Ankara

Ankara in 2026 is the Turkish city Turks visit and foreigners skip. It has the country's best archaeology museum, Atatürk's hilltop tomb and a fast train to Istanbul, yet of 8.2 million Anıtkabir visitors in 2025, fewer than 366,000 came from abroad.

Updated October 2026

BootsnAll Scorecard

7.3 / 10

Ankara scores well on cost and on being left alone, and loses points on transport beyond the metro and on a food scene that is solid rather than famous. It suits curious travelers more than first-timers chasing postcards.

Value
8
Near the 8 anchor, with a central dorm from about US$14, a set lunch around $9.50 and a metro ride at 82 cents, held back only by euro pricing for foreigners at state museums such as the €12 Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.
Getting around
6.5
Above the 5 anchor because the metro, Ankaray and Başkentray link Ulus, Kızılay, the train station and the bus terminal, but there is still no rail to the airport, foreign bank cards are unreliable on buses, and the sidewalks and traffic punish walkers.
Crowds and timing
7.5
Close to 8, since foreign visitors are few (about 16,000 to 22,400 a month at Anıtkabir in 2026), though domestic crowds spike on national days, winters are snowy, and two halls of the main museum are shut until March 2027.
Safety and hassle
7.5
A well-policed capital with few touts, kept below 8 by a record of bombings in 2015 and 2016 and the October 2024 attack outside the city, frequent demonstrations, methanol-tainted spirits, and drivers who ignore pedestrians.
Food and drink
7
Everyday eating is good and cheap at kebab houses like Uludağ (since 1956), tray-food lokantas and the aspava joints on Esat Caddesi, but Ankara has fewer standout regional dishes than Istanbul or the southeast.
Indie fit
7
Rewarding on your own terms, with no tour-bus industry and students keen to talk, but the sprawl, limited English among service staff and only two hostels listed on Hostelworld keep it short of 8.

Editorial scores, 1 to 10, against the same written anchors for every city. Half points allowed. The overall is the plain average of the six.

Overview and Things to Consider

Ankara is the capital most travelers in Turkey never see. In 2025 Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, logged 8,242,170 visitors, and 365,690 of them were foreign, roughly one in 23. That ratio tells you what kind of place this is. About 5.8 million people lived in the province at the 2022 count, on a plateau around a volcanic hill topped by a castle, and the city runs on ministries, universities and defense firms rather than on tourism. Nobody is standing outside a restaurant with a menu in five languages.

You'll love Ankara if you care about how modern Turkey was invented, if you want the country's deepest archaeology collection before you head to Cappadocia or the Hittite sites, or if you like cities where daily life isn't arranged around visitors. You'll hate it if you came to Turkey for the Bosphorus, beaches or a skyline of Ottoman domes. Most of the city went up after 1923, in concrete and fast. The traffic is aggressive, the sidewalks are often broken, and ribbon development runs on and on before the open steppe begins.

The 2026 moment is lopsided. The lira has slid from about 3 to the US dollar in October 2016 to 48.97 on October 2, 2026, so a set lunch costs under $10 and a metro ride 82 cents. But the state prices what foreigners come for in euros, and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations charges €12 while Turkish citizens pay 200 TL. Two of its halls, the Ankara Hall and the Classical Hall, are closed for repairs from September 14, 2026 to March 2, 2027. The upper galleries, Paleolithic through Hittite and Phrygian, aren't on the closure notice.

Some of the standard sights are overrated. Kızılay, the official center, is a traffic junction with a shopping mall where the Red Crescent headquarters stood. Kale Kapısı Sokak, the climb to the citadel, is mostly carpet and leather shops. Give your time to the museum, the citadel's back lanes and the Roman layer around Ulus instead.

How Ankara Got Here

The hill was occupied long before anyone wrote its name. Hattians, then Hittites, then Phrygians from around 1000 BC built here, and in Phrygian tradition King Midas founded the town. The Greeks called it Ánkyra, anchor. In 278 BC Celtic Galatians took central Anatolia and made it a tribal seat, and in 25 BC Augustus made Ancyra capital of the Roman province of Galatia. The Romans left the temple that carries the most complete surviving copy of Augustus's own account of his reign, baths built under Caracalla in the 210s AD, and a column put up in 362 for the Emperor Julian. You can see all three in a 20-minute walk from Ulus.

In 1290 a guild-like brotherhood of craftsmen and traders, the Ahis, made Angora their own city-state, the same year the Aslanhane Mosque went up. The Ottomans took it in 1356, lost it briefly to Timur after the Battle of Ankara in 1402, and held it for five centuries as a wool town whose name stuck to Angora goats, cats and rabbits. The English Levant Company kept a trading post here from 1639 to 1768. By the 19th century the population was estimated at 20,000 to 60,000, and the railway from Istanbul arrived at the end of 1892.

Then the town became a country's headquarters. The Grand National Assembly met here on April 23, 1920 to run the War of Independence, and on October 13, 1923 Ankara replaced Istanbul as capital. It had about 35,000 people in 1924 and 286,781 by 1950. Planned for 500,000 people around a new quarter at Kızılay, it was overrun from the 1950s by rural migrants and their gecekondu squatter housing. Atatürk's body moved into Anıtkabir in 1953. More recent history is darker. Bombings hit the city in October 2015 and in February and March 2016, and it was one of the sites of the coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which is why Kızılay Square now carries the name 15 Temmuz Kızılay Millî İrade.

Getting There and Around

Ankara Esenboğa Airport (ESB) sits 28 kilometers northeast of the center. It handled 13.9 million passengers in 2025, about 10 million of them domestic, so expect to connect. Turkish Airlines, its low-cost arm AJet, and Pegasus fly roughly hourly from both Istanbul airports, IST and SAW, in about an hour. Direct international links lean east. Wikivoyage counts two or three daily flights to Baku, four a week to Tbilisi, and nonstops to Bishkek, Tashkent, Almaty and Astana, while AJet's European routes such as London Stansted, Paris CDG and Madrid run about three times a week.

No train or metro reaches the airport. EGO, the city transport authority, runs bus 442 from the airport through Kızılay to the AŞTİ bus terminal for a flat 150 TL (about $3.06), with no student fare, and Wikivoyage puts the ride at 40 to 50 minutes. Private coaches from Havaş and Ankara Air also run to Kızılay, and Havaş to AŞTİ. Havaş suspended its airport shuttle to the high-speed train station on April 30, 2024 after a court decision, so don't plan around it. Taxis wait in marked bays outside domestic and international arrivals around the clock.

Arriving by rail, high-speed YHT trains use Ankara Tren Garı, the steel-and-glass hall on the south side of the 1937 Art Deco station, which opened on October 29, 2016. The M4 metro stops at Gar, the Ankaray light metro at Maltepe, and Ulus on the main metro line is about 500 meters away. Intercity buses use AŞTİ, a two-story terminal on the Ankaray line, though some Flixbus coaches stop at Söğütözü metro instead. Train tickets and timetables come from TCDD Taşımacılık, the state rail operator.

Entry is simple for most readers. Per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ordinary passport holders from the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia and most EU states are visa-exempt for 90 days in any 180. The US and Canada dropped their e-visa on December 23, 2023 and Australia on April 17, 2026. The EU exception is Cyprus, whose citizens need an e-visa, and border-issued visas for them ended on January 2, 2026. The UK government tells British travelers their passport needs 150 days of validity on arrival and a blank page.

Inside the city, EGO fares since August 23, 2026 are 40 TL a ride on a Başkent Kart, with transfers at 20 TL within 75 minutes, against 46 TL with a contactless bank card. Wikivoyage warns that foreign cards don't reliably work on buses, so buy a card at a metro station. One metro line runs from Koru through Kızılay to OSB-Törekent, the M4 heads north from Kızılay to Keçiören, the Ankaray links Dikimevi and AŞTİ, and the Başkentray suburban train crosses from Sincan to Kayaş. Taxis are yellow and metered, and BiTaksi hails licensed ones.

What's Changed Since 2016

Rail got rebuilt around the city. The YHT terminal at Ankara Tren Garı opened on October 29, 2016. The suburban line closed in July 2016 for an 18-month rebuild and reopened on April 12, 2018 as Başkentray, with fares folded into the city's card system and four old stations dropped. In April 2023 the Ankara to Sivas high-speed line opened, and YHT trains now make the run in about 2 hours 35 minutes, against more than ten hours on the overnight expresses.

The metro was stitched together. Lines M1 and M3 merged in July 2018 and M2 joined in February 2019, so one train now runs from Koru to OSB-Törekent, and on April 12, 2023 the M4 reached Kızılay. The airport is what didn't change. It still has no rail line, and the private coach from the airport to the train station has been suspended since April 30, 2024.

The money changed beyond recognition, and so did who it favors. The Central Bank's indicative rate was about 3.00 lira to the dollar on October 3, 2016, and 48.97 on October 2, 2026. US and Canadian citizens also stopped needing e-visas on December 23, 2023, and Australians on April 17, 2026. Local prices chase the lira, and the city raised the standard Başkent Kart fare to 40 TL on August 23, 2026, but state museums now quote foreigners in euros, so the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations costs €12 whatever the lira does.

UNESCO noticed the region. In 2023 Gordion, the Phrygian capital 20 kilometers from Polatlı, was inscribed as a World Heritage Site, and so was a group of five wooden-columned medieval mosques in central Anatolia that includes Ankara's Aslanhane Mosque from 1290.

Anıtkabir is busier than ever with domestic visitors. Its own counts rose from 6,550,480 in 2024 to 8,242,170 in 2025, and May 2026 alone brought 658,626. The foreign share stayed small, at 288,518 in 2024 and 365,690 in 2025.

What the Usual Advice Gets Wrong

"Ankara is a dull government town, so go straight from Istanbul to Cappadocia." The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, in a 1460s covered bazaar, holds finds from Çatalhöyük, Alacahöyük, Kültepe, Boğazköy and Gordion, and was named European Museum of the Year in 1997. Seeing it first makes the Hittite and Phrygian sites you'll visit later make sense, and Cappadocia is only about three hours further by bus.

"Take the metro or a train from the airport into town." There is no rail link to Esenboğa. Your options are EGO bus 442 for a flat 150 TL, the Havaş or Ankara Air coaches to Kızılay, or a taxi. The Havaş shuttle that once ran to the high-speed train station has been suspended since April 30, 2024.

"Cappadocia is an easy day trip from Ankara." There's no train to Göreme. Buses take about 2 hours 45 minutes to Nevşehir and around 3 hours 10 minutes to Göreme, often with a change at Nevşehir's edge-of-town terminal. That's six-plus hours of riding for a few hours in the valleys. Go for at least two nights or skip it.

"Turkey is cheap now, so museum tickets cost almost nothing." Lira prices are low, but state museums charge foreigners in euros. The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is €12 (about 660 TL) for foreign adults against 200 TL for Turkish citizens, and two of its halls are closed until March 2, 2027.

"Tap your bank card on any bus, like in Istanbul." EGO does accept contactless cards, at 46 TL a ride against 40 TL on a Başkent Kart, but Wikivoyage reports that foreign cards fail often on Ankara buses. Buy a Başkent Kart at a metro station on day one and load it. You also save on transfers, which cost 20 TL within 75 minutes.

"Flying between Istanbul and Ankara is faster than the train." The flight is an hour, but Esenboğa is 28 kilometers out with no rail. The YHT runs center to center in about 4 hours 15 minutes, arriving at a station 500 meters from Ulus metro, and Seat61's 2025 fare table listed economy at 780 TL.

Ideas to Consider for Your Visit

Have you thought about giving the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations a whole morning? It fills the Mahmut Paşa covered bazaar, built between 1464 and 1471 with ten domes over 102 shops, and the Kurşunlu Han next door. The collection runs in order from the Paleolithic through Assyrian trading colonies to the Hittites and Phrygians, and its Alaca Höyük bronze standards have become a city symbol. From October through March it opens 08:30 to 17:30 daily, last tickets 16:45. Walk up 800 meters from Ulus metro. Afterward, the nearby Erimtan Archaeology and Arts Museum holds evening concerts, and the Rahmi M. Koç Museum fills the 1523 Çengelhan caravanserai with transport, communication and science exhibits.

Anıtkabir rewards a slow approach. Enter from the Tandoğan side and walk the 262-meter Lion Road to the ceremonial plaza, whose paving copies kilim patterns, then into the Hall of Honor. Atatürk lies in a chamber below the symbolic sarcophagus. The Atatürk and War of Independence Museum sits beneath the hall. Anıtkabir opens daily at 09:00 and closes at 17:00 from May 15 to October 31, 16:00 from November through January and 16:30 the rest of the year. İsmet İnönü's tomb exhibition opens only for a week from October 29 and two weeks from December 25. Insulting Atatürk is a crime in Turkey, punishable by six months to three years, so treat this as the national shrine it is.

The citadel is best on foot and in no hurry. The castle walls are free to climb, with views to the mountains. Below them, the Alaaddin Mosque dates to 1178 by its pulpit inscription, and the Aslanhane Mosque of 1290 holds up its roof on 24 wooden columns above a tiled Seljuk prayer niche. Lunch at Kınacızade Konağı, a late-1800s mansion just outside the gate that was restored in 2007, then drift downhill into Hamamönü, the restored Ottoman quarter just south of the citadel.

Ulus is where the Roman city surfaces. The Temple of Augustus and Rome stands beside the Hacı Bayram Mosque of 1428, with the emperor's self-written record of his reign cut into its walls in Latin and Greek. A few streets away are the 15-meter Column of Julian from 362 and the Roman Baths begun under Caracalla. For lunch, Uludağ Kebapçısı opened on Denizciler Caddesi in 1956 as a four-table kebab shop and still trades on that address. The Museum of the War of Independence on Ulus Square was the first parliament building from 1920 to 1924.

If you care about food, eat the way Ankara office workers do. Tarihi Çiçek Lokantası started in Ulus in 1949 and has served old Anatolian and Ottoman dishes on Necatibey Caddesi since 1993. Esat Caddesi is known for its aspava joints, and the pedestrian block east of Atatürk Bulvarı in Kızılay is lined with cheap cafes and takeaways. Look for Ankara tavası, the meat dish that carries the city's name. Drink Kalecik Karası, the red grape named for the province's Kalecik district and the wine Ankara is best known for.

Gordion makes a good half-day out. Regional trains reach Polatlı in about 70 minutes, and the Phrygian capital lies 20 kilometers northwest of town at Yassıhüyük, so plan on a taxi for the last stretch. One ticket covers the Gordion Museum, the citadel mound 1.5 kilometers away, and the Midas Mound, a 50-meter tumulus now thought to hold Midas's father, where a tunnel leads to a chamber framed in juniper logs. The museum opens daily 09:00 to 18:00. This is where the Gordian knot story is set.

Beypazarı is the easy village day. Bus 577 runs five times a day from AŞTİ, and bus 548 runs three times a day from Sincan, about two hours west along the D140 highway. The draw is a hillside old town of Ottoman houses, the 400-year-old Suluhan market courtyard and a small bathhouse museum, plus the İnözü Valley two kilometers north, where tombs and churches are cut into the cliff.

The Part Most Guides Miss

The Monumentum Ancyranum. On the walls of the Temple of Augustus and Rome in Ulus, next to the Hacı Bayram Mosque, is the most complete surviving copy of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, the account of his own deeds that Augustus left to be posted after his death in AD 14. The original in Rome is lost. The Ankara copy was carved in Latin inside the porch with a Greek version outside, and a Habsburg envoy brought it back to European attention in the 1550s. The temple itself, built around 25 to 20 BC on the site of a Phrygian shrine, survives only as side walls and a carved doorway. Most visitors walk past it on the way to somewhere else.

Where to Base Yourself

Kızılay. The practical choice. Every metro line meets here, the 442 airport bus stops here, and the Ankaray runs straight to AŞTİ for buses. Hostelworld lists just two hostels and a hotel for the whole city, with dorms at Deeps Hostel Ankara 2, south of the center on Libya Caddesi, from about US$14, and the original Deeps Hostel is on Ataç-2 Sokak a few minutes from Kızılay metro. The pedestrian block of cafes, the Sakarya Caddesi bar strip and Konur Sokak are on foot. The catch is noise and traffic, and the square itself is no place to linger.

Ulus and the citadel. Stay here to wake up next to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, the castle and the Roman sites, all walkable, with the train station about 500 meters from Ulus metro. Hamamönü's restored houses are a short climb. The catch is the evenings. The meyhanes that once clustered around the citadel closed during the pandemic, so dinner and drinks mean a ride south, and the cobbled citadel lanes are steep.

Kavaklıdere and Tunalı Hilmi. Ankara's comfortable south side, uphill from Kızılay, with the embassies, the upmarket hotels, Kuğulu Park and the Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi strip of cafes, pubs and late bars. It suits a longer stay or anyone who wants a neighborhood life after work hours. The catch is cost, and you're a bus ride or a long walk from the metro and from Ulus.

Realities to Be Aware Of

Budgets, at 48.97 lira to the dollar on October 2, 2026. A budget traveler can get by on about US$30 to $40 a day with a dorm from about $14, a lokanta lunch around $9.50, metro rides at 82 cents and free sights such as Anıtkabir, the castle and the Temple of Augustus. Mid-range means a private room, a restaurant dinner, which Livingcost averages at $37.50 for two, the €12 museum ticket and the odd taxi at about $6.31 for 8 kilometers. Comfortable travelers will base in Kavaklıdere and Gaziosmanpaşa, where the expensive hotels and restaurants cluster. Lira prices rise fast, so treat these as a floor.

Ankara is a well-policed capital and street crime is low by big-city standards. The real dangers are drivers who ignore lights and pedestrians, broken sidewalks and uncovered drains on dark streets. The UK government notes that most terrorist attacks in Turkey have hit the southeast, Ankara and Istanbul, and the nearest to the capital on its recent list is the October 2024 attack that killed five at the Turkish Aerospace facility in Kahramankazan, 40 kilometers northwest. Demonstrations are frequent, including outside Israeli diplomatic missions; walk away from them. People in Ankara have died from methanol in counterfeit or bootleg spirits, so drink from sealed, branded bottles in proper bars.

Know the laws. Insulting the Turkish nation, the flag, the president or Atatürk is a criminal offense, and that includes posts online. Don't photograph military or official installations, which in a capital full of ministries means looking before you lift the camera. Same-sex activity is legal but not recognized, Pride events have been banned or dispersed since 2015, and the UK government reports rising official hostility, so keep displays of affection low-key. Taxi drivers don't expect more than a rounded-up fare, and service staff speak less English than in Istanbul, so carry a translation app.

The crowds are Turkish and follow the national calendar. Anıtkabir drew 658,626 people in May 2026 against 201,476 in February, with foreign visitors steady at 16,000 to 22,400 a month. Expect flags, ceremonies and school groups on state occasions, and go early on weekends. Carry some cash too, since dolmuş minibuses take cash only.

What things cost in Ankara

Prices checked October 2026. Each links to where we read it.

ItemPriceSource
Dorm bed, Deeps Hostel Ankara 2From about US$14 (670 TL) a nightHostelworld, Oct 2026
Metro, Ankaray, Başkentray or EGO bus ride on a Başkent Kart40 TL (about $0.82); 20 TL per transfer within 75 minutesEGO fare table, valid from Aug 23, 2026
Same ride paid by contactless bank card46 TL (about $0.94)EGO fare table, valid from Aug 23, 2026
Bus 442, airport to Kızılay or AŞTİ150 TL (about $3.06)EGO fare table, Oct 2026
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, foreign adult€12 (about 660 TL or $13.50)Türkiye Müzeleri, Oct 2026
YHT high-speed train, Istanbul to Ankara, economy780 TL (about $16) in Seat61's 2025 fare table; check current fares with TCDDSeat61, 2025 prices
Set lunch menuAbout $9.54 (470 TL)Livingcost, updated June 2026
Dinner for two in a restaurantAbout $37.50 (1,840 TL)Livingcost, updated June 2026
Taxi ride, 8 kmAbout $6.31 (310 TL)Livingcost, updated June 2026

Dollar figures use the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye rate of 48.97 lira to US$1 (and 55.08 to €1) on October 2, 2026. Lira prices rise fast.

If Ankara Is Part of a Longer Trip

Ankara is the hub of Turkey's high-speed network, which makes it a natural hinge between Istanbul and the interior. The YHT takes about 4 hours 15 minutes to Istanbul and 1 hour 44 minutes to Konya, and the Sivas line opened in 2023 runs east in about 2 hours 35 minutes. Seat61's 2025 fare tables listed 780 TL economy and 1,170 TL business to Istanbul and 360 TL economy to Konya, and fares have risen since, so check TCDD before you budget. The overnight Ankara Express to Istanbul takes about nine hours with sleepers.

For Cappadocia, there's no train to Göreme. Buses run every couple of hours from AŞTİ, about 2 hours 45 minutes to Nevşehir and from 3 hours 10 minutes to Göreme, around US$17, with Metro Turizm, Flixbus and Nevşehir Seyahat on the route. Through tickets often still mean a change at Nevşehir's terminal to a dolmuş. A good loop is Ankara, Cappadocia, then Konya by bus in about three and a half hours, and back on the YHT. For Antalya, take the train to Konya and a bus over the mountains.

Going further, the slow overnight trains east are their own trip. The Doğu Express takes about 26 hours to Kars, and other expresses run to Tatvan for Lake Van, Diyarbakır and Malatya. North, Safranbolu's Ottoman old town is 2 hours 45 minutes by bus. Esenboğa's direct flights to Baku, Tbilisi, Tashkent and Almaty also make Ankara a cheaper gateway to the Caucasus and Central Asia than people assume. If you're stringing several of these together on one ticket, AirTreks builds multi-stop routes like that.

Sequencing matters more than distance in central Turkey. Do Ankara before Cappadocia and Konya rather than after, so the museum frames the sites. In winter, the Turistik Doğu Express to Kars has run as a seasonal tourist version with long sightseeing stops, so check whether it's operating before you plan around it.

Yearly Things to Consider

Ankara has a cold semi-arid climate, and the plateau sets the seasons. July and August average 88°F (31°C) with low humidity, cool nights and barely half an inch of rain each. January averages 40°F (5°C), with snow that is common but seldom heavy. Spring is the wettest stretch, peaking in May at 2.0 inches, often as afternoon storms. Early autumn is the best weather, mild and dry by day and cold at night.

The counterintuitive advice is that summer is fine here, because Ankara doesn't fill with foreigners and the dry heat is easier than the coast's. From June 1 to October 1 the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations stays open to 21:00. What to avoid is the domestic calendar. National days bring ceremonies and crowds to Anıtkabir, and this winter two of the museum's halls are closed until March 2, 2027, which makes September and October 2026 a better bet than the months after.

Ankara month by month

MonthTempRainfallSeasonNotes
January40°F (5°C)1.5 inLowColdest month, frequent snow, shortest Anıtkabir hours.
February45°F (7°C)1.4 inLowStill wintry. Anıtkabir's quietest month of 2026 so far.
March54°F (12°C)1.8 inLowThaw and rain. Museum halls reopen after March 2, 2027.
April64°F (18°C)1.8 inShoulderShowery. Ankara International Music Festival.
May73°F (23°C)2.0 inHighWettest month but green. Busiest at Anıtkabir.
June81°F (27°C)1.6 inHighWarm, long days. Museum open late from June 1.
July88°F (31°C)0.6 inShoulderHot, dry and sunny. Cool nights.
August88°F (31°C)0.6 inShoulderHot and dry, with about 10 hours of sun a day.
September80°F (27°C)0.7 inHighDry and mild, the best weather of the year.
October69°F (20°C)1.3 inHighMild days. Republic Day on October 29.
November55°F (13°C)1.3 inShoulderCooling fast. Film and jazz festivals.
December44°F (7°C)1.7 inLowCold and grey, snow possible.

Ideas for Itineraries

3 Days in Ankara

Day one, walk up from Ulus metro to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations at opening, then the castle walls, the Aslanhane Mosque and lunch at Kınacızade Konağı, and finish downhill in Hamamönü. Day two, take the Ankaray to Tandoğan and give Anıtkabir and its museum the morning, then spend the afternoon in Ulus at the Temple of Augustus, the Hacı Bayram Mosque, the Column of Julian and the Roman Baths, with kebab on Denizciler Caddesi. Day three, ride the regional train to Polatlı for Gordion and the Midas Mound, back in time for dinner and a drink on Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi.

5 Days in Ankara

Do the three-day plan, then add the Republic-era city on day four. See the War of Independence Museum on Ulus Square, the Ethnography Museum where Atatürk's body lay from 1938 to 1953, and the Painting and Sculpture Museum beside it, then walk south past Kocatepe Mosque, built from 1967 to 1987, into Kızılay. Day five, take bus 577 from AŞTİ to Beypazarı for the Ottoman old town and the İnözü Valley, or catch the Başkentray to Gazi for the Atatürk Forest Farm.

1 Week in Ankara

Spend three or four days in Ankara as above, then take the bus to Göreme, about three hours, and sleep two or three nights in Cappadocia. Continue by bus to Konya, about three and a half hours, and ride the YHT back to Ankara in under two hours, or carry on west to Istanbul from Konya. The museum on day one will make every rock church and Hittite relief on the rest of the loop easier to read.

2 Weeks or More in Ankara

For a longer stay, settle in Kavaklıdere or Kızılay rather than Ulus, since that's where cafes and evenings happen. Ankara is a university city, with Bilkent, Hacettepe and METU among its campuses, and the municipality's Halk Eğitim Merkezi centers run hobby and vocational courses. Weekends work well by rail and bus, with Konya by YHT, Safranbolu by bus in under three hours, Beypazarı, Gordion, or the thermal springs and forests of Kızılcahamam, 80 kilometers north. Esenboğa's flights to Baku and Tbilisi make a Caucasus side trip easy.

Sources

What this guide is built on. Every page below was read for this guide; prices and rules were checked in October 2026.

Ankara Travel FAQ

Most are in the southern districts of Kavaklıdere, Gaziosmanpaşa and Çankaya, uphill from Kızılay. As the capital, Ankara has an embassy or consular service for most countries, which is useful if you're collecting a visa for the next leg of a longer trip. Book ahead and expect security checks at the door.

No. The president moved in 2018 to the Presidential Complex about 10 kilometers from Çankaya, and it is off-limits. Guided tours of the old Çankaya Mansion, Atatürk's residence, are no longer offered. For Atatürk's personal belongings, the museum beneath the Hall of Honor at Anıtkabir is the place.

Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi in Kavaklıdere and Sakarya Caddesi off Kızılay are the two main bar strips, with Bahçeli a third. Meyhanes, taverns serving set meze menus with rakı and Turkish music, are along the same streets. Most cafes and restaurants serve beer, wine and rakı. Sixties Pub on Tunalı Hilmi is known as LGBT-friendly.

Yes. Gençlerbirliği won promotion to the Süper Lig in 2025 and plays at Eryaman Stadium in the western suburbs, reached by metro. MKE Ankaragücü have dropped to the third tier and are due back at the central 19 Mayıs Stadium from the 2026-27 season. Türk Telekom plays top-flight basketball at the Ankara Arena.

Yes, the name is the city's old one. Angora was the Western name for Ankara until around 1930, and it stuck to the long-haired Angora cat, the Angora goat that gives mohair, and the Angora rabbit, all bred in the region. Mohair and Angora wool were the city's export for centuries before it became a capital.