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.
738 places match
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Typical visit duration
Kaymaklı yeraltı şehri
Kaymaklı is an underground city museum in Kaymaklı town, about 20 km from Nevşehir. Rather than presenting a single above-ground monument, it takes visitors into a subterranean settlement shaped by volcanic rock, compact circulation and successive underground levels.
Antiochia ad Cragum is an ancient archaeological site situated on the southern coast of Turkey's Antalya province. The settlement was established during the Hellenistic period and later developed under Roman rule.
Bargylia/Barbylia
Bargylia is an open-air archaeological site in Boğaziçi, the modern settlement identified with the ancient city on a small peninsula south of Güllük Gulf.
Karabel Kaya Kabartması
Karabel relief is a Hittite-Luwian rock monument carved into the south-facing slope at Karabel Pass near Kemalpaşa.
Aspendos Amfi Tiyatrosu
The Roman Theatre of Aspendos is an ancient amphitheatre located near the modern city of Antalya in southern Turkey. Its local name is Aspendos Amfi Tiyatrosu.
Bodrum Antik Tiyatrosu
The Ancient Theatre of Halicarnassus is an open-air archaeological theatre on the southern slope of Göktepe in Bodrum, in today’s Yeniköy area.
Larisa
Larissa is an ancient settlement near Buruncuk in Menemen district, north of İzmir. It belonged to the Aeolis region and occupied an elevated landscape rather than surviving as one compact monument.
Amintas Kaya Mezarı
The Tomb of Amyntas is a monumental Lycian rock-cut tomb in Fethiye, Muğla Province, dated to the 4th century BC. It was carved into the hillside above the ancient settlement and remains one of Fethiye’s most recognisable landmarks.
Yamanlar Dağı
Mount Yamanlar is the mountain and nature-park setting identified by İzmir Governorate at Dededağı Tepe in Karşıyaka. Its identity comes from a forested, elevated landscape rather than a building with galleries, exhibits or a timed programme.
Sidas is an unexcavated ancient city near İcikler village, south of Demirci in Manisa province.
Agora Açık Hava Müzesi
The Agora of Smyrna is the excavated state agora of ancient Smyrna in central İzmir, in Namazgah near Mezarlıkbaşı.
Julianus Sütunu
The Julian Column is an approximately 15-metre Roman monument in Hükümet Meydanı, the public square at the centre of Ulus in Altındağ.
Amos Ancient City
Amos is an open-air ancient settlement on Asarcık Hill, between Turunç and Kumlubük in Marmaris, Muğla.
Patara Plajı
Patara Beach is a natural coastal area on the Mediterranean shore near the ancient city of Patara in Antalya Province. The local name is Patara Plajı.
Ariassos
Ariassus, known locally as Ariassos, is an ancient archaeological site situated in the Antalya region of Türkiye. The settlement represents a historical location of visitor interest within the broader Antalya area.
The Temple of Aphrodite is an archaeological landmark within the ancient city of Knidos, at Tekir Burnu on the western tip of Muğla’s Datça Peninsula.
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.
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.
Köprüpazar Köprüsü
Eurymedon Bridge, locally known as Köprüpazar Köprüsü, is a historic stone crossing associated with the Eurymedon River in Antalya Province.
Aperlae is an ancient Lycian settlement located along the Mediterranean coast near Antalya, Turkey. The site represents a significant archaeological location from the classical period, positioned on a peninsula with natural harbours that supported maritime trade.
TCG Pirireis
USS Tang is the submarine displayed in İzmir as TCG PİRİREİS, a museum vessel at the İzmir Naval Museum’s İnciraltı quay.
Etenna is a remote ancient settlement in the mountainous interior north of Antalya’s coastal plain. Its character comes from the combination of archaeological remains and rugged natural surroundings, rather than from a managed museum-style visit.
Sidyma is a dispersed ancient settlement in Dodurga Mahallesi, within Seydikemer district of Muğla Province. Its identity comes from the way civic buildings, tombs, defensive works and a hillside theatre remain connected across a living rural landscape.
Belevi Mausoleum is an Early Hellenistic monumental tomb on a hillside near Belevi, in Selçuk district of İzmir.
Teuthrania is an archaeological site identified with Kalerga Tepe, also written Kalarga Tepe, in İzmir’s Bergama district. The remains occupy an elevated rural hill rather than a formal museum building or a compact visitor complex.
Alara Kalesi
Alara Castle is a hilltop fortress ruin above the Alara River in Antalya Province. The castle’s character comes from its position: elevated ground overlooks the river corridor and separates the site from the province’s coastal resort landscape.
Atatürk Anıtı
Atatürk Monument is the equestrian civic sculpture in İzmir’s Cumhuriyet Meydanı, on Kordon at Atatürk Bulvarı, in front of Swissôtel. Its subject is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as a commander, giving the waterfront square a distinctly republican and military memorial character.
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.
Bubon is an ancient archaeological settlement in Antalya Province, Türkiye, encountered as a quiet rural heritage site rather than a developed attraction with museum galleries, extensive interpretation or a large visitor complex.
Or Yehuda Tarım Okulu
Or Yehuda Agriculture School is the surviving building of a Jewish agricultural colony and school founded near Akhisar in 1899, in what is today the Kayalıoğlu neighbourhood of Akhisar district.
Iotape
Aytap, known locally as Iotape, is an ancient archaeological site on the Mediterranean coast near Alanya in Antalya Province. The settlement occupies a coastal promontory with natural harbour advantages that attracted ancient populations.
Akköprü is a Seljuk-era stone bridge over the Ankara Çayı in Varlık Mahallesi, Yenimahalle. It was built in 1222 during the reign of Sultan I.
Ulucanlar Cezaevi Müzesi
Ulucanlar Prison Museum occupies Ankara’s former Ulucanlar Prison, built in 1925 as the first prison of the Republic of Türkiye.
Acıgöl-Nevşehir is a volcanic maar in Nevşehir Province, set beside the Nevşehir–Aksaray road and about 3 km east of Acıgöl district centre. Unlike a conventional lake destination, its basin is now dry, giving the site a distinctly geological character.
Özkonak Yeralti Şehri
Özkonak is an underground city on the northern slopes of İdiş Dağı, near Avanos in Nevşehir Province. It was carved into thick volcanic, granite-like tuff layers and opened to visitors in 1972.
Kadyanda is an elevated ancient settlement in the mountains north of Fethiye, approached through Üzümlü rather than from the coast.
Çeşme Kalesi
Çeşme Castle is a six-towered Ottoman fortress built in 1508 during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II. Moats remain on three sides, framing a historic defensive site in the centre of Çeşme.
Atatürk, Annesi ve Kadın Hakları Anıtı
Atatürk, His Mother and Women's Rights Monument is a landmark in Anayasa Meydanı, Tuna, on Karşıyaka’s İzmir waterfront. Its present structure reopened in 2018 after the original 1972 monument was rebuilt.
Çamlık Eski İstasyonu
Çamlık Railway Museum is an open-air railway collection beside TCDD’s Çamlık station, approximately 7 kilometres from Selçuk in İzmir Province. It opened to visitors in 1991 and preserves steam-era railway heritage in the setting of a real railway yard.
İzmir Müze Gemiler Müdürlüğü
İnciraltı Sea Museum is a waterfront collection of former naval vessels at İnciraltı pier in Balçova, İzmir.
Altınbeşik Mağarası Millî Parkı
Altınbeşik Cave National Park is a protected natural area in Antalya Province, Turkey, centered on the Altınbeşik Cave system. The park lies within the Taurus Mountains and features significant karst topography.
Pydnai
Pydnae is an abandoned Hellenistic fortress settlement on the Lycian coast, at İnce Burun where the Eşen River reaches the sea.
Marmaris Kalesi
Marmaris Castle is a historic hilltop fortress behind Marmaris Harbour, in Tepe Mahallesi’s Kaleiçi Mevkii.
Kuğulu Park is a compact public green space on Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi in Kavaklıdere, Çankaya, Ankara.
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.
İsa Bey Camii
İsa Bey Mosque is a 14th-century Aydinid mosque on the south-western slope of Ayasuluk Hill in Selçuk, İzmir.
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.
Cumhuriyet Müzesi
Republic Museum is housed in Ankara’s former 2nd Grand National Assembly building in Ulus, where parliament met from 1924 to 1960.
Karşı Kilise
St. John is a rock-cut church in Gülşehir, within Nevşehir Province, known locally as St. Jean Church and Karşı Kilise. Cut into a rock chimney, it forms a compact but layered historic site with two levels.
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.
Gagai
Gagae, known locally as Gagai, is an ancient archaeological site situated in the Antalya region of southern Turkey. This ruined settlement represents a former Lycian city that once held significance in the classical Mediterranean world.
Balbura is identified in OpenStreetMap as a historical site in the Antalya region of southern Turkey. The record preserves a named, fixed mapped location, but does not establish a securely documented date, monument list, excavation history, or visitor interpretation.
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…
Neonteikhos
Neonteichos is an archaeological settlement in the mountainous landscape around Yanıkköy, within İzmir’s Menemen district.
Muradiye Cami
The Muradiye is the mosque Mimar Sinan designed for Manisa, built between 1583 and 1586 for Sultan Murad III. It replaced a smaller mosque begun on the site in 1571 and is the finest Ottoman building in the city.
Hyllarima is an ancient settlement spread across the hills around Derebağ Mahallesi in Kavaklıdere district, Muğla. The remains are mainly associated with the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods.
PTT Pul Müzesi
Stamp Museum is the PTT museum in Ankara’s historic Ulus district, housed in the restored Emlak ve Eytam Bank building.
Limantepe is a coastal archaeological settlement in İskele Mahallesi, Urla, where research examines a long sequence of occupation rather than a single monument preserved for routine sightseeing.
Akalissos
Acalissus, known locally as Akalissos, is an ancient archaeological site situated in the Antalya region of southern Turkey. This historical settlement represents part of the rich classical heritage distributed across the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
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.
Ali Şerafettin Cami
Aslanhane Mosque, also called Ahi Şerafettin Mosque, is an active historic mosque at the southern end of Ankara Castle. It stands in Kale Mahallesi on Kale Sokak, in Altındağ’s Samanpazarı area, beside the Ulus Historical City Centre.
Kyaneai
Cyaneae, known locally as Kyaneai, is an ancient archaeological site situated in the Antalya region of southwestern Turkey. The settlement occupies a hilltop position in the mountainous terrain north of the modern coastline.
Pedasa Antique City
Pedasa is an open-air archaeological settlement in the Gökçeler area of Konacık, in the hills north of Bodrum.
Hacımusalar Höyüğü
Choma, also known as Hacımusalar Höyüğü, is an archaeological mound in the Antalya region. The raised landscape reflects the long sequence of human occupation associated with höyük settlements in southwestern Anatolia.
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.
Apollonia is an ancient archaeological site located in the Antalya region of Turkey. The settlement was established as a Greek colony and later developed under Roman influence, reflecting the layered history of the Mediterranean coast.
Myonnesos
Myonnesus is a small rocky archaeological island off the Doğanbey coast in Seferihisar, İzmir. It is also called Çıfıt Adası, Çiftekale Adası and Çıfıtkalesi. This is a low offshore rock rather than a conventional museum or enclosed attraction.
Domitian Tapınağı
The Temple of the Emperors is an imperial-cult monument within ancient Ephesus, standing on the west side of the State Agora. Its large terrace and altar identify a ceremonial complex set directly into the city’s civic landscape.
Güvenpark is the green civic space at the heart of Kızılay, in Ankara’s Çankaya district, beside Kızılay Square and Atatürk Boulevard.
Arkas Art Center is a temporary-exhibition venue in İzmir’s Alsancak district, housed in a restored historic building whose rooms shape the visit.
Hydisos
Hydissus is an ancient settlement in Caria, the region of southwestern Anatolia that gives this place its historical setting.
Idebessos is an ancient settlement in Antalya Province, within the wider Lycian landscape of southwestern Türkiye. Its identity is defined by surviving physical traces of an older settlement and by the relationship between those remains and the surrounding mountainous terrain.
The Heroon of Trysa is an ancient funerary monument located in the Antalya region of southern Turkey. It represents a significant archaeological site from the Lycian civilization, which flourished in this coastal area.
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.
Arapsu bridge
Arapsu Bridge is a historic stone crossing associated with the Arapsu stream in Antalya. Its appeal comes from the bridge as practical infrastructure: a structure made to carry movement across a watercourse, rather than a museum created for display.
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.
Yeşilova Höyüğü
Yeşilova Mound is an archaeological settlement in Bornova, İzmir, where evidence of human occupation reaches back about 8,500 years, to around 6500 BCE.
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.
Arneai
Arneae, also known as Arneai, is an archaeological site in the Antalya region of Türkiye. It belongs on a cultural itinerary for travelers interested in ancient settlements and the many layers of Anatolian history beyond the region's most famous ruins.
Devlet Mezarlığı
Turkish State Cemetery is Ankara’s national memorial cemetery for presidents of the Republic and commanders of the Turkish War of Independence.
Güven Abidesi
Güvenlik Monument is a 1935 civic artwork inside Güvenpark, in Ankara’s Kızılay district. Its subject is not a private memorial or enclosed museum display: it places a statement about public trust within one of the capital’s busiest everyday spaces.
Tilkiler Mağarası
Tilkiler Cave, or Tilkiler Mağarası, is a natural cave attraction in the Antalya region.
Gavur Kalesi
Gavurkale Hill is a rocky archaeological landmark near Dereköy in Haymana district, roughly 60 kilometres southwest of Ankara.
Atatürk Müzesi
İzmir Atatürk Museum is a house museum on Atatürk Caddesi, the First Kordon waterfront road in Alsancak.
Karaalioğlu Parkı
Karaalioğlu Park is an outdoor Mediterranean viewpoint in Antalya, set on the high shoreline beside Kaleiçi.
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.
Persian tomb
Persian Tomb Monument is a rock-cut funerary monument in Yenibağarası, in the countryside east of Foça. Public descriptions identify it with the additional names Taş Ev and Taş Kule and date it to the 4th century BC.
Araksa
Araxa, also recorded locally as Araksa, is a mapped point of interest in Antalya, Türkiye.
Hitit Güneş Kursu Anıtı
Hittite Sun Course Monument is a large public sculpture in Sıhhiye Lozan Square, central Ankara.
Aziz Yuhanna Katedrali
St. John's Cathedral is a Catholic church in Alsancak, within İzmir's Konak district, at Şehit Nevres Bulvarı No. 29. Construction began in 1862 and the church opened in 1874.
Mehmetçik Anıtı
Mehmetçik Monument is a hilltop memorial at Kartaltepe, about 6 kilometres west of Polatlı in Ankara Province, beside the E-90 Ankara–Eskişehir highway.
Gallesion
Mount Galesios is a 764-metre mountain north of Ephesus, on the northern bank of the Küçükmenderes River in İzmir Province. Galesion and Alamandağ are alternative names for the same peak.
Beş Kapılar Kalesi
Foça Castle is the surviving Beşkapılar section of the historic fortifications on Eski Foça’s peninsula, between the Küçükdeniz and Büyükdeniz bays.
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.
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.
