Tours in Antalya

Antalya is the capital of the Turkish Mediterranean and a real city rather than a resort, which is why the old quarter survives inside it. Kaleici sits behind Roman walls above the horseshoe harbour: wooden Ottoman houses, hidden courtyards, and Hadrian's Gate, a triple marble arch put up in 130 AD for the emperor's visit and still the way in. The fluted Yivli Minare rises above it, and the Antalya Museum on the western side holds the sculpture dug out of Perge, which is as good a Roman collection as anywhere in the country. The city is split by cliffs: Konyaalti beach runs west under the Bey mountains, Lara stretches east past the Duden waterfall, which drops off the cliff straight into the sea. Kursunlu falls sit inland in a pine gorge, and the Tunektepe cable car lifts to a viewpoint over the whole bay.

The city is used as a hub more than as a destination. From here the day trips fan out: Pamukkale and its travertines, the ancient theatre at Aspendos, Perge and Termessos, the Koprulu canyon for rafting, Land of Legends theme park at Belek, and the aquapark on the eastern edge. Paragliding runs off the ridge at Olympos and Alanya with transfers from Antalya hotels. In town it is Kaleici on foot, the museum, the harbour and the beaches, plus the airport transfers that most visitors book before anything else, since the resorts either side are an hour or two away.

Practical. Summer is hot and long — 35C through July and August, sea around 28C, and the sensible months are April to June and September to November when the ruins are bearable. The airport is the second busiest in Turkey and sits twelve kilometres from the centre, but two hours from Alanya, so check what your hotel actually means by transfer time. Kaleici is cobbled, steep in places and closed to most traffic. Ruins open early and have no shade. A tram runs along the seafront for small change. Tipping is about ten per cent; guides and drivers expect a note rather than a percentage. Lira in cash is better in the old town, and the museum closes on Mondays out of season.