Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city and the main port on the Aegean, grew up on the site of ancient Smyrna. People have lived around its gulf for some 8,500 years, Smyrna was one of the towns claiming to be Homer's birthplace, and under the Ottomans its harbour was packed with Greek, Armenian, Jewish and European merchants until a fire destroyed most of the old quarters in 1922. More than three million people live here today, and Turks tend to describe it as the most relaxed and free-spirited city in the country. Is Izmir worth visiting? If you enjoy palm-lined promenades, bazaars and Roman ruins without the crowds of Istanbul or Antalya, then yes. Looking for what to see in Izmir? This list of 20 places runs from the old agora and the vast market to the ruins of Ephesus and Pergamon nearby.
What to See in Izmir First
The centre is compact enough to explore on foot. Konak Square, Kemeralti bazaar and the agora sit close together, the Kordon promenade runs north along the water to the Alsancak district, and a hilltop castle looks down on it all. Ferries cross the gulf, while the metro and İZBAN commuter trains link the wider city, and a single travel card covers the lot.
1. The Agora of Smyrna
Begin at the marketplace of the ancient city. It dates back to the 4th century BC, but after the earthquake of 178 AD it had to be rebuilt with help from Marcus Aurelius. A portrait of his wife Faustina was carved over the gate in thanks, and you can still pick her out on the arch.
The real surprise lies below ground level. A basilica 165 metres long once stood on massive vaults, and visitors can now walk through those dim galleries. Scratched into the old plaster are ships and declarations of love left almost two thousand years ago, while Corinthian columns and Ottoman gravestones rise above the ruins. Digging began here in 1933, yet the site remains a quiet pocket of antiquity among busy streets.
2. Kemeralti Bazaar
Between the agora and the sea spreads the maze of Kemeralti, built over an inner harbour that was filled in around the 17th century. Its main street, Anafartalar, still bends in an arc that traces the vanished shoreline. Stalls sell leather bags, spices, dried fruit, copperware, gold and blue evil-eye charms, and traders in the same craft often cluster along one alley.
For a break, head to Kizlaragasi Han, a caravanserai from 1744. Merchants from across the empire once stored their goods and slept here; today its courtyard arcades hold small shops and cafes. Order a Turkish coffee in the courtyard and rest your feet before another lap of the market.
3. Konak Square and the Clock Tower
The emblem of Izmir, which even appears on the municipal crest, rises from the middle of Konak Square. Raymond Charles Péré, a Frenchman from the local Levantine community, drew the plans, and it opened on 1 September 1901 to mark 25 years of Sultan Abdul Hamid II's reign. It stands only 25 metres tall, but lace-like carving and four fountains around the base give it plenty of Oriental charm. Local lore says Kaiser Wilhelm II donated the clockwork.
The square is always busy with bus stops, the ferry landing, the governor's residence and city hall. Tucked beside the tower is the tiny 18th-century Yali Mosque, with colourful tiles around its windows. A few minutes along the shore is Konak Pier, a former customs house attributed to Gustave Eiffel that now serves as a shopping centre.
4. The Kordon Promenade
Keep an evening free for the Kordon. More than three kilometres of palms and lawns follow the water from the old Pasaport Pier to Alsancak, and nowhere does Izmir feel more Mediterranean. Groups of friends settle on the grass, cyclists weave around horse-drawn carriages, and street vendors offer mussels stuffed with spiced rice.
A few 19th-century mansions survive along the front line among fish restaurants and bars with terraces. Republic Square has an equestrian statue of Atatürk, and Pasaport is the classic place to wait for sunset, when the sun drops straight into the gulf and turns the water and passing ships pink.
5. The Asansor Elevator
Twenty minutes' walk from Konak, in the Karatas quarter, stands an unusual tower with a lift inside, built in 1907. Residents of the clifftop neighbourhood had to tackle 155 steep steps to reach the street below, a real ordeal for the elderly, pregnant women and porters with loads. The Jewish banker Nesim Levi solved the problem with his own money, and the French word for lift became the name of the whole building.
The ride up costs nothing. At the top you get a terrace restaurant and a sweeping view across the gulf, and the narrow street by the exit honours the singer Darío Moreno, who lived here in the 1940s. Walk over from Konak through the colourful old houses of Karatas, where you can still sense the atmosphere of Jewish Izmir.
6. Kadifekale Castle
The name means "velvet castle", though little more than walls remains of the citadel on 186-metre Mount Pagos. A legend ties this hill to the birth of new Smyrna: Alexander the Great supposedly dozed off here under a plane tree after a hunt and dreamed that the goddesses Nemeseis told him to move the city up the slope. The first fortifications came soon after, under his successor Lysimachus.
People climb up today for the panorama, which takes in the centre, the port and almost all of the gulf, and is at its best late in the day. The neighbourhoods on the slope are poor, so it's more comfortable to use a bus or taxi both ways than to wander through them after dark.
7. The Archaeology Museum
On Bahribaba hill, a few minutes from Konak, you'll find one of the richest collections on the Aegean. Founded back in 1924, the museum moved into its present home in 1984, once finds from Bayrakli (the earliest Smyrna) as well as Ephesus, Pergamon, Miletus and Aphrodisias had outgrown the old rooms. Star pieces are the statues of Poseidon and Demeter that once graced the agora, along with a bronze Demeter lifted from the sea off Bodrum.
Across the road, the stone St Roche Hospital of 1831 is now the Ethnography Museum. Its dioramas explain how copper was tinned, felt was made and camel wrestling was staged, with embroidery, weapons, jewellery and illuminated manuscripts close by. The two museums fit comfortably into a single outing.
8. Alsancak and Kulturpark
What is the nicest part of Izmir? Many would pick Alsancak, known in Ottoman days by the Italian name La Punta, when wealthy families and foreign traders settled here. Some of their homes escaped the fire, and the side streets still reveal bay windows, wrought iron and courtyards turned into cafes. Alsancak Station recalls the same era, when the first railway in Anatolia set off from here, and on the seafront the Arkas Art Center occupies the French consulate.
A little inland lies Kulturpark, laid out in 1936 over a burnt-out quarter and home ever since to the International Fair. Its forty-plus hectares hold avenues, ponds, funfair rides, exhibition pavilions and the Museum of History and Art, with ancient sculpture, ceramics and jewellery.
9. A Ferry to Karsiyaka
A city ferry is the simplest boat trip you can take in Izmir. Boats run from the Konak and Pasaport landings to Karsiyaka and Bostanli in under half an hour. Grab a seat on the open deck with a glass of tea and watch the whole centre unfold behind you, Kadifekale on top, as gulls circle alongside.
Karsiyaka literally means "the opposite shore", and locals often treat it as a separate town with a character of its own. Expect a calmer waterfront, pedestrian shopping streets and the grave of Atatürk's mother, Zübeyde Hanim. Neighbouring Bostanli is a favourite with young people, and its broad promenade is ideal at sunset, with the centre in the distance.
10. Ephesus
Turkey's most famous ancient site lies about 80 km south, and a train from Basmane Station reaches the town of Selcuk in about 90 minutes. The scale is what strikes you: a marble street lined with columns leads to the two-tier facade of the Library of Celsus, and the Great Theatre held around 25,000 spectators. Be sure to see the Terrace Houses, with mosaics and frescoes from wealthy Roman homes.
In Selcuk itself a lone re-erected column marks the Temple of Artemis, among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, and Ayasuluk hill holds what is left of St John's Basilica. On the mountain above Ephesus, pilgrims visit the House of the Virgin Mary. Set out early, because in summer those stones get extremely hot by the afternoon.
Izmir Attractions: What Else to Visit While in the City
- Hisar Mosque — the largest of Izmir's historic mosques, built in the late 1500s in the heart of Kemeralti and hemmed in by shops and tea gardens.
- Havra Street — a market lane in the former Jewish quarter selling fish, olives and cheese. A cluster of synagogues survives nearby, and this area was the birthplace of Sabbatai Zevi, who proclaimed himself the Messiah in the 17th century.
- Church of St Polycarp — a Catholic church of 1625 named after the bishop of Smyrna executed in the 2nd century. Frescoes of his life are by Raymond Péré, the same man who designed the Clock Tower.
- Ahmet Piristina City Archive and Museum — papers, photographs and objects on everyday life in old Izmir and how the city was once run.
- Balcova Cable Car — cabins climb from the Balcova district to a mountain with restaurants, picnic spots and one of the broadest views over the gulf.
- Izmir Wildlife Park — about 1,800 animals of 132 species at Sasali, including giraffes, zebras and hippos on an African savannah.
- Gediz Delta — wetlands north of the city with more than 200 recorded bird species and one of Turkey's two major flamingo breeding grounds.
- Pergamon — a UNESCO-listed ancient city by modern Bergama, about 100 km north, with an acropolis, a dizzyingly steep theatre and a sanctuary of Asclepius. Its famous altar is on show in Berlin.
- Sirince — a hillside village 8 km from Selcuk known for stone Greek houses, homemade fruit wines and olive oil.
- Cesme and Alacati — a peninsula 85 km west with Ilica beach, windmills and the lanes of Alacati, beloved by windsurfers. A ferry runs from here to the island of Chios in Greece.
What to See in Izmir in 1, 2 or 3 Days
How many days in Izmir is enough? Two cover the city well, and a third belongs to Ephesus. With only one day, begin at Konak Square, continue through the agora and Kemeralti with coffee at Kizlaragasi Han, ride the Asansor after lunch, and finish with sunset on the Kordon and dinner in Alsancak. On the second morning see the Archaeology Museum and Kadifekale, take the ferry to Karsiyaka in the afternoon and stroll through Kulturpark on your return. What should you do in Izmir for 3 days? Add Ephesus and Sirince or Pergamon on day three, or simply head for a beach at Cesme in summer.
Aim for spring or early autumn: midsummer can approach 40°C, while winters are mild but wet. The gulf in the city centre suits walks better than swimming, so people go to the beaches of Cesme or Foca instead. What is Izmir famous for? The legacy of Smyrna, its easy-going spirit and its closeness to classical sites. Other worthwhile trips include the white terraces of Pamukkale, three hours away, Sardis, capital of the Lydian king Croesus, and Foca itself, whose waters shelter rare monk seals. For a longer journey around the country, see our Istanbul guide and the Turkey section.
Free things to do in Izmir include walking the Kordon and Kulturpark, browsing Kemeralti, visiting Hisar Mosque and Kadifekale, riding the Asansor and looking around the Ethnography Museum. Families will enjoy the Wildlife Park, the cable car, the Kulturpark rides and the ferry itself. As for food, start with boyoz, a flaky pastry of Sephardic origin eaten at breakfast with a boiled egg. Then try gevrek, the local word for simit, a kumru sandwich, lokma doughnuts and stuffed mussels. At night the action moves to the bars of Kibris Sehitleri Street in Alsancak, or to the promenade at Bostanli.
The route from Ukraine passes through neighbouring countries. Direct flights connect Warsaw with Izmir in about 2 hours 40 minutes; from elsewhere it's easy to change in Istanbul, a little over an hour away by air, whereas the coach covers the nearly 470 km in at least seven hours. Adnan Menderes Airport lies 18 km from the centre, and İZBAN trains take roughly 30 minutes to Alsancak. Ukrainians need only a valid passport for a short trip to Turkey.
Izmir's own residents escape to the beaches of Cesme in July, and further south along the Aegean lie the big resorts. Experts at the TurPoisk travel agency can arrange an entire trip: reserve a hotel near the Kordon for a few days, then choose tours to Turkey for the rest, in Bodrum or Marmaris if you'd like to stay on the Aegean, or Kemer and Side on the Mediterranean. Compare prices for your dates with the tour search, and find the latest discounts among last-minute offers. Our team will happily advise how many days to leave for the cities and how many for the sea.
