Antalya Short Break

Walk in through Hadrian's triple marble arch and down the lanes of Kaleiçi to the old Roman harbour. An easy first day: the old town is your base, so the evening is a few steps away.

1. 
   Hadrian's Gate

   A triple-arched marble gate built in honour of Emperor Hadrian's visit in the second century, and still the grand entrance to Kaleiçi.

   Free~10–15 min
2. 
   Kaleiçi (Old Town)

   Antalya's walled old town: lanes of restored Ottoman houses that tumble down to a Roman harbour full of gulets and fishing boats.

   Free~3–4 h

East along the plain: the gate, colonnaded street and stadium of Perge in the morning, before the heat, then the theatre of Aspendos, the best preserved of the ancient world, in the afternoon.

1. 
   Perge

   A large Roman city on the plain east of Antalya, with a monumental gate, a long colonnaded street and one of the best-preserved stadiums in Anatolia.

   €11~2 h

   The site is open, but the ancient theatre is closed until restoration work is finished.
2. 
   Aspendos

   The best-preserved Roman theatre in the ancient world, still used for performances, with the ruins of a city and a long aqueduct behind it.

   €15~1–2 h

Further east to Side, a resort town built inside an ancient harbour city: the theatre above the streets and the columns of the Temple of Apollo at the water's edge. On the way back, the wide, low Manavgat falls under the plane trees.

1. 
   Side (ancient city and Temple of Apollo)

   A resort town built inside the ruins of an ancient harbour city, where a Roman theatre rises above the streets and the columns of the Temple of Apollo stand at the water's edge.

   Not verified~3–4 h
2. 
   Manavgat Waterfall

   A wide, low waterfall where the Manavgat river spills over a rock ledge among plane trees, a short drive inland from Side.

   Not verified~30 min–1 h

   Hours and closing days not verified — check on the place page

Optional: swap the falls for the Köprülü Canyon north of Manavgat (its own page under caves and waterfalls) — a long half day with rafting from private operators.

Up into the Taurus while the morning is cool: Termessos, the mountain city Alexander could not take, with its theatre hanging over a valley. The climb is steep. On the way down, the great cave of Karain, lived in since the Old Stone Age.

1. 
   Termessos

   A mountain-top city in the Taurus range that even Alexander the Great did not take, with a theatre hanging above a deep valley.

   Not verified~3 h
2. 
   Karain Cave

   A huge limestone cave above the plain north-west of Antalya, lived in from the Old Stone Age onwards, with a small site museum below it.

   €5~1–1.5 h

A slow last day before the flight: the Düden river in its shady park, then the coast at Lara, where its second fall drops off the cliffs into the sea, and a last swim from the sandy beach.

1. 
   Düden Waterfalls

   Antalya's river falls twice: once in a shady park in the northern suburbs, and again straight off the coastal cliffs into the sea.

   Not verified~30 min–1 h

   Hours and closing days not verified — check on the place page

2. 
   Lara Beach

   Antalya's sandy beach, stretching east of the Düden falls along a coast of large resort hotels.

   Free