Izmir

Updated October 2026

Overview and Things to Consider

Izmir is the big Turkish city that foreigners skip. About 3 million people live in the urban area, the third-largest population in the country, wrapped around the end of a long gulf. Most travelers see it only through an airport window on the way to Ephesus or a resort. That's their loss. Izmir is a working port with a long seafront promenade, the Kordon, a sprawling bazaar in Kemeraltı where locals still shop, and ferries that criss-cross the bay for the price of a bus ride.

You'll love Izmir if you like cities that don't perform for you. It reads as a place where people go to work, sit on the Kordon lawn at sunset with a beer, and eat breakfast pastries standing up. Turks often call it the country's most liberal city. You'll hate it if you came to Turkey for Ottoman domes, because the 1922 fire took much of the old city, and today the Kordon is lined with tall apartment blocks. There's no beach downtown either.

The 2026 moment is that Izmir finally works as a base. İzban suburban trains run from the airport through the city to Selçuk for Ephesus, and north to Aliağa for the bus to Bergama. Three tram lines and a longer metro opened between 2017 and 2024, one card pays for all of it, and after a decade of lira collapse a ride costs about 70 cents.

Some things are overrated. Şirince, the wine village above Selçuk, has become a weekend shopping street. A day at Ephesus between 10am and 3pm in July is a day in a queue in the sun. And the horse-drawn carriages on the Kordon are a ride along a road you could walk.

How Izmir Got Here

The first Smyrna stood about 5 kilometers north of today's center, in what is now Bayraklı, with pottery from around 1000 BC and ruins from 725 to 700 BC. Alexander the Great refounded Smyrna around 340 BC on the slopes of Mount Pagos, now Kadifekale, and under Rome it grew rich. An earthquake wrecked it in 178 AD, and Marcus Aurelius paid to rebuild the Agora you can walk through today.

The Ottomans took the city in 1415, and by the 1600s it was the empire's great trading port with Europe, with a European merchant community of mostly Genoese, French and Venetian descent. Those Levantine families, together with Greeks, Armenians and a large Sephardic Jewish community, made Smyrna one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the empire. The first railway lines in what is now Turkey started here, beginning with the 130-kilometer line to Aydın. The Kemeraltı market itself sits on land filled in from the bay between 1650 and 1670.

That city ended in September 1922. Turkish forces took Smyrna on September 9, and on September 13 a fire began that burned for nine days and destroyed the Greek, Armenian and European quarters, while the Muslim and Jewish quarters survived. Greek and Armenian deaths ran into the tens of thousands or more. The 1923 population exchange sent the remaining Orthodox Christians to Greece. This is why Kemeraltı and the hill neighborhoods look Ottoman while Alsancak and the Kordon look rebuilt, and why September 9 is the city's biggest holiday.

Getting There and Around

Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB) sits about 15 kilometers south of the center in Gaziemir and handled 12.7 million passengers in 2025, the fifth-busiest in Turkey. Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AJet and SunExpress all fly here, with frequent links to both Istanbul airports and Ankara, and direct flights from across Europe. From outside Europe, the usual connection is through Istanbul.

The cheapest way into town is İzban, the suburban railway, which has its own airport station. Trains run north through the city to Alsancak, with a change at Hilal for the metro. İzban charges by distance, 40 TL for the first 20 kilometers and 1.50 TL a kilometer after that, with no free transfers. ESHOT bus 202 runs around the clock to Cumhuriyet Meydanı on the Kordon in about an hour, and buses 200, 204 and 206 go to Mavişehir, Bornova and Şirinyer. Airport buses cost 77 TL by İzmirim Kart or 86 TL by bank card.

Entry is simple for the five passport groups most readers carry. US and Canadian citizens have been visa-exempt since December 23, 2023, and Australians since April 17, 2026. UK citizens and citizens of every EU state except Cyprus are also exempt. All of them get 90 days in any 180-day period, according to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Your passport has to be valid for at least 60 days beyond the end of your permitted stay, which works out to 150 days on arrival for a full 90-day visit.

In town, everything runs on the İzmirim Kart, an anonymous card that costs 200 TL and is sold at the airport, ferry piers and rail stations. Under the tariff in force since April 1, 2026, a ride on a city bus, the metro, a tram or a ferry costs 35 TL, and every further boarding within 90 minutes is free. Ride between 5am and 7am or 7pm and 8pm and the fare halves. You can tap a contactless bank card instead for 39 TL, but bank-card rides get no transfers and don't work on İzban. The single metro line runs from Narlıdere through Konak and Basmane to Bornova, one tram line runs along the south shore from Halkapınar through Konak to Fahrettin Altay, and two more serve the north shore through Karşıyaka and Çiğli.

Use the ferries. İZDENİZ runs passenger boats between Konak, Pasaport, Alsancak, Karşıyaka, Bostanlı, Göztepe and Üçkuyular, plus a car ferry, on the same card and the same 35 TL fare. Central Izmir is flat and walkable from Konak to Alsancak along the Kordon. Taxis are plentiful, have no night rate and can't leave Izmir province, and BiTaksi works here for booking and paying by app. Livingcost puts an 8-kilometer taxi ride at about $10 (490 TL).

What's Changed Since 2016

2017 to March 2024: the rail network grew up. The İzban extension to Selçuk opened in 2017, putting Ephesus on the suburban railway. Trams arrived on the north shore in Karşıyaka on April 11, 2017, in Konak in March 2018, and in Çiğli in January 2024. The metro's seven-station Narlıdere extension opened in February and March 2024. On the other side of the ledger, the rubber-wheeled nostalgic tram on the Kordon closed on May 28, 2024 for lack of riders. A second metro line, M2 from Üçyol to Fuar İzmir, is under construction for 2027.

October 30, 2020: a magnitude 7.0 earthquake under the sea near Samos killed 117 people in Turkey, nearly all of them in collapsed apartment blocks. The worst damage was in Bayraklı and Karşıyaka, where loose soils amplified the shaking.

April 2020: Kemeraltı and the area around it went onto UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list as part of the historical port city of Izmir. The ancient theater on the slope of Kadifekale, buried for about 1,500 years and dug since 2016, had about 21 steps, part of the stage and an entrance passage exposed by late 2024, and in September 2026 the Agora team announced three Late Antique rooms with the first wall paintings ever found there.

Prices in lira went vertical. The Central Bank set the dollar at 3.00 lira on October 3, 2016, and at 48.97 on October 2, 2026. A city bus ride that Wikivoyage listed at 8.78 TL in 2024 cost 35 TL by April 2026. Converted to dollars, most things are still cheap, but anything quoted in lira in a guide or forum post from even a year ago will be low, and site tickets and museum passes are now set in euros.

May 29, 2025: about 23,000 municipal workers struck over pay, halting buses and the metro for a week, until a wage deal on June 4, while garbage piled up in Alsancak. A month later, on June 30, 2025, wildfires between Menderes and Seferihisar forced the airport to suspend flights for part of the day.

December 2024: the Michelin Guide's 2025 selection listed 24 restaurants in Izmir province. Stars went to OD Urla, Teruar Urla and Vino Locale, which kept theirs from the year before, and to newcomer Narımor, and Asma Yaprağı won a Green Star. All four starred restaurants are in Urla, west of the city, not downtown.

What the Usual Advice Gets Wrong

"Izmir is just the airport for Ephesus. Fly in, transfer to Selçuk or Kuşadası, and skip the city." The airport sits on the same İzban line as the city and Selçuk, so basing yourself in Izmir costs you nothing in transit, and you get Kemeraltı, the Agora, the ferries and a real food city in the evenings. Kuşadası is a cruise port that handled 480,983 cruise passengers between January and July 2026.

"You need a tour or a private transfer to see Ephesus." Take İzban south, change at Tepeköy for the Selçuk train, and you're there in about an hour of riding from downtown, then a dolmuş from the Selçuk bus station to the lower gate. Wikivoyage warns that very cheap or free tours often spend hours in a carpet shop and then rush the site. Enter at the lower gate and you walk uphill against the coach groups, who start at the top.

"Kemeraltı is a smaller Grand Bazaar." That's how a Turkish news report put it in 2020, and it sells the place short. Istanbul's bazaar sits under one roof. Kemeraltı is a sprawl of open lanes, still one of the liveliest districts in the city and trading since the bay was filled in during the 1600s, wrapped around the 1744 Kızlarağası Han, the Hisar Mosque of the 1590s, and eight surviving synagogues, most of them on Havra Sokağı.

"Şirince is an unspoiled old Greek village in the hills." It was a Greek village until 1923 and its old Ottoman-era houses are still there, but only 456 people lived in it in 2022, and Wikivoyage notes it is very popular with Turkish visitors, above all on weekends. Expect lanes of wine-tasting shops selling fruit wines. Go on a weekday morning on the minibus from Selçuk, 8 kilometers away, and leave before lunch.

"Izmir is a beach city." Downtown has a seafront but no beach. The nearest decent swimming starts more than 20 kilometers west around Güzelbahçe and gets better toward Çeşme, and the closest resort to the north is Foça.

"Just buy single tickets as you go." Izmir's paper option, Bilet 35, costs 140 TL for two rides because the ticket's own 35 TL price is built in, and it carries no transfer rights. An anonymous İzmirim Kart costs 200 TL and then 35 TL a ride with free changes inside 90 minutes, so it pays for itself within a couple of days. A tapped bank card at 39 TL a ride is fine for a short stay, as long as you don't need İzban.

Ideas to Consider for Your Visit

Have you thought about starting the day the way Izmir does? Boyoz is an oily pastry, a Sephardic Jewish contribution to the city's kitchen, eaten with a glass of tea for breakfast. Kumru is the local sandwich, a sesame roll filled with grilled cheese, tomato and often sucuk, best early while the bread is still warm. For lunch in Kemeraltı, try the homestyle cooking at Piraye Ev Yemekleri on 851st Street or the köfte at Köfteci Murat on 927th Street.

Spend a slow half day in Kemeraltı and the Agora. Walk in from Konak Square past the 1901 clock tower and the small octagonal Konak Mosque of 1755, then lose yourself in the lanes toward Kızlarağası Han, a 1744 caravanserai now full of shops. Look for the synagogues on Havra Sokağı, part of a cluster that once numbered 34. Then climb to the Agora, open 8:30am to 5:30pm, the marketplace Marcus Aurelius had rebuilt after the earthquake of 178 AD.

Ride a ferry for no reason. The 35 TL boat from Konak or Pasaport to Karşıyaka is the best-value view in Turkey, the whole city laid out along the gulf with Kadifekale above it. On the north shore, walk the Karşıyaka and Bostanlı waterfront, a residential side of the city few visitors bother with, then take the tram or the boat back. Go at sunset, when the light comes across the water toward the Kordon.

Do Ephesus right. The site opens at 8am and closes at 6pm, and the MuseumPass The Aegean at €95 for seven days covers it along with the Terrace Houses, the Ephesus Museum and the Basilica of St. John in Selçuk, plus Pergamon and the Izmir Agora. Arrive at opening, before the cruise coaches. Since June 2026 the site has also opened at night on Wednesdays to Saturdays, with the Library of Celsus lit up, which beats the noon heat. The launch announced 7pm to 10pm until October 1, but the ministry's page now lists 6pm to 9:30pm, so check before you go.

Pergamon is the better ruin for people who hate crowds. Take İzban to its northern end at Aliağa, then ESHOT bus 835 to Bergama, which charges 77.50 TL with no transfer discount, about two hours door to door on the same card. The Acropolis sits 3 kilometers up a lane above the modern town, with a cable car for the climb, while the Asklepion, the Red Basilica and the museum are all walkable from the center. Wikivoyage notes that taxi drivers at the Bergama bus station sometimes claim the 835 isn't running. It is.

If food is a priority, head west to Urla on the Çeşme peninsula, home to all four of the province's Michelin-starred restaurants in the 2025 guide, OD Urla, Teruar Urla, Vino Locale and Narımor. Book ahead, and pair it with a wander through the old town. Back in the city, Manisalı Birtat on Kıbrıs Şehitleri Caddesi in Alsancak does Manisa kebab drenched in yogurt and tomato sauce, and Topçu on Vali Kazım Dirik Caddesi serves çöp şiş kebab, a name Wikivoyage translates as made of any old rubbish.

The Part Most Guides Miss

Most guides treat Smyrna as a footnote to Ephesus, but the ancient city is coming out of the ground under downtown Izmir right now, and you can watch. The ancient theater on the lower slope of Kadifekale once seated about 20,000 people, about the size of the great theater at Ephesus, and archaeologists from İzmir Kâtip Çelebi University have been uncovering it since 2016. Down the hill, the Agora team found three Late Antique rooms, two with mosaic floors, and the site's first wall paintings, announced in September 2026. Walk from the Agora up through the Kadifekale neighborhood to the free castle at the top at the end of the afternoon, and you trace 2,300 years of the city in an hour, with a view over the whole gulf for the finish.

Where to Base Yourself

Alsancak. The pick for most people. The grid of streets behind the Kordon holds the cafés, the bars on 1448th Street and Kıbrıs Şehitleri Caddesi, and hostels such as Shantihome and Titan House. Hostelworld lists dorms at the city's best-rated hostels from about US$21 to $23. İzban, trams and the ferry all stop here. The catch is weekend noise, and Alsancak station only serves İzban, not mainline trains.

Konak, Kemeraltı and Basmane. Sleep here if you want to walk out the door into the bazaar and the Agora, and catch early trains from Basmane, the mainline station, which is also on the metro. Wikivoyage lists a string of basic hotels around Basmane and at least one restored hotel inside Kemeraltı itself. The catch is that its write-ups of the Basmane hotels run from basic to tatty, and the bazaar closes at 7pm and all day Sunday.

Karşıyaka and Bostanlı. The north shore, for longer stays and anyone who wants to live like a local. It's residential, has the Bostanlı seafront, and connects to Konak and Alsancak by ferry and to the airport by İzban without changing. The catch is that there are few places built for visitors, and this side took the worst damage in the 2020 earthquake.

Realities to Be Aware Of

Budgets, at 48.97 lira to the dollar in early October 2026. Budget travelers can get by on about $40 to $55 a day with a central dorm bed at around $21 to $23, lunch at a lokanta, street food and 35 TL transit rides. Mid-range, a private room or simple hotel, restaurant dinners and a day trip to Ephesus, runs about $90 to $140 per person. Comfortable travelers taking a seafront hotel, guided days out and dinners in Urla should allow $200 or more. Museum passes and site tickets are priced in euros, so they don't get cheaper as the lira falls.

The real risks are modest. The UK government warns against strangers who offer to change money or steer you to a restaurant or nightclub, where drinks may be spiked, and illegal spirits and counterfeit bottles of branded alcohol have killed people in Turkey, so buy drinks from reputable bars and shops. It recorded 29 sexual assaults among 4.27 million British visitors to Turkey in 2025, mostly at coastal resorts and often involving hotel or spa staff. Carry your passport for ID checks.

Izmir is a seismic city on soft ground, and summer brings wildfires to the hills around it. Neither is a reason to stay away, but newer buildings follow stricter codes than pre-1999 apartment blocks, and a fire in the wrong place can close roads or the airport for hours. Take the summer heat seriously at Ephesus, where Wikivoyage warns there's little shade.

Izmir has a reputation as Turkey's most liberal big city, and İzmir Pride drew about 50,000 people in 2018. Since 2015 authorities across Turkey have banned or broken up Pride events, and the UK government notes that same-sex relationships are legal but not recognized. Nightlife concentrates in Alsancak, on Kıbrıs Şehitleri Caddesi and Gazi Kadınlar Caddesi, busiest at weekends.

If Izmir Is Part of a Longer Trip

Izmir sits in the middle of the Aegean coast, which makes it a natural hinge on an overland route through Turkey. Istanbul is a short flight away, or about eight hours on buses that leave hourly around the clock. The 6th of September Express runs daily to Bandırma, where ferries cross the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul. A high-speed line to Ankara is still under construction, so trains east remain slow overnight runs. Heading south, TCDD regional trains from Basmane continue past Selçuk through Aydın to Denizli for Pamukkale, about three hours beyond Selçuk, and Antalya lies further along the coast to the southeast.

Greece is closer than it looks. In summer İZDENİZ has run boats from Izmir to Lesbos since 2022 and from Çeşme to Chios since 2025. From the islands, ferries continue to Athens and the rest of Greece. Turkish taxis can't leave Izmir province, so plan connections to the ports on buses or trains.

On a multi-stop or round-the-world ticket, Izmir works well as an open-jaw point. Fly into Istanbul, work down the coast by bus and train, and fly home out of Izmir through Istanbul, or cross to the Greek islands and leave from Athens. Thessaloniki, Atatürk's birthplace and the other half of the 1923 population exchange, makes a fitting pairing if the history pulls you. AirTreks can build that kind of routing if you'd rather not price each leg yourself.

Yearly Things to Consider

Two things drive the year: heat and the cruise ships. Summers are long, rainless and humid, with average highs of 93°F (34°C) in July, and Wikivoyage notes that the humidity makes it feel closer to 104°F (40°C). Winters are mild but wet, with about 5 inches of rain in each of December and January. Cruise passengers and coach tours pour into Ephesus, and its officials expected close to 3 million visitors in 2026.

The counterintuitive move is to come in late September or October, when the city is warm rather than hot, the sea is still around 68°F (20°C), and the Ephesus queues thin out. April and May work too, before the heat. September 9 brings the liberation-day parades, the biggest event in the city, and Ephesus hosts its opera and ballet festival from late June into mid-July.

Ideas for Itineraries

3 Days in Izmir

Day one, take İzban in from the airport, drop your bag in Alsancak, walk the Kordon south to Konak Square and the clock tower, and spend the afternoon in Kemeraltı and Kızlarağası Han before climbing to the Agora. End with the ferry to Karşıyaka and back at sunset. Day two, catch an early İzban south and the Selçuk connection, be at the Ephesus lower gate at 8am, see the Terrace Houses before the coaches, then the Ephesus Museum and the Basilica of St. John in Selçuk. Day three, ride the free 1907 Asansör lift in Karataş for the view over the gulf, then climb from the theater excavation to Kadifekale for the late-afternoon view.

5 Days in Izmir

Do the three-day plan, then give day four to Pergamon, İzban to Aliağa and bus 835 to Bergama, with the Acropolis in the morning and the Asklepion and Red Basilica after lunch. On day five, go west to Urla for the old town and a long lunch among the vineyards, or, if you'd rather see Şirince, combine it with a second, slower Selçuk day on a weekday, taking the minibus up from the Selçuk bus station in the morning before the village fills.

1 Week in Izmir

A week lets you treat Izmir as a hub and not rush. Add a day on the north shore in Karşıyaka and Bostanlı, a beach day toward Çeşme or Foça, and a day for the Izmir Bird Paradise in the Gediz Delta, about 32 kilometers northwest, where flamingos feed in the salt marshes. Or take the regional train past Selçuk to Denizli and stay a night near Pamukkale, since Hierapolis is covered by the same MuseumPass The Aegean.

2 Weeks or More in Izmir

Over two weeks, settle into Alsancak or Karşıyaka and live on the ferries. Alsancak has the cafés and bars, Karşıyaka a calmer seafront, and both connect to the airport by İzban. Weekend trips fan out from there: a night in Bergama, a night in Selçuk and Şirince on weekdays, a few days on Lesbos or Chios by summer ferry, or Urla and Çeşme along the peninsula. Check that apartments in Bayraklı or Karşıyaka are in newer buildings, given the 2020 earthquake.

Sources

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

• İzmir, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Izmir, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Tarife ve Ücretlendirme (fare tariff from April 1, 2026), İzmirim Kart, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• İZBAN, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• İzmir Metro, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Trams in İzmir, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Visa Information for Foreigners, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Visa policy of Turkey, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Turkey travel advice: safety and security, GOV.UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Indicative exchange rates, October 2, 2026, Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Indicative exchange rates, October 3, 2016, Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Burning of Smyrna, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Kemeraltı, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Turkey's bazaar added to temporary UNESCO heritage list, Hürriyet Daily News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Night museum program launched at Ephesus, Hürriyet Daily News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Cruise passenger traffic tops 1 million, setting new record, Hürriyet Daily News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• İzmir municipal workers go on strike, Hürriyet Daily News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• İzmir strike ends as union, municipality reach wage deal, Hürriyet Daily News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Wildfires ravage Türkiye, forcing evacuations and airport closure in İzmir, Hürriyet Daily News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Michelin Guide 2025 Istanbul-İzmir-Muğla selection announced, Hürriyet Daily News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Narımor, MICHELIN Guide (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Smyrna theater set to shine once more after 1,500 years, Hürriyet Daily News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• New rooms, paintings unearthed at Smyrna, Hürriyet Daily News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• MuseumPass The Aegean E-Card, Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Museums (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Ephesus Archaeological Site, Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Museums (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Hostels in Izmir, Hostelworld (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Cost of Living in Izmir, Livingcost (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• BiTaksi FAQ, BiTaksi (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Selçuk, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Ephesus, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Bergama, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Şirince, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• İZDENİZ, Vikipedi (Turkish Wikipedia) (accessed Oct 3, 2026)