Don't be a tourist, be a traveler, world in motion
EnglishUSDNewsletterWimup Videos ↗
Antalya, Turkey, top 10 things to do (Wimup travel guide)
▶ Video · Best of Antalya
Video guide · 19:10
▶ Watch the guide
Top 10EuropeTurkey

Top 10 Things To Do in Antalya

Country
Turkey
Best months
Apr · May · Sep · Oct
Population
2.7M
Language
Turkish
Budget / day
$60–120
Quick answer

Give Antalya four days. Spend the first in Kaleiçi, the walled old town, which holds Hadrian's Gate, the Seljuk minaret, the harbour and most of the places worth eating in. Spend the second at the Antalya Museum and on Konyaaltı beach. Keep the third for the Roman cities inland: Perge and Aspendos together, or Termessos on its mountain. Use the fourth for water, or the drive south to Olympos.

Best of Antalya

▶ Video guide

Antalya is two trips that happen to share an airport. One is the coast: a walled old town on a cliff above its own harbour, a long pebble beach under the Beydağları, and late evenings in the lanes of Kaleiçi. The other is inland and Roman, and it is the reason to give the city more than a weekend.

The 10 best things to do in Antalya

Kaleiçi and Hadrian's Gate, Antalya, Turkey
1

Kaleiçi and Hadrian's Gate

Old town· Kaleiçi, Muratpaşa, Antalya

The gate went up in AD 130 for the emperor's visit, three marble arches deep enough to walk through in shade, with a Roman tower beside it rebuilt for a Seljuk sultan in the 13th century. Behind it the old town runs downhill inside its walls: Ottoman houses, courtyards turned into hotels, and lanes that end at the harbour.

Time3 hrs
CostFree
Best atEarly evening
TipThe lanes run downhill to the harbour and the climb back is steeper than it looks
Map
Antalya Museum, Antalya, Turkey
2

Antalya Museum

Museum· Bahçelievler, Konyaaltı Caddesi No 88, Muratpaşa, Antalya

One of the largest archaeological museums in the country, and the place the sites around Antalya were emptied into. More than 5,000 objects run from the Palaeolithic to the Ottoman period, but the reason to come is the Hall of Gods, a line of Olympian statues excavated at Perge. Go before the sites rather than after.

Time2 hrs
CostTicket
Best atMorning
TipThe nostalgic tram terminates outside the door at the Müze stop
↗ WebsiteMap
Aspendos Theatre, Antalya, Turkey
3

Aspendos Theatre

Roman site· Serik, Antalya Province

The best preserved Roman theatre stage in the Mediterranean, built in the 2nd century AD to a design by the local architect Zenon. What survives is the part that usually does not: the stage building stands to its full height, so the acoustics still work as they were meant to. It is also still in use every summer.

Time2 hrs
CostTicket
Best atMorning
TipFestival performances start at 21:00 in September
Map
4

Düden Waterfalls

Waterfalls· Lower falls: Lara, Muratpaşa. Upper falls: Düdenbaşı, Kepez

The Düden river comes off the Taurus and drops twice on its way to the sea, and the two falls are nothing like each other. The upper falls sit in a wooded valley where a path runs behind the water into the cave. The lower falls go over the cliff at Lara and land in the Mediterranean, best watched from a boat.

Time2 hrs
CostTicket at the upper falls
Best atLate afternoon
TipBoat trips out of the Kaleiçi harbour pass the lower falls
Map
Perge, Antalya, Turkey
5

Perge

Roman site· Aksu, Antalya Province

A Pamphylian city that surrendered to Alexander in 334 BC and did its best building under Rome. The plan is unusually legible: a colonnaded main street with a water channel down the middle, a Hellenistic gate, a stadium and baths, all of it flat and walkable. Its statues now fill the Antalya Museum.

Time2 hrs
CostTicket
Best atMorning
TipThere is almost no shade on the colonnaded street or in the stadium
Map
Termessos, Antalya, Turkey
6

Termessos

Ancient city· Güllük Dağı Termessos National Park, Korkuteli road, Antalya

The Pisidian city Alexander the Great decided not to take. He besieged it in 333 BC, judged the mountain approach too costly and moved on, and the site still reads as a natural fortress: a thousand metres up, reached by a steep climb through pine. Little of it is signed and none of it is crowded.

Time3 hrs
CostPark ticket
Best atMorning
TipThis is a hike rather than a stroll
Map
Konyaaltı Beach, Antalya, Turkey
7

Konyaaltı Beach

Beach· Konyaaltı, Antalya

The city's western bay, a long grey pebble beach running from the cliffs below the museum toward the mountains, with the Beydağları rising off the far end of it. It holds Blue Flag status, the water drops away quickly and stays clear, and the promenade behind it carries a park, cafes and the tram.

Time3 hrs
CostFree
Best atLate afternoon
TipPebbles
Map
Kaleiçi harbour, Antalya, Turkey
8

Kaleiçi harbour

Harbour· Kaleiçi Yat Limanı, Selçuk, Muratpaşa, Antalya

Antalya's original harbour, tucked into a gap in the cliff below the old town and in working use from antiquity until the modern port took over. Restored in the 1980s, it is now a marina ringed by terraces. Take the stone ramp down, because the whole harbour appears at once from the top of it.

Time2 hrs
CostBoat fare
Best atSunset
TipBoats sell by the hour along the quay and prices move with the season
Map
Hıdırlık Tower and Karaalioğlu Park, Antalya, Turkey
9

Hıdırlık Tower and Karaalioğlu Park

Viewpoint· Kılınçarslan, Hıdırlık Sokak, Muratpaşa, Antalya

A Roman tower of the 2nd century AD stands at the seaward corner of the old town, square below and round above, and nobody has settled whether it was a tomb, a lighthouse or both. What is not in doubt is the position, and the park running east from it is the city's evening walk.

Time1 hr
CostFree
Best atSunset
TipThe cafes on Hıdırlık Sokak look straight down the coast
Map
Olympos and Yanartaş, Antalya, Turkey
10

Olympos and Yanartaş

Day trip· Çıralı, Kemer, Antalya Province

An hour and a half down the coast, a Lycian city lies in a valley behind a shingle beach, its tombs half taken back by oleander and fig. The reason to stay until dark is above: at Yanartaş, methane seeping through the rock burns in small permanent flames, as it has since antiquity.

TimeFull day
CostTicket
Best atAfter dark for the flames
TipTake a torch
Map

5 of the 10, mapped

Antalya · 5 spots
AllLandmarksMuseumsFoodFree

Antalya travel FAQ

How many days do you need in Antalya?+
Four. One for Kaleiçi and the harbour, one for the museum and a beach, one for the Roman cities inland, and one for the Düden falls or the drive south to Olympos. Two days covers the old town and one site, and leaves the reason most people come inland unvisited.
When is the best time to visit Antalya?+
April to early June and September to October. The sea is warm enough either side of summer, the archaeological sites are walkable without losing the middle of the day to the heat, and prices sit below the July and August peak.
Do you need a car for the ancient sites?+
Not for all of them. Perge and Aspendos are reachable on a half-day tour or by dolmuş from the coach station, and Side is on the regular bus route east. Termessos, Sillyon and Arykanda are far easier with a car, and Termessos also needs an hour of climbing once you park.
Is Antalya walkable?+
Kaleiçi is, and nothing else really is. The city runs for kilometres along its bay, so the tram, the buses and the occasional taxi do the connecting. The AntalyaKart works on all of it and is sold from machines at the tram stops.
Konyaaltı or Lara for the beach?+
Konyaaltı is pebble, closer to the old town, backed by a promenade and framed by the mountains. Lara is sand, warmer underfoot, easier with small children and lined with the large resorts. If you are staying in Kaleiçi, Konyaaltı is the one you can reach on the tram.
Beyond the top 10

Best ancient sites in Antalya

Six more Greek, Roman and Lycian sites within a drive of the city.
All 6 ancient sites →
SideManavgat, 75 km east

Side

Ancient port

A Pamphylian port built out on a peninsula, with the Temple of Apollo at the tip above the water and a large theatre behind the modern town.

Map
Kemer, 55 km southwest

Phaselis

Harbour city

Three small harbours joined by a paved street, set in pine forest at the foot of Tahtalı Dağı. The middle harbour is a swimming beach, so bring a towel.

Map
Serik, 35 km east

Sillyon

Hilltop town

A flat-topped hill east of the city carrying a barely excavated Pamphylian town: a ramp gate, a Seljuk mosque, cisterns and the plain laid out below. No facilities.

Map
Karain CaveDöşemealtı, 30 km northwest

Karain Cave

Prehistoric site

A limestone cave northwest of Antalya occupied on and off for hundreds of thousands of years, and one of the most important Palaeolithic sites in Turkey.

Map
Elmalı, 120 km west

Arykanda

Lycian city

A Lycian city terraced up a mountainside above the Bey valley, with a theatre, stadium and baths stacked one above another. The equal of Termessos for setting.

Map
Kumluca, 90 km southwest

Rhodiapolis

Lycian city

A small Lycian city in the hills above Kumluca, known for the monument to Opramoas, recorded in one of the longest inscriptions to survive from antiquity.

Map
Where to swim

Best beaches in Antalya

Five stretches of coast, from the sand at Lara to the pines at Adrasan.
All 5 beaches →
Lara BeachLara, Muratpaşa

Lara Beach

Sand, Blue Flag

The city's sand option, east of the centre past the lower Düden falls. Shallow, warm and equipped, and the easiest water in Antalya for children.

Map
Kaleiçi

Mermerli Beach

In the old town

A small terraced beach inside the old town, under the cliff beside the harbour and reached through a restaurant that charges for access. The only walkable swim.

Map
Kemer, 85 km southwest

Çıralı

Protected beach

A long shingle beach an hour and a half south, with Olympos at one end and the flames of Yanartaş behind. A protected turtle nesting site, so building is low.

Map
Konyaaltı, 25 km southwest

Topçam

Pebble cove

A pebble cove in the pines on the road to Kemer, looking straight across at Tahtalı Dağı. Clear deep water off the shingle, and quieter than anything inside the city.

Map
AdrasanKumluca, 100 km southwest

Adrasan

Quiet bay

A wide bay at the far end of the Bey mountains, held between two headlands and lined with small guesthouses. The Lycian Way passes above it and boats run from the beach.

Map
Where to eat

Best restaurants in Antalya

Six tables, from the piyaz counters of Elmalı to the mansions of Kaleiçi.
All 6 restaurants →
Book ahead
Meltem, Muratpaşa

7 Mehmet

Turkish, since 1937

The city's institution, open since 1937 and now run by the third generation, on the edge of the culture park with the bay below.

↗ WebsiteMap
Kaleiçi

Vanilla

Modern European

A modern room a few minutes from Hadrian's Gate, opened in 2007 and run by a British chef, cooking a short seasonal menu. The most consistent fine dining in the old town.

↗ WebsiteMap
Book ahead
Kaleiçi

Seraser Fine Dining

Fine dining

Set in a restored Ottoman mansion on one of the narrowest lanes in Kaleiçi, with a courtyard garden and a room of stone and velvet. The dressed-up option.

Map
Kaleiçi Yat Limanı

Club Arma

Seafood, harbour

Built into the harbour wall below the old town, so every table looks out over the marina and the cliffs. Fish and grills, priced for the view.

↗ WebsiteMap
Elmalı, Muratpaşa

Özgül Kebap

Piyaz and kebabs

A small lunch counter in Elmalı that makes its piyaz to order, the tahini whisked with vinegar until it goes silky. The version everything else gets measured against.

Map
Kaleiçi

Ayar Meyhanesi

Meyhane

A meyhane in the old town, which means a table of mezes, a bottle of rakı and several hours rather than a menu. Live music most nights.

Map
Indoors

Best museums in Antalya

Three small collections in and around the old town, beyond the archaeological museum.
All 3 museums →
Kaleiçi

Suna and İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum

House museum

Two buildings on a Kaleiçi lane: a restored 19th-century house staged with scenes of local life, and the former Church of St George holding Çanakkale ceramics.

↗ WebsiteMap
Kaleiçi

Antalya Toy Museum

Free entry

Roughly 3,000 toys from the 1860s to the 1990s, in a house near the marina. Free to enter, and a straightforward hour with children in the middle of the old town.

Map
Muratpaşa

Atatürk House Museum

Historic house

The house kept as a museum since 1986 to mark Atatürk's visits to Antalya in 1930 and 1935, furnished to the period. Quiet, and mostly visited by Turkish families.

Map
After dark

Best bars & nightlife in Antalya

Four places to drink, from the cliff terraces of Kaleiçi to the clubs at Şirinyalı.
All 4 bars & nightlife →
Kaleiçi

Castle Café and Bistro

Cliff terrace

A terrace on the cliff edge beside the Hıdırlık Tower, with nothing between the tables and the drop. Come for the sunset hour rather than the food.

Map
Kaleiçi

Solo Roof and Cocktails

Rooftop bar

A roof bar in the middle of the old town with the Kaleiçi roofline one way, the sea another and the Taurus behind. Cocktails made properly, which is less common here.

Map
Kaleiçi

Kaleiçi Yat Limanı

Harbour terraces

The harbour below the old town is the densest run of terraces in the city, stacked up the wall from the quay. Drinks cost what the view costs.

Map
Şirinyalı, Muratpaşa

Soho Club

Nightclub

The big room out at Şirinyalı: two dance floors, live sets and a capacity in four figures. Where the city goes when the old town closes.

↗ WebsiteMap
Where to base yourself

Best neighborhoods in Antalya

Four districts, and what each one gives you in exchange for the commute.
All 4 neighborhoods →
KaleiçiMuratpaşa

Kaleiçi

Old town

The walled old town, and the only properly walkable part of Antalya. Ottoman houses turned into small hotels, the harbour below, the best tables ten minutes apart.

Map
KonyaaltıKonyaaltı

Konyaaltı

Beach, residential

The western bay: the long pebble beach, the park behind it, the aquarium and the museum at the eastern end. Residential, modern, on the tram, and good for a morning swim.

Map
Muratpaşa

Lara

Resorts, sand

East of the centre, past the point where the Düden drops into the sea. Sand instead of pebbles, the large all-inclusive resorts, and beach clubs rather than street life.

Map
Muratpaşa

Işıklar and Elmalı

City centre

The working centre just north of the walls, where late Ottoman townhouses line Işıklar Caddesi and Elmalı keeps the everyday food. Nothing is staged for visitors.

Map
Out of the city

Best day trips in Antalya

Five drives, from a canyon an hour away to the Lycian coast at Kaş.
All 5 day trips →
Köprülü CanyonManavgat, 80 km northeast

Köprülü Canyon

Rafting, ruins

A national park around the longest canyon in Turkey, and the country's busiest rafting river. Above it, a Roman bridge and the ruined city of Selge among standing stones.

Map
Demre, 145 km southwest

Demre and Kekova

Ruins and boat

Myra's rock-cut tombs and Roman theatre, the church where St Nicholas served as bishop, and a boat over the sunken city at Kekova where walls run under water.

Map
KaşKaş, 190 km southwest

Kaş

Coastal town

A small harbour town on the Lycian coast with a Hellenistic theatre above it and diving off the point. Three hours each way makes it a long day, and a better overnight.

Map
Saklıkent Ski CentreBakırlı Dağı, 50 km northwest

Saklıkent Ski Centre

Winter only

The reason Antalya can claim a ski morning and a beach afternoon: a small resort at around 2,000 metres, an hour from the coast, open when there is snow.

Map
PamukkaleDenizli, 240 km north

Pamukkale

Long day trip

The white travertine terraces and the ruins of Hierapolis on top of them, inland beyond the mountains. A long drive each way, so go early or make it an overnight.

Map
What's on

Festivals & annual events in Antalya (2026)

Time your trip around the city's biggest dates.
Apr

Runtalya, the International Antalya Marathon

The city's road race, run in spring along the coast road, with the marathon and shorter distances starting together.

23 Apr

National Sovereignty and Children's Day

A national holiday marking the first Grand National Assembly in 1920, and the one Atatürk dedicated to children.

May – Nov

International Antalya Sand Sculpture Festival

Sculptors carve the year's theme out of sand near Lara in spring, and the figures stay on show until November.

30 Aug

Victory Day

The national holiday for the decisive battle of the War of Independence in 1922. Ceremonies in the morning.

12 – 26 Sep

Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival

Opera and ballet staged in the Roman theatre, where the acoustics do the work a sound system would elsewhere.

29 Oct

Republic Day

The anniversary of the declaration of the republic in 1923, with flags across the city and events on the seafront.

Oct

Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival

Turkey's oldest film festival, running since 1964 and held each autumn at the Antalya Cultural Centre. Open to the public.

Nov – Dec

International Antalya Piano Festival

A recital series at the Antalya Cultural Centre that has run for a quarter of a century, in the quietest weeks of the year.

Getting around

Antalya transport & airports

How to arrive and move around the city.
AYT

Antalya Airport

The country's third busiest airport, east of the city, with two international terminals and a domestic one. The AntRay tram stops here, which is the cheapest way into the centre.

↗ WebsiteMap
Tram

AntRay light rail

The modern tram runs from Fatih in the west across the city to Expo in the east, calling at the coach station, the centre and the airport. Pay with an AntalyaKart from a machine.

↗ Website
Heritage

Nostalgic tram

A single-track heritage line runs between the museum and Zerdalilik, passing the top of Kaleiçi and Hadrian's Gate. Slow and short, and it links the two things most visitors want.

Map
Overland

Coaches and taxis

Turkey's rail network does not reach Antalya, so arriving overland means the intercity coach station on the northwestern edge, which is on the tram line. Taxis are metered.

Map
Traditional food

Must-try dishes in Antalya, Turkey

The classics to order before you leave.
Piyaz, Antalya (Wimup travel guide)

Piyaz

Antalya's white bean salad, bound in tahini whisked with vinegar and garlic, topped with egg and eaten warm.

Kabak çiçeği dolması, Antalya (Wimup travel guide)

Kabak çiçeği dolması

Courgette flowers stuffed with herbed rice and cooked in olive oil, eaten cold. A summer dish.

Şakşuka, Antalya (Wimup travel guide)

Şakşuka

Fried aubergine and pepper in a garlicky tomato sauce, served at room temperature with yoghurt.

Hibeş

Tahini loosened with lemon and water, sharpened with garlic and chilli and finished with cumin.

Tandır kebabı

Lamb cooked for hours in a clay oven sunk into the ground until it falls off the bone, with bulgur.

Şiş köfte

Spiced minced lamb pressed onto flat skewers and grilled over charcoal, with peppers and flatbread.

Börülce salatası

Black-eyed peas dressed with olive oil, lemon and plenty of parsley, sometimes with tahini through it.

Tirmis

Lupin seeds boiled and brined until the bitterness leaves them, sold in cups along the seafront.

Antalya fact sheet

Antalya at a glance

The essentials worth knowing before you go.
Country
Türkiye (Turkey)
Region
Mediterranean coast, Antalya Province
Population
2.72 million province-wide (2025), about 1.3 million across the three central districts
Founded
About 150 BC, as Attaleia, by Attalos II of Pergamon
Nickname
Capital of the Turkish Riviera
Language
Turkish
Currency
Turkish lira (₺, TRY)
Time zone
UTC+3, no daylight saving
Calling code
+90 242
Airports
Antalya (AYT), east of the centre on the AntRay tram line
Power
230V, 50Hz, plug types C and F
Emergency
112
Ideal length
4 days
Getting around
Two tram lines and a citywide bus network, paid with an AntalyaKart
Tourism board
Official site

Interesting facts

  • Antalya Airport handled more than 39 million passengers in 2025, which makes it the third busiest in Turkey after Istanbul's two.
  • Termessos is the city Alexander the Great did not take. He besieged it in 333 BC, judged the mountain approach too costly and moved on.
  • Most of the statues in the Antalya Museum's Hall of Gods came out of a single site, Perge, twenty kilometres east of the city.
  • The flames at Yanartaş are methane seeping through the rock. They have burned since antiquity, and the Chimera myth is set there.
  • The fluted brick minaret that defines the old town skyline was built for the Seljuk sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I in the 13th century.

Headed to Antalya?

Get our one-page Antalya cheat sheet plus a fresh destination every Thursday.

Photo credits (6)