Antalya, Mediterranean · Turkey
A walled Ottoman old town on a cliff above the Mediterranean, with mountains behind it and Roman theatres within an hour.
Photo: REHBER0770 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Antalya receives more international visitors than almost anywhere in Turkey — well over ten million a year — and the overwhelming majority of them go straight from the airport to a resort along the coast and never see the city. That is a genuine loss, because Antalya has a walled Ottoman quarter on a cliff above a Roman harbour, the best archaeological museum in the country, and a mountain range rising to 3,000 metres directly behind it.
The old town, Kaleiçi, is a knot of narrow lanes inside surviving Roman and Ottoman walls, with restored wooden houses, a Roman triumphal arch built for Hadrian's visit in 130 AD, and a fluted minaret that is the city's emblem. It sits on cliffs above a small harbour, and the coast either side of it is limestone cliff rather than beach, with waterfalls dropping directly into the sea.
What makes the region rewarding is the density of classical sites in the plain behind. Perge, Aspendos, Side and Termessos are all within an hour or so, and Aspendos in particular has a Roman theatre of 155 AD so complete — stage building, seating, acoustics — that it still hosts an opera festival. This is the eastern end of ancient Lycia and Pamphylia, and there is more here than most visitors realise.
Why visit
Antalya's case is that it combines things that rarely coexist: a real city, a walled historic quarter, world-class ruins, mountains and a warm sea.
A Roman theatre completed around 155 AD, seating some 12,000, with the stage building still standing to its full height — one of only a handful anywhere. The acoustics are so good it is still used for concerts, and the Ottomans used it as a caravanserai, which is why it survived.
Outside Istanbul and Ankara, this is the country's finest archaeological collection — Roman statuary from Perge in extraordinary condition, including the Weary Herakles and a hall of emperors and gods.
Roman walls, Hadrian's Gate of 130 AD, Ottoman wooden houses on narrow lanes, and a horseshoe-shaped harbour below the cliffs. Restored rather than reconstructed, and a real neighbourhood rather than a museum.
The Taurus range rises to over 3,000 metres within 50 km of the coast, which means canyons, waterfalls, alpine plateaus and — in spring — the possibility of skiing in the morning and swimming in the afternoon.
Antalya averages 15–17°C in January with a great deal of sun. The sea is too cold to swim but the ruins are empty, prices are low and the city is fully functional.
Main attractions
Kaleiçi and the museum fill a day. The Roman sites in the plain behind need a car or a tour and are the reason to stay longer.
The walled quarter on the cliff, with lanes of restored Ottoman houses, the Roman-era harbour below, the fluted Yivli Minare of 1230, and the Kesik Minare — a building that has been a Roman temple, a Byzantine church and a mosque.
Tip Wander without a route. The lanes are short and you will emerge at the walls or the cliff edge within a few minutes whichever way you go.
A triple-arched marble gateway built in 130 AD for the emperor's visit, set into the old city walls, with the original Roman road surface visible beneath it — deeply rutted by cartwheels.
Tip The rutted paving is the detail most people miss. Look down as you walk through.
Thirteen galleries covering the region from prehistory to the Ottomans, with an outstanding hall of Roman statuary excavated at Perge — emperors, gods and dancers in near-perfect condition — plus sarcophagi and a room of Byzantine icons.
Tip Two hours minimum. Do it before visiting Perge, which makes the empty site far more legible.
Forty-five kilometres east, a Roman theatre of about 155 AD seating 12,000, with the stage building intact to its full height — vanishingly rare. It survived because the Seljuks used it as a caravanserai and maintained it.
Tip Stand at the top and have someone speak from the stage. The acoustics work. The aqueduct nearby is also substantial.
Eighteen kilometres east, a large Roman city with a colonnaded main street complete with the water channel that ran down its centre, a stadium seating 12,000, monumental gates and extensive baths.
Tip Much of the statuary now in the Antalya Museum came from here. Very little shade — go early.
A Pisidian city high in the Taurus mountains at about 1,000 m, which Alexander the Great declined to besiege. Ruins scattered across a forested mountainside, with a theatre on the edge of a precipice.
Tip A steep 30-minute climb from the car park. Far and away the most dramatically sited ruin in the region and the least visited.
The Düden falls drop directly into the sea from a cliff on the city's eastern edge, and an upper section falls into a pool you can walk behind. The Kurşunlu falls sit in a wooded canyon 20 km inland.
Tip The Lower Düden falls are best seen from a boat. The upper falls and Kurşunlu are pleasant, shaded and easily reached.
Konyaaltı west of the city is a long pebble beach beneath the mountains; Lara to the east is sand. Both are city beaches with full facilities. The better swimming is west towards Kemer and Olympos.
Tip Konyaaltı has the mountain backdrop and is a short tram ride from Kaleiçi.
Things to do
Antalya works best as a base: the city itself for a day and a half, and everything else as excursions inland or along the coast.
The walled quarter takes a couple of hours to wander, ending at the cliff-top park or down at the harbour. Hadrian's Gate, the two minarets and the Ottoman houses are all within a few hundred metres.
Tip Early morning or after 18:00. Midday in the lanes is hot and the restaurants are at their most persistent.
The Antalya Museum holds the statues taken from Perge, so seeing it first turns an empty colonnaded street into a place you can populate. Then Perge in the morning and Aspendos in the afternoon.
Tip A full day for the museum plus both sites, ideally with a car. Neither site has shade.
A mountain city at 1,000 metres in a national park, with ruins scattered through pine forest and a theatre perched above a drop. A steep half-hour climb, and you may have it entirely to yourself.
Tip Take water and proper shoes. Cooler than the coast, and best in spring when the wildflowers are out.
Boats leave the old harbour for the Lower Düden waterfall, the cliffs and the coves west towards Kemer. Half-day and full-day trips, with swimming stops.
Tip The waterfall dropping straight into the sea can only be seen properly from the water.
The coast road west through Kemer, Olympos and Çıralı — where the Chimaera flames burn naturally from the rock — and on to Kaş and Fethiye. One of the great Mediterranean drives.
Tip The Chimaera flames are best after dark, a 30-minute walk uphill from Çıralı. Take a torch.
Köprülü Canyon for rafting, the Saklıkent gorge, alpine plateaus called yayla where families move flocks in summer, and a ski resort at Saklıkent 50 km from the beach.
Tip In March you can ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon. It is a local point of pride.
Local food
Antalya's cooking is Mediterranean Turkish — olive oil, citrus, fish and vegetables — with strong influences from the mountain villages behind the coast.
The Antalya version is quite different from elsewhere: white beans with tahini, garlic, lemon and vinegar, topped with egg, and served as a substantial dish rather than a side. Traditionally eaten with köfte.
Where to try it Traditional restaurants in and around Kaleiçi. Ask for Antalya piyazı specifically.
Sea bass, bream and in season the migratory fish of the Mediterranean, grilled whole with lemon and rocket. Simple and dependent entirely on freshness.
Where to try it The old harbour and the fish restaurants along the Konyaaltı seafront.
Grilled minced lamb on skewers and slow-cooked pit-oven meat, both staples of the mountain villages behind the coast and served throughout the city.
Where to try it Grill houses away from the harbour, where the prices are half and the meat is better.
Antalya province grows a large share of Turkey's oranges, lemons and pomegranates. Fresh juice is sold from carts everywhere, pressed in front of you for very little.
Where to try it Street carts throughout the city, and the roadside stalls on the way to Perge and Aspendos.
Hibeş is a tahini, garlic and cumin dip specific to Antalya, served with bread. It appears alongside the standard Mediterranean meze of aubergine, yoghurt and herbs.
Where to try it Meyhanes and traditional restaurants. Ordered as part of a meze spread.
Bici bici is a summer dessert of shaved ice with rose syrup and starch cubes, from nearby Mersin. Maraş dondurma is the stretchy mastic ice cream sold by vendors who make a performance of handing it over.
Where to try it Street stands along the seafront and in Kaleiçi, from late spring through summer.
Accommodation
Kaleiçi's converted Ottoman houses are the best places to stay in Antalya and are far more interesting than the resort strips either side of the city.
Transport
Antalya's airport is one of the busiest in Turkey, handling enormous charter volumes from Europe alongside scheduled flights.
Kaleiçi is walkable and the tram covers the city. The ruins inland need a car or an organised tour.
When to go
Antalya has the warmest winters in Turkey and hot summers. The shoulder seasons give you swimmable sea and bearable ruins at the same time, which July does not.
The best window: 20–30°C, wildflowers in the mountains, sea warm enough to swim from late May, and the archaeological sites comfortable. In March you can ski and swim on the same day.
Hot and humid at 33–40°C, with the resort coast at capacity and prices at their peak. The sea is lovely; Perge and Aspendos in the middle of the day are unwise.
The pick of the year. Sea at its warmest in September, heat easing, crowds gone after the first week, and the Aspendos opera festival in the theatre. October is still swimmable.
The mildest winter in Turkey at 15–17°C with a lot of sun. Too cold to swim, but the ruins are empty, the city is fully open, and prices are at their lowest. Snow on the Taurus behind the beach.
Worth planning around: Perge, Aspendos and Termessos have almost no shade. In summer they should only be visited at opening or in the last two hours, and Termessos involves a steep climb that is hard in the heat.
Itinerary
The city and museum first, then the Roman sites, then the mountains and the coast. Assumes a Kaleiçi base and a hire car from day two.
The walled town, the harbour and the museum.
Two Roman cities, both needing an early start.
Up into the Taurus, where it is cooler.
The coast road, and the flames.
Travel tips
Antalya specifics, several of which are about not wasting the city itself.
FAQ
The resort strips either side of the city are exactly what their reputation suggests, but Antalya itself has a walled Ottoman old town on a cliff above a Roman harbour, the best archaeological museum in Turkey outside Istanbul and Ankara, and four major classical sites within an hour. Staying in Kaleiçi rather than an all-inclusive changes the trip entirely.
Aspendos, 45 minutes east, has a theatre from about 155 AD with its stage building intact to full height — one of very few anywhere — and it still hosts concerts. Perge, 20 minutes east, is a large city with a colonnaded street and a stadium. Termessos, an hour inland at 1,000 m in the mountains, is the most dramatic and the least visited.
April to June and September to October. Spring gives wildflowers in the Taurus and comfortable conditions for the ruins, with the sea swimmable from late May. September has the warmest sea of the year. Summer reaches 33–40°C, which makes the unshaded archaeological sites unwise in the middle of the day. Winter is the mildest in Turkey at 15–17°C.
Kaleiçi, the walled old town, where Ottoman houses have been converted into small hotels with courtyards and pools. It is central, atmospheric, walkable to the harbour and the museum, and considerably more interesting than the resort strips at Lara or Belek. For a beach-focused stay, Konyaaltı has the mountain backdrop and a tram into the old town.
Yes, from late May to late October. Konyaaltı west of the city is a long pebble beach with the Taurus mountains rising behind it; Lara to the east is sand. Both are city beaches with full facilities. The better swimming is west towards Kemer, Olympos and Çıralı, where the mountains come down to the sea.
Natural flames burning from vents in the rock above Çıralı, an hour and a half west of Antalya, fuelled by methane seeping from underground. They have burned continuously for thousands of years and gave rise to the myth of the Chimaera. Best seen after dark, reached by a 30-minute uphill walk — take a torch, as the path is unlit.
About four hours by road along the coast, through Kemer, Olympos, Kaş and Kalkan — one of the great Mediterranean drives, and worth doing slowly with stops. Buses run frequently and take a little longer. Antalya and Fethiye are the two anchors of the Turquoise Coast, and the road between them is much of the point.
Keep exploring
Places that pair well with Antalya, whether you have a few spare days or are building a longer route.
Muğla, Turquoise Coast, Turkey
The base for the Turquoise Coast: gulet trips from the harbour, a ghost village in the hills, an 18-kilometre gorge inland, and the start of the 540-kilometre Lycian Way.
Don't miss Paragliding off Babadağ at 1,965 metres and spiralling down for half an hour onto Ölüdeniz beach.
Explore Destination — Fethiye & ÖlüdenizMuğla, Aegean coast, Turkey
Turkey's most stylish stretch of Aegean coast, built on the site of Halicarnassus, with a Bronze Age shipwreck in the castle and thirteen villages on the peninsula behind it.
Don't miss The Castle of St Peter, built by the Knights of St John out of the stones of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Explore Destination — Bodrumİzmir, Aegean, Turkey
The best-preserved classical city in the Mediterranean, where you walk the actual paved streets past a 24,000-seat theatre, public latrines and a library, with a small Turkish town alongside it.
Don't miss The Terrace Houses — six Roman apartments with mosaic floors, painted walls and plumbing, under a modern roof.
Explore Destination — Ephesus & SelçukCampania, Italy
A UNESCO-listed stretch of Campanian cliff with lemon terraces, ceramic-domed churches, a Norman-Arab cathedral at Amalfi and Ravello's gardens hanging over the sea.
Don't miss The Path of the Gods — a ridge trail 600 metres above the water, looking down on Positano and across to Capri.
Explore Destination — The Amalfi CoastRead next
Seasons
Southern Europe has one obvious peak season and one much better one. This is the month-by-month case for going in spring or early autumn — plus the handful of things that only happen in July and August.
Heritage
A UNESCO listing tells you a place matters; it does not tell you whether it is worth two days and a detour. This is how to read the list usefully — and which sites reward building a trip around them.
Where to go
The most visited place in a country is rarely its best, and it is almost never its best value. This is a method for finding the destinations that do not make the postcards — and a set of examples from five of the 50 countries on this site.
Advertisement
