Antalya offers plenty of things to do for everyone. If you want to dose up on sightseeing, you’ll find a fascinating line-up of tourist attractions to keep you busy. The labyrinthine old town is full of atmospheric historic sites, while the city is perfectly placed to act as your base for sightseeing around the outlying area, where dozens of grand ruins await.
It’s not all history, though. This city is also a great spot for your launch onto the white-sand beaches of Turkey’s Turquoise Coast. Beach lovers and history buffs will both leave satisfied.

Kuşadası is a beach resort town on Turkey’s western Aegean coast. A jumping-off point for visiting the classical ruins at nearby Ephesus (or Efes), it’s also a major cruise ship destination. Its seafront promenade, marina, and harbor are lined with hotels and restaurants. Just offshore on Pigeon Island is a walled Byzantine castle that once guarded the town, connected to the mainland via causeway.

Bodrum is a city on the Bodrum Peninsula, stretching from Turkey’s southwest coast into the Aegean Sea. The city features twin bays with views of Bodrum Castle. This medieval fortress was built partly with stones from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, completed in the 4th century B.C. The city is also a gateway for nearby beach towns and resorts.

Alanya is a resort town on Turkey’s central Mediterranean coast (also known as the Turkish Riviera). Its wide beaches lined with hotels include Cleopatra Beach, where the Egyptian queen reputedly swam. Alanya Castle, a giant Seljuk-era fort turned open-air museum, stands on a rocky bluff above the beachfront, alongside red tile–roofed Ottoman villas and the octagonal Red Tower, a symbol of the city dating to 1226.

Fethiye is a port city, and district, on Turkey’s southwestern Turquoise Coast. It’s known for its natural harbor, blue waters and numerous rock tombs including the 4th-century B.C. Tomb of Amyntas, carved into a bluff overlooking the city. Near-shore islands are popular for day trips by boat. In the south, the beach at Ölüdeniz is sheltered by a lagoon, and Butterfly Valley is a designated nature reserve.