Things to do · Antalya · Turkey
18 best things to do in Antalya
18 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Joe Wallace, CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Antalya are Kaleiçi old town, Hadrian's Gate and Yivli Minaret. Of the 18 picks below, 8 are free, 3 work on a rainy day and 9 suit children. Allow about 6 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Kaleiçi old town
- Free sights
- 8
- Good on a rainy day
- Antalya Museum
- Time to see the highlights
- 6 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaleiçi old town | Kaleiçi | Half a day | Free |
| Hadrian's Gate | Kaleiçi | 15 minutes | Free |
| Yivli Minaret | Kaleiçi | 30 minutes | Free |
| Antalya Museum | Konyaaltı | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Old harbour boat trip | Kaleiçi | 1–5 hours | Low cost |
| Lower Düden Waterfall | Lara | 45 minutes | Free |
| Upper Düden Waterfall | Muratpaşa city centre | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Konyaaltı Beach | Konyaaltı | Half a day | Free |
| Lara Beach | Lara | Half a day | Free |
| Karaalioğlu Park and Hıdırlık Tower | Kaleiçi | 1 hour | Free |
| Antalya Aquarium | Konyaaltı | 2–3 hours | Expensive |
| Tünektepe cable car | Konyaaltı | 1–2 hours | Low cost |
| Perge | Aksu | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Broken Minaret (Kesik Minare) | Kaleiçi | 20 minutes | Free |
| Suna and İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum | Kaleiçi | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Mermerli Beach | Kaleiçi | 2–3 hours | Low cost |
| Kurşunlu Waterfall | Aksu | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| The Land of Legends | Belek | Full day | Expensive |
The 18 best things to do
Neighbourhood · Kaleiçi
1.Kaleiçi old town
Antalya's walled historic quarter is a maze of lanes lined with Ottoman houses with wooden bay windows, walled gardens and Roman fragments built into the walls. It runs downhill from the Clock Tower and Hadrian's Gate to a horseshoe harbour under cliffs, now full of gulets and tour boats.
Walk the lanes in the early morning or around sunset; at midday in summer the narrow streets trap the heat.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Photo spot
Historic site · Kaleiçi
2.Hadrian's Gate
A triple-arched marble gateway built in honour of the Roman emperor Hadrian's visit in 130 AD, flanked by towers and once part of the city walls. Its paving still shows ruts worn by cart wheels, now covered by protective glass in places.
Enter Kaleiçi through the gate from Atatürk Avenue for the classic first view of the old town.
- Time needed
- 15 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Iconic
- Architecture
Religious site · Kaleiçi
3.Yivli Minaret
The fluted brick minaret, built in the early 13th century under the Seljuks and decorated with turquoise tiles, is the symbol of Antalya. It stands at the top of the old town beside a mosque, a Mevlevi dervish lodge and Seljuk tombs.
Photograph it from the terrace near the Clock Tower, with the harbour and the mountains behind.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Iconic
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Museum · Konyaaltı
4.Antalya Museum
One of Turkey's major archaeological museums, with halls of Roman statues from Perge, including the Hall of the Gods and the Weary Herakles, finely carved sarcophagi, mosaics and finds spanning prehistory to the Ottoman era. It is about 2 km west of Kaleiçi on the nostalgic tram line.
Allow at least two hours and start with the sculpture halls and the sarcophagus gallery before you tire.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Experience · Kaleiçi
5.Old harbour boat trip
From the old Roman harbour, wooden tour boats run short trips along the cliffs to see the Lower Düden Waterfall pour into the sea, plus longer cruises with swimming stops in bays to the west. The views back to Kaleiçi and the Taurus Mountains are one of the best ways to understand the city's setting.
Agree the route, duration and price on the quay before boarding; one-hour trips to the waterfall are enough for most people.
- Time needed
- 1–5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Views
- Couples
- Outdoors
Nature · Lara
6.Lower Düden Waterfall
The Düden River drops about 40 metres from the cliffs straight into the Mediterranean at Lara. A clifftop park gives views over the falls and the spray, and boat trips from the old harbour show them from the sea.
Visit the clifftop park late in the afternoon, when the sun lights the spray and the falls face the light.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Views
- Photo spot
- Kids
Park · Muratpaşa city centre
7.Upper Düden Waterfall
About 10 km north-east of the centre, the Düden River tumbles into a pool in a shady park of plane trees, and a path leads into a cave behind the curtain of water. It is a cool, green escape on a hot day, popular with local families.
Go on a weekday morning; weekends bring picnicking crowds.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- Kids
- Outdoors
Beach · Konyaaltı
8.Konyaaltı Beach
A 7 km sweep of pebble beach west of the centre, backed by a beach park with cafés, playgrounds and cycle lanes. The water is clear and deep close to shore, and the Taurus Mountains rise straight up across the bay.
Bring water shoes for the pebbles, and use the free public sections between the paid sunbed areas.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Views
Beach · Lara
1.Lara Beach
A long, sandy beach east of the city with gently shelving water, lined mostly by resort hotels with a few public stretches. It is the city's best option for small children who want sand.
Use the public beach sections near the start of the strip if you are not staying in a Lara hotel.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
Park · Kaleiçi
2.Karaalioğlu Park and Hıdırlık Tower
A clifftop park on the southern edge of Kaleiçi with lawns, tea gardens and sea views across the bay to the mountains. At its corner stands the Hıdırlık Tower, a round Roman tower from the 2nd century AD that guarded the harbour entrance.
Come at sunset with a glass of tea from one of the park's cafés; the light over the Taurus range is superb.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Couples
- Outdoors
Aquarium · Konyaaltı
3.Antalya Aquarium
A large aquarium near Konyaaltı Beach with themed tanks and a long walk-through tunnel with sharks and rays overhead. The complex also includes extra attractions such as a snow-themed hall, sold as combined tickets.
Check which zones are included before buying; the basic aquarium ticket is enough for most families.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Kids
- Rainy day
Viewpoint · Konyaaltı
4.Tünektepe cable car
From the western end of Konyaaltı, a cable car climbs to the top of Tünektepe hill, about 600 metres up, with a viewing terrace and a revolving restaurant. The panorama takes in the whole curve of the bay, the city and the Taurus Mountains.
Ride up an hour before sunset to see the city lights come on below.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Couples
- Photo spot
- Kids
Historic site · Aksu
5.Perge
About 18 km east of the centre, Perge was a major Greco-Roman city. Visitors walk through a Hellenistic gate flanked by round towers onto a long colonnaded street with a water channel down its middle, past Roman baths, an agora and one of the best-preserved stadiums in Anatolia. Many of the statues in the Antalya Museum came from here.
Visit Perge before the Antalya Museum to picture where the statues once stood, and arrive early as there is little shade.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
Historic site · Kaleiçi
6.Broken Minaret (Kesik Minare)
The ruined building beside this truncated minaret has been a Roman temple, a Byzantine church and an Ottoman mosque in turn; a fire in the late 19th century left the minaret broken. It is a quiet corner of Kaleiçi where layers of the city's history are visible in one structure.
Combine it with a slow walk south to Hıdırlık Tower and Karaalioğlu Park.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Architecture
Museum · Kaleiçi
7.Suna and İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum
A small museum in a restored Ottoman house and the former Greek Orthodox church of Ayios Georgios next door. Displays recreate traditional Antalya home life and wedding customs, and the church holds a collection of Çanakkale and Kütahya ceramics.
Pair it with lunch in a nearby courtyard restaurant; it takes under an hour and is a good escape from the midday heat.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
- Art
Beach · Kaleiçi
8.Mermerli Beach
A tiny pebble beach at the foot of the Kaleiçi cliffs, reached through a restaurant that charges an entry fee including a sunbed. It is the only place to swim within the old town, with clear water and views of the harbour walls.
Go in the morning for a sunbed; by early afternoon in summer it is full.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Outdoors
- Couples
- Off the beaten path
Nature · Aksu
9.Kurşunlu Waterfall
A nature park about 20 km north-east of the city, where a waterfall drops into a turquoise pool surrounded by pine and plane trees. Short wooded trails and stairways lead around the pools.
Combine it with Perge on the same half-day trip by taxi or hire car.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Kids
Theme park · Belek
10.The Land of Legends
A large theme park in Belek with roller coasters, a water park, a shopping boulevard and an evening show with fountains, lights and fireworks. It is the main family day out on the Antalya coast.
Stay for the evening show; many hotels in Belek and Lara run transfers.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Kids
- After dark
- Active
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Antalya Museum and Suna and İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum |
| History | Kaleiçi old town, Hadrian's Gate, Yivli Minaret and Antalya Museum |
| Views | Old harbour boat trip, Lower Düden Waterfall, Konyaaltı Beach and Karaalioğlu Park and Hıdırlık Tower |
| Outdoors and nature | Old harbour boat trip, Lower Düden Waterfall, Upper Düden Waterfall and Konyaaltı Beach |
| After dark | The Land of Legends |
| With children | Old harbour boat trip, Lower Düden Waterfall, Upper Düden Waterfall and Konyaaltı Beach |
| On a rainy day | Antalya Museum, Antalya Aquarium and Suna and İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum |
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Antalya?
Kaleiçi old town. Antalya's walled historic quarter is a maze of lanes lined with Ottoman houses with wooden bay windows, walled gardens and Roman fragments built into the walls.
+What can you do for free in Antalya?
Kaleiçi old town, Hadrian's Gate, Yivli Minaret, Lower Düden Waterfall and Konyaaltı Beach. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Antalya when it rains?
Head indoors to Antalya Museum, Antalya Aquarium and Suna and İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum.
+What is there to do in Antalya at night?
The Land of Legends are best after dark.