Antalya City Center is an interesting holiday resort with palm-lined streets, beautiful parks, a pretty marina and numerous hotels, bars and nightclubs is one of Antalya’s many neighborhoods travelers like to visit. Visiting a number of attractions, such as Antalya Exhibition Center and Turk Telecom, is an absolute “must” in Antalya City Center. As the ultimate travel destination, Antalya is known for its busy sights and unmatched hospitality from its residents.
Due to the area’s archaeological and natural attractions, Antalya is also known as the Turkish Riviera. Sun, sea, nature and history in one place are worth seeing. there are also some of the cleanest beaches on the Mediterranean coast. The most interesting area of the city is the central old town (Kaleici) with Roman walls, and there are many interesting museums. You can also enjoy city life with the wide range of hotels, restaurants, bars, discos and shops.
Antalya is a city in southern Anatolia and on the Turkish Riviera. Most tourists only know it from the airport, from which you can easily reach the bathing paradises in the area thanks to the good transport connections. The city itself has a lot to offer and is worth a detour. The old town with the old Ottoman houses and the Hadrian’s Gate are particularly worth a visit.
Antalya is the capital of the province of the same name with over a million inhabitants. Antalya is growing strongly and not only through tourism, but also through industry. The city is characterized by the contrast of numerous ultra-modern new buildings that stand directly next to old buildings or buildings ready for demolition. From the plane you can see that entire districts with uniform houses have been pounded out of the ground in a few years. Coming from the east, you drive through endless new housing estates and finally reach the old town, which is worth seeing because of its small streets and the well-preserved old buildings.
Large parts of the city lie on a cliff, which requires some climbing skills to get to the water. There are two bathing beaches west and east of the city center. The airport of Antalya is the starting point for the tourists of the Turkish Riviera, with well-known vacation spots like Kemer, Belek, Side or Alanya. The city lies between the Mediterranean Sea and a high mountain range, so that in summer you can see snow-capped peaks by the sea.
The city lies at the foot of the 3000 m high snow-covered Lycian Taurus Mountains on the Gulf of Antalya. Already 4500 BCE the plain between Alanya and Antalya was settled by the Hittites. They came from the Caucasus and Mesopotamia. In the 9th to 7th centuries from below Greeks and Trakians immigrated. They founded cities and mingled with the Hittites. Until 546 BCE the area around Antalya belonged to the Lydian Kingdom. Then came the Persians and 336 B.C.E. Alexander the Great. 135 B.C.E. Attalus II of Pergamon founded the city and gave it the name Attaleia. After his death, his empire passed to Rome according to his will.
The Romans built 67 B.C.E. in Attaleia a port to fight the pirate raids that are taking over from here. Pompey used the port as a base against the pirates. Paul and Barnabas are said to have visited the city in the first century. Emperor Hadrian visited the city on his journey through the Roman Empire. Lucius Verus was probably proclaimed emperor here. The city became an early Roman colony. In the Byzantine period there was a bishopric. The Seljuks conquered Antalya in 1214 and the Mongols in 1415. A short time later, the Ottomans entered the city, which they ruled from now on.
The city developed slowly but steadily and lived mainly from the fruit trade. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the city grew suddenly due to refugees from the Balkans and the Caucasus. At the end of the First World War, the city was briefly occupied by Italian troops. Since around 1970 the city has grown continuously through the expansion of tourism in the region and has established itself as a central hub.
The Turkish Riviera stretches from Antalya, the capital of the region, further east to Cape Anamur. The picturesque old town of Antalya with its winding alleys and bazaars offers many cultural highlights, including the Yivli Minare Mosque from the 13th century and the Hadrian Gate, which resembles a Roman triumphal arch. The marina is also worth a visit. Look forward to numerous discoveries during your Antalya holiday and get to know the most beautiful sides of the Turkish south coast.
Many small resorts are located on the endless beach of the Turkish Riviera, for example Belek. The relatively new place blends in with pine and eucalyptus forests and is home to a number of very beautiful holiday resorts. There are plenty of entertainment options and, of course, active holidaymakers will also get their money’s worth: Safaris by jeep, boat tours and a great number of sports offer no boredom.
With a history going back more than 3,500 years, Antalya is a paradise for fans of historical sites such as ruins or theaters from the Roman period. But for everyone else, Turkey also has a lot to offer as a holiday destination, from the idyllic fishing villages in Belek to the lively city life in Istanbul. Did you spontaneously feel like going on vacation? Then take a look at our last minute Turkey offers.
The Lara area two to three kilometers closer to Antalya is still developing rapidly. Where a first real top hotel was realized a few years ago with the Titanic, 5-star hotels such as Delphin Palace or Royal Wings are now, and sometimes very close together, to name just two examples. Since 2006, Lara has also been directly connected to the airport by an express road. Transfer time almost 20 minutes. The range of ultra-modern hotel resorts is now so wide that somewhat older hotels in this area can only reach their customers at lower prices. In contrast to Kundu, there is brisk construction activity at some Lara hotels. There are developments with condominiums. From April to October, however, there is no need to fear construction noise. Noisy construction work is prohibited during this period. (As of January 2007).
From Antalya there are numerous of daily excursions destination that you can either go by rental car, taxi or by bus. Such as on guided bus tours, Rafting and Pirate boat trips are some of the excursions you can enjoy in Antalya during your vacation there, however, one must expect sales events at carpet dealers and goldsmiths. Numerous providers offer boat tours from the marina.
Düden waterfall in Antalya
The boat trip to the Düden waterfall is organized very touristy, but still worth seeing. The boat trip along the coast of Antalya shows the approximately 40 m high cliffs and adventurous constructions of the hotels, which provide sea access for your guests. The journey takes about 1-2 hours. In the port of Antalya, several boat guides offer the trip at a variety of prices. It’s worth comparing and haggling.
At Manavgat there is a wide but not very high waterfall. Often one speaks of two waterfalls, the smaller one corresponds to more rapids. Book now
Mount Olympos is also within easy reach from Antalya.
A little further away is the Troja archaeological site. There are also numerous 2-day excursions (overnight stays in simple hotels) to the Pamukkale World Natural Heritage Site, white limestone cliffs. Bathing in the hot springs is now forbidden there, the tourists must stay on a predetermined path.. Book now