Eurasia
Where Europe meets Asia, over a glass of tea.
Turkey straddles two continents and a dozen empires — a vast, warm, endlessly hospitable country where minarets, bazaars and Roman ruins share the skyline and every encounter comes with a glass of tea. Istanbul is the incomparable heart of it: a city of 16 million split by the Bosphorus between Europe and Asia, layered with Byzantine churches and Ottoman mosques, humming markets and a nightlife that runs till dawn. Chaotic, gorgeous, and astonishing value.
What things cost: Turkey is a bargain for visitors — a superb kebab, a Bosphorus ferry, a hammam all cost a fraction of Western prices, and the lira's long slide has only widened the gap. Istanbul's old-city sights carry a tourist premium and museum tickets have risen sharply, but eating, transport and staying are cheap. When a zone below says 'low', that means very low indeed.
Antalya
Bodrum
Cappadocia
Istanbul
Sometimes the event picks the city for you.
During the holy month the old city takes on a special glow — the mosques strung with illuminated 'mahya' messages between their minarets, and the squares filling with families breaking the fast at sunset iftar tents. A moving, atmospheric time to be in Istanbul.
Istanbul · Sultanahmet & citywide
Ballooning happens almost year-round (weather permitting), but spring through autumn is the peak season, when clear, calm dawns send hundreds of balloons aloft over the valleys almost every morning — the region's defining spectacle. Even if you don't fly, the sight of the sky filling with balloons at sunrise is unforgettable; watch from a hotel terrace or a valley viewpoint. The best months for reliable flights and mild weather. A magical time to visit; book flights and view-terrace hotels ahead. Simply breathtaking.
Cappadocia · The valleys around Göreme
For the whole of April the city's parks erupt in millions of tulips — the flower is originally Turkish, and Emirgan Park on the Bosphorus becomes a carpet of colour. A gorgeous, free reason to visit in spring; the light and the blooms are unbeatable.
Istanbul · Emirgan Park & parks citywide
A fun, family-friendly summer attraction — the Antalya Sandland festival near Lara Beach, where international artists sculpt enormous, intricate artworks entirely from sand, on a different theme each year, creating a vast open-air gallery of astonishing sand sculptures (illuminated and open into the evening). A lighthearted, photogenic outing running through the warm months, especially fun with children. Go for the impressive sand art and the family-friendly fun. A charming, only-in-summer highlight near the beach. Great for a fun, photo-filled few hours.
Antalya · Sandland, Lara
Bodrum runs on its summer season — the beach clubs, boat trips, Bar Street and the peninsula's marinas all come alive from mid-May, peak in the heat and crowds of July and August, and wind down through a golden, calmer September and October. Shoulder months are the sweet spot for weather and value.
Bodrum · Bodrum & the peninsula
Weeks of classical music in extraordinary settings — concerts in Hagia Irene, Ottoman palaces and Byzantine churches, with world-class orchestras and soloists. A chance to hear great music inside the city's most spectacular historic buildings.
Istanbul · Historic venues citywide