Turkiye has many beautiful cities with stunning views and landscapes. You should definitely go there if you want to see something different!
Top 20 Turkiye’s Most Touristic Cities
1. Istanbul
Istanbul is the capital of civilizations. I mean the city of Istanbul. It has been shown to be an important tourist destination both in Turkey and other countries. Many historical buildings exist there. Visitors from around the world come to see them.
Istanbul is a city in Turkey and is the country’s largest city. It is also the country’s economic, cultural, and historic center. Istanbul has many historical attractions, including Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace.
What is the cheapest time to visit Istanbul?
The cheapest time to visit Istanbul is during the shoulder months of November through March.
How many days in Istanbul are enough?
A lot of tourists come to Istanbul because it is an important city in Turkey. There are many famous places such as Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Dolmabahce Sarayi, etc. You can also enjoy shopping, eating delicious foods and visiting museums. However, some of these places may be crowded during peak hours. So, I suggest you spend more than 3 days in Istanbul.
Does Istanbul have a beach?
Beaches are nice places to relax and enjoy the sun. You can go swimming or drink cocktails there. There are many beaches around Istanbul.
Is taxi expensive in Istanbul?
Taxis are cheap. They are all meted out. You pay according to your distance travelled. For example, you pay around 70 TL from Ataturk Airport to Taksim . From Taksim to Sultanahmet costs around 60-65 TL.
2. İzmir
Izmir is located in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Known for being a tourist destination, Izmir welcomes many tourists each year.
How many days do you need in Izmir?
Izmir is a beautiful city with many things to see and do. Two days isn’t enough time to explore everything the city has to offer, but you’ll get a taste of what there is to see.
Is Izmir worth visiting in winter?
Winter in Izmir gets quite cold, and there is a high chance of rain and snow. Tourists prefer to avoid winter in Izmir.
Is İzmir Turkey in Europe or Asia?
Izmir is located on the west coast of the country, and is part of the larger region of Southeast Europe. It is also a major port city in the Mediterranean.
3. Antalya
Antalya is located in the Mediterranean region. It is also the first place tourists think about before visiting. Many historic buildings are found in this city. Antalya, known for its beautiful beaches, takes the first place on the list of tourist destinations.
What is the best month to visit Antalya?
Spring and autumn are the best times to visit Antalya because of its Mediterranean climate. Hot weather makes summer too uncomfortable for tourists. Winter is also cold, but it’s better than summer.
How many days should I spend in Antalya?
Antalya is a city located along the Mediterranean Sea. It’s known as the gateway to Turkey’s southern coast. It’s also a great place to explore the ancient ruins of Pamphylia. Three days is enough time to see everything.
Can you swim in Antalya in May?
Swimming in May is pleasant in Antalyabut swimming isn’t allowed in the sea due to high temperatures. You can swim for a long time but you need to be careful because the water is too hot.
Which part of Antalya is best?
Kaleici is the best place to stay in Antalya. You’ll have plenty of history, and pretty sights to take a look at.
4. Bursa
Bursa is a beautiful city located in the Marmarra region of Turkey. It is an industrial city, a commercial city, and a tourist city. Many local and foreign visitors come to see the historic buildings.
How many days do you need in Bursa?
We stayed two nights in Bursa, and we saw the real city. We passed by many historical spots, but the most interesting place was the Blue Mosque. It was built during the Ottoman empire, and it still looks beautiful today. You could also see another famous building called the Selimiyeh Caddesi, which is a street full of shops and restaurants.
Is there an airport in Bursa Turkey?
Yenişehir Airport is located in the city of Yınışehir in the province of Bursa in Turkey.
Why is the Bursa Turkey important?
Bursa was the first capital city of the Ottoman Empire. This complex contains the graves of sultans and other important people.
5. Denizli
It is located in the Aegean region of Turkey. Pamukkale comes to mind first when Denizli is mentioned. Many local and foreign visitors come here. Many local and foreign tourists come throughout the year to see Pamukkale, which has one of the most beautiful views in the world.
What is Denizli known for?
Denizli is a city in the Aegean Region in Turkey. It is famous for its textiles industry. Tourists come here because of its many beautiful sights.
How do you get to Denizli Turkey?
Kamil Koc runs a bus service from Antalya to İzmir three times per day. He charges more than double the price of the metro, but the journey time is half as long. Meanwhile, Metro Turizm runs buses twice daily from Antalya to Izmir. These buses take longer than the metro, but charge less money and are cheaper. Finally, TCDD runs trains from Çardak (near Antalya) to Denizli once per day. Trains run slower than buses or the metro, but are much cheaper.
What is Denizli Pamukkale?
Pamukkale means “cotton castle” because of the white cotton-like rock formations found there. Thermal springs make the area very attractive to tourists.
How far is Denizli from Istanbul?
the driving distance between Istanbula to Denizli is about 562 km. It will take you about 6 hours and 23 minutes to drive from Istanbul to Denizli.
6. Nevsehir
Nevsehir is a charming province located in the Central Anatolia region. Cappadocia region is very famous. Fairy chimneys and balloon tours here attract many local and foreign tourists.
When is the best time to go to Nevşehir?
During the summer months, there is less rain, but the temperature stays warm enough to be comfortable. There are fewer tourists during this time, so accommodation costs are lower.
Where is Nevşehir?
A city named after a famous Turkish poet. The city was once called Neapolis and then renamed to Nevşehir. The city is located near the center of central Anatolia. This region is known as the land of fairy chimneys.
7. Gaziantep
Gaziantep, located in our Southeastern Anatolia Region, attracts many tourists throughout the year due to its many historical structures. This city, which is especially famous for its baklava, entered our list from the 9th place.
8. Canakkale
Canakkale is a wonderful city located in the Marmara region of Turkey. Tourists who come here experience emotional moments. Known for its historical and natural beauties, the city is among the must-see cities of Turkey.
9. Aydın
Aydin is a wonderful city in Turkey’s Aegean Region, with a population of 1,068,260. There are 17 districts connected to the city center. The city has a texture that fascinates everyone with its historical structures and natural beauties. There are many places to visit and see in Aydin. It is a city you should definitely visit when you go on a Aegean Tour.
10. Mugla
While Mugla is located in the Aegean region of Turkey, it also has some of its lands in the Mediterranean Region. Mugla has come to the fore with mostly sea tourism. Many local and foreign tourists flock to Marmaris and Bodrum districts throughout the year. Known as the center of sea, sand and sun, the city entered the list at the 8th place.
11. Şanlıurfa
Claimed birthplace of the Prophet Abraham and once the Byzantine city of Edessa, Şanlıurfa has always been one of the most interesting stops in Turkey’s southeast.
In the last few years, as the archaeological site of Göbeklitepe has been opened up to tourism, a new wave of visitors have also flocked here. These Neolithic monoliths, sitting just on the city outskirts, were anointed with UNESCO World Heritage status in 2019.
In the city center itself, a massive and thoroughly contemporary new Archaeological Museum provides one of Turkey’s most fascinating museum experiences, thoroughly complementing the site by devoting a large swath of its space to exhibits from both Göbeklitepe and the Şanlıurfa region’s importance in early human history.
Even without these two recent major tourist attractions though, Şanlıurfa has plenty for visitors to unpack.
The old town district’s bazaar is a busy muddle, where traditional craft workshops and market produce stalls huddle amid skinny alleys and where the courtyards of old caravanserais are now put to use as atmospheric open-air cafés.
Leading out from the old town district, at the city’s very heart, is leafy Gölbaşı park. This major pilgrimage area plays center stage in the city’s local lore, with historic mosques built on sites important to the story of Abraham, and fish ponds filled with sacred carp.
12. Konya
The ornately tiled Mevlana Museum, home to the tomb of 13th-century Sufi poet and preacher Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, has made this old Seljuk capital a major stop for any traveler heading east from the Mediterranean coast.
Most visitors time their trip to watch a performance by the whirling dervishes (twice weekly in summer; once a week the rest of year) in the birthplace of this Mevlevi Sufi sect.
Konya’s Sufi connection has made its tourism name but there are plenty of things to do beyond the dervishes.
The central city is crammed with the surviving mosques and monuments from Konya’s grand era as Seljuk capital in the 13th century. Some, such as the Karatay Medresesi, have been painstakingly restored and turned into interesting museums that highlight the artistic accomplishments of the Seljuk era.
Outside the city itself, the stark surrounding plains are home to a host of attractions that will convince history-minded travelers to linger another night in town.
Top of the list is the settlement mound of Çatalhöyük, where archaeologists unearthed one of the world’s largest Neolithic villages.
13. Fethiye
With its spectacular harbor front setting, this small city of 100,000 is one of Turkey’s most popular places to visit along the Mediterranean coast.
Fethiye is a major yachting destination. There are bundles of sailing activities on offer, from daily group boat tours to multi-day private yacht hire.
The harbor here is also the departure point for Turkey’s most famous sailing itinerary: the three-night Blue Cruise, which takes in some of the best coastal panoramas along this stretch of coast.
Although Fethiye is primarily all about the water, its location is also perfect for launching out to explore the vast amount of ruins hidden in the surrounding lush forested hills.
The Classical-era Lycian ruins of UNESCO World Heritage-listed Xanthos and Letoön are just two of the major archaeological sites within day-tripping distance.
If, though, you are simply focused on sun and sea, this is the nearest city base for the famed beaches of Ölüdeniz, with its paragliding and boat trips, and Butterfly Valley.
14. Eskişehir
This major university center is all about café culture, gardens, and art.
Full of youthful energy and buzz, Eskişehir is a big hit with local families who day trip here on summer weekends for gondola rides on the river, picnicking in the parks, and strolling the small old town district of Odunpazarı .
Odunpazarı is also where you’ll find Eskişehir’s newest attraction. The OMM (Odunpazarı Modern Museum) art gallery holds a permanent collection of modern art, comprising sculpture and installations as well as paintings, and hosts temporary exhibitions of big names in the contemporary art scene. It’s the most important private art gallery outside of Istanbul.
Eskişehir used to be bypassed by many travelers, but the new high-speed train lines connecting Istanbul with Ankara and Konya have made Eskişehir (a station on both lines) a popular stop off for travelers heading inland.
15. Antakya
Antakya (often called Hatay locally) is ancient Antioch, the early center of Christianity where both St. Paul and St. Peter preached to the first converts.
The labyrinthine old town area, with its cobblestone alleys, old Ottoman houses, markets, and a handful of churches, is perfect for aimless strolling. Antakya’s other major attractions are just on the outskirts of the center.
The Roman and Byzantine mosaic art collection at Hatay Archaeology Museum is only rivaled by Gaziantep in its world-class status. Beyond the mosaics, the museum also exhibits fascinating Bronze Age artifacts.
On the road to the museum, you pass both the Church of St. Peter (one of the oldest churches in the world) and the new Museum Hotel (opened in 2019), which was built over and around the world’s largest intact mosaic floor ever found.
16. Edirne
Nudging up against the borders with both Bulgaria and Greece, Edirne is the major city of Thrace (the tiny corner of northwest Turkey that sits within Europe).
Once the Roman city of Adrianople and later capital of the Ottoman Empire (Mehmet II launched his conquest of Constantinople from here), Edirne has a long and grand history that can be glimpsed in the preserved imperial architecture that still dots its central city.
The major tourist attraction in town is Edirne’s Selimiye Mosque, regarded as the finest example of mosque architecture built by the famed Ottoman architect Sinan.
Any visitor interested in history, though, will find plenty of other things to do in Edirne, with a glut of other mosques and Ottoman-era monuments to explore.
Edirne’s location makes it a convenient stop on the overland route between Istanbul and Bulgaria or northern Greece.
17. Amasya
Amasya sits squeezed between high cliffs, with the Yeşilirmak River winding through its center.
Although a laid-back, small city today, Amasya was once capital of the Kingdom of Pontus and later, during the city’s Roman era, it was the birthplace of Strabo, the famed Roman geographer.
There may be few big tourist attractions or major things to do within town, but Amasya makes up for that fact by providing plenty of ambience and opportunities to soak up the views.
Stroll the riverfront where a clutch of preserved Ottoman wooden mansions line the northern bank, with the tombs of Pontic kings cut into the looming cliff above, and then head up to the scant remains of the castle, perched on the cliff summit for vistas across the valley.
In the central city itself, don’t miss visiting the 15th-century Sultan Beyazıt II Mosque with an interior that rivals Istanbul’s imperial mosques for grandeur.
18. Kars
Kars is the closest base to the ruins of Ani, one the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Most travelers heading to the archaeological site stay overnight in Kars. Kars’ unique style is due to the city being occupied by Russia during the 19th century. The city was built using stone cut into the shape of buildings. The roads were laid out in a grid pattern.
The city’s northern corner is home to a handful of historic buildings. Head first to the Kümbet Mosque, which was originally the 10th-century Armenian Church of the Apostles and then hike up to Kars Castle for the views across the town and surrounding stark countryside.
19. Cesme
Çeşme is an ancient city located in Turkey. It is known as a tourist destination because of its castle and beaches. There are many archaeological finds around the city.
Çeşme is a Turkish resort town west of Izmir, on the Aegean Sea. Overlooking the harbor is Çeşme Castle, a restored military fortress. It now houses the Çeşme Archaeology Museum, with displays of marble busts, metal coins and artifacts from nearby excavations. On the east side of the Çeşme peninsula is sandy Ilica Beach, with warm thermal sulfur springs. Around Çeşme are clear waters and accessible dive sites.
20. Bodrum
Once a cozy fishing village of only a few thousand people, Bodrum has experienced a renaissance in the last half century that has transformed this once-sleepy community into one of Turkey’s most popular vacation hotspots. Writers, intellectuals, artists and musicians have long called this Aegean town home, or second-home, attracting a vibrant cultural scene paralleled only by the town’s nightlife. Windswept beaches and glittering waters provide the backdrop to the perfect beach getaway.
