Language · 11 published
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 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.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
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.
61 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Gülhane Parkı
Gülhane Park is 9.7 hectares of shaded slope below Topkapı Palace, and for most of its life it was not a park at all but the palace's outer garden — ground the public did not enter.
Göreme Millî Parkı
Göreme National Park is the wider landscape around Göreme village, while the principal visitor attraction in this listing is the Göreme Örenyeri, or Göreme Open-Air Museum.
Taksim Gezi Parkı
Gezi Park is a terraced park of four hectares — 9.88 acres — occupying the ground immediately north of Taksim Square in Beyoğlu.
Anıtkabir is the mausoleum complex of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on Ankara’s Anıttepe hill. It is a national memorial and museum, with monumental architecture, landscaped grounds and galleries about the Turkish War of Independence and the founding period of the Republic.
Bafa Gölü
Lake Bafa is a protected lake landscape where Muğla’s eastern shore meets the wider setting of Aydın’s Söke district. The Kapıkırı side is the practical base for exploring the water, rocky shore and Beşparmak Mountains.
Köyceğiz Gölü
Lake Köyceğiz is a large natural lake beside Köyceğiz town in Muğla Province. Muğla Governorate gives its area as about 54 square kilometres, while the municipality describes the lake area as 6,300 hectares.
Polatlı is a municipal park in the centre of Polatlı, Ankara province, mapped as a leisure=park site.
Saklıkent Millî Parkı
Saklıkent Canyon is a natural gorge in Seydikemer district of Muğla, close to the Antalya provincial border. It is approximately 18 kilometres long, and Karaçay, a branch of the Eşen River, flows through it.
Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli Türbesi
The Haji Bektash Veli complex is a historic Bektashi lodge and museum in Hacıbektaş, Nevşehir Province.
Mogan Gölü
Lake Mogan is a shallow natural lake and recreation destination in Gölbaşı district, about 25 kilometres south of Ankara. The lake covers approximately 5 square kilometres, and the surrounding Mogan Recreation Area provides a broad public park beside the water.
Çankaya Köşkü
Çankaya Mansion is a working state residence and workplace on Ankara’s Çankaya presidential campus, with a role that combines republican history and present-day government.
Eymir Gölü
Lake Eymir is a protected lakeside recreation area associated with Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara. The site is suited to walking, cycling, birdwatching and quiet outdoor time rather than a conventional urban park.
Kara Ada
Eşek Island is a natural island off İzmir’s Çeşme Peninsula, on the eastern side of the Chios Strait, and is formerly known as Goni.
İztuzu Plajı
İztuzu Beach is a long, protected sandy shore in Ortaca district, south of Dalyan in Muğla. The beach stretches for approximately 5,400 metres and occupies a distinctive position between the Mediterranean and the lagoon and canal landscape behind the sand.
Gençlik Parkı is a large municipal urban park in Ankara’s Ulus neighbourhood, between Ankara railway station and the Opera buildings. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality operates it, and the park opened on 19 May 1943.
Kültürpark is İzmir’s major central urban park and fairground, established on 1 January 1936 under the leadership of Behçet Uz. Its 420,000-square-metre grounds combine mature greenery, public recreation, cultural attractions and event spaces in the centre of the city.
Gediz Deltası
Gediz Delta is a vast wetland on İzmir’s northwestern edge, spreading across the districts of Çiğli, Menemen, Karşıyaka and Foça.
Kuğulu Park is a compact public green space on Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi in Kavaklıdere, Çankaya, Ankara.
Göksu Parkı
Göksu Park is a distinctive lakeside recreation area in Göksu Mahallesi, Etimesgut, shaped by a 1.6-kilometre route around its lake rather than by a single building or monument.
Dikmen Vadisi
Dikmen Valley is a large public green corridor in Ankara’s Çankaya district, extending between the Dikmen and Ayrancı neighbourhoods. It follows a long, sloping valley rather than forming one enclosed attraction.
Nimara Magarasi
Nimara Cave is an open-air archaeological attraction on the north-western slope of Cennet Island, also called Nimara Peninsula, in Marmaris, Muğla.
Güvenpark is the green civic space at the heart of Kızılay, in Ankara’s Çankaya district, beside Kızılay Square and Atatürk Boulevard.
Altınpark is a 640,000-square-metre recreation complex in Ankara’s Altındağ district, shaped by ponds, planted grounds and science, exhibition, meeting and leisure facilities.
İnkaya Mağarası
İnkaya Cave is a dry cave west of Yelki village, on the eastern side of Kocadağ in Güzelbahçe, İzmir. Its documented underground length is 222 metres, and the deepest point is 30 metres below the entrance.
Esertepe Parkı
Esertepe Park is a municipal recreation area in Keçiören, positioned between the Esertepe and Etlik neighbourhoods. Its approximately 180,000-square-metre scale makes it a substantial hillside destination within Ankara rather than a small neighbourhood garden.
Abdi İpekçi Parkı
Abdi İpekçi Park is a 33,120-square-metre memorial and recreation space on Sıhhiye Square in central Ankara.
Buca Gölet is a public recreation facility in Belenbaşı Mevkii, near the Sebze Hali in Kaynaklar, within İzmir’s Buca district.
Harikalar Diyarı
Wonderland Ankara is a municipal urban park in Ankara’s Sincan district, around Fatih Mahallesi and Ayaş Yolu.
30 Ağustos Zafer Parkı
30 Ağustos Zafer Park is a 166,000-square-metre municipal recreation area beside AŞTİ, Ankara’s intercity bus terminal.
50. Yıl Parkı
50. Yıl Parkı is a hillside public recreation area in Ankara’s 50. Yıl Mahallesi, above Ankara University’s Cebeci Campus in Çankaya. Its character comes from combining open-air recreation with a broad bird’s-eye view across Ankara.
Gölcük
Lake Gölcük is an alluvial-dammed lake in a tectonically defined depression at Gölcük Mahallesi, Ödemiş, İzmir. It sits on the Bozdağlar Plateau at approximately 1,050 metres above sea level, while the surrounding plateau averages about 1,100 metres.
Meclis Parkı
Meclis Park is a green area within the Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi (TBMM) campus in Ankara’s Bakanlıklar district, beside Atatürk Bulvarı.
Portakal Çiçeği Vadisi
Orange Blossom Park is a neighbourhood recreation space in Aziziye, within Ankara’s Çankaya district, on Portakal Çiçeği Park İçi Yolu.
Yedigöller
Buca Yedigöller is a neighbourhood recreation area in İzmir, set among the Çağdaş, İzkent, Karanfil, Gaziler and Murathan neighbourhoods.
Çamaltı Tuzlası
Çamaltı Salt Pan is a working coastal salt-production landscape inside İzmir’s Gediz Delta, where shallow evaporation ponds, embankments and wetland habitats meet.
Kordonboyu
Kordon is İzmir’s bayfront promenade, stretching between Konak and Alsancak Port along the central shore of İzmir Bay. Its defining experience is movement beside open water: a continuous urban route where the bay, city frontage and everyday public life meet.
Tulumtaş Mağarası
Tulumtaş Cave is a fossil cave in Tulumtaş Mahallesi, within Ankara’s Gölbaşı district, in the Karayatak area beside the Ankara Ring Road.
100. Yıl Cumhuriyet Millet Bahçesi is a municipal public recreation area in Ege Mahallesi, on Natoyolu Caddesi in Mamak, Ankara.
1550. Cadde Yürüyüş Parkı is a completed municipal neighbourhood park on 1550. Cadde in Çiğdem Mahallesi, within Ankara’s Çankaya district. Its identity is practical and local: a 12,451-square-metre outdoor space designed around walking, running, exercise and pauses between everyday journeys.
1554. Cadde Yeşil Alan is a mapped pocket of greenery beside 1554. Cadde in Çiğdem Mahallesi, within Ankara’s Çankaya district.
66 Evler Parkı is a neighbourhood green space in Yenikent Mahallesi, Urla, within İzmir Province.
Çetinkaya Park is a neighbourhood outdoor park on Bahtiyar Tosunbaş Caddesi in Hafsa Sultan, Yunusemre, Manisa. Its defining documented feature is a network of running paths renewed with an acrylic surface by Yunusemre Municipality’s Park and Gardens Directorate.
Fethiye Limanı is a public harbour and quay on Fethiye’s waterfront, linking the Karagözler shoreline with the İskele area. Its identity is practical and maritime: visitors orient themselves among quays, boats and passenger departures rather than enter an enclosed attraction.
Gülbahçe Parkı, also known in newer municipal references as Tarık Kesekçi Parkı, is a compact green space in central Nevşehir.
Lav Mağarası
Lav Mağarası is a named lava-cave geosite in Kula Divlit Volcanic Park, within Kula district of Manisa. It is a natural volcanic formation rather than a built attraction with galleries, lighting or exhibition rooms.
Manolya Meydanı is a named public square in central Manisa where everyday movement, meetings and civic activity come together.
Necdi Şentürk Şehir Parkı is an urban recreation area in İnönü Mahallesi, within Akhisar’s central Kültürpark area in Manisa province. It is also referred to as Kültürpark and Şehit Yüzbaşı Necdi Şentürk Parkı.
Yenikapı Şehir Parkı
Abbasağa Parkı
Beylerbeyi Parkı
Topkapı Şehir Parkı
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
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.
