
Ten to fourteen days allows about four days in İstanbul and at least three around Antalya when coastal archaeology is included. Cappadocia needs its own regional stay, and a one-way coastal route is more workable than returning to the same city each night.
Türkiye's visa position varies by passport and purpose. Verify the rule through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, when eligible, use only the official e-Visa service rather than an intermediary.
İstanbul's two airports and Antalya are the principal gateways for this itinerary. Domestic flights cover long cross-country legs, coaches serve many city pairs, and high-speed rail is most useful on the İstanbul-Ankara axis rather than as a universal substitute.
April to May and September to October are broad choices for combining İstanbul with the Mediterranean coast. Cappadocia nights, inland heat, and Antalya's coastal conditions differ, so confirm weather for each overnight base.
Türkiye uses the Turkish lira (TRY). Keep lira available for smaller transport and market transactions even when cards are accepted, and review the displayed amount in TRY before agreeing to any card conversion.
Dial 112 for emergencies in Türkiye. Electricity is 230 V through Type C and F sockets; tap-water safety is not recorded here, so obtain current local advice at each stop.
