İzmir and Urla

İzmir is the big city of Turkey's Aegean coast, spread around a deep gulf. Its airport, Adnan Menderes, serves the whole northern Aegean: Alaçatı, Ayvalık, Ephesus. Most travellers only pass through. The area deserves two or three nights all the same: in under an hour you go from an urban seafront to a wine estate, then to a cove below an ancient city.

Three stays in one

The region falls into three stops, from east to west.

• İzmir, the city: the Kordon seafront, the agora of ancient Smyrna and the Konak district. One or two nights on arrival or before flying home.
• Urla, 40 km to the west (35 minutes): hills planted with vines and estates that make their wine on site. This is the food and wine stop on the coast.
• Sığacık, in the Seferihisar district, 22 km south of Urla: a small harbour, coves and the ruins of Teos.

Alaçatı and Çeşme, at the tip of the peninsula, are half an hour from Urla and make up a separate region: see Çeşme and Alaçatı.

İzmir, a city facing its gulf

The Kordon is the seafront promenade running from Konak towards Alsancak. Come in the early evening, when the sun sets over the gulf. The Clock Tower in Konak is the meeting point for guided walks of the city; Kemeraltı, the old bazaar, starts behind it.

The Agora of Smyrna was the public square of the ancient city, with its colonnades and remains, right in Konak. Admission will be €7 from 1 April 2027, according to the price list of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The İzmir Archaeological Museum shows the region's ancient collections, for €5.

A guided city walk, from the Clock Tower to the agora, is sold from €75 per person for five hours; a food tour from the same starting point costs from €95.

Urla, the Aegean wine route

Urla is İzmir's countryside: hills of vines and olive trees, estates producing their own wine and kitchens cooking their own vegetables. This is the region for a trip built around food and wine, easily combined with the sea at Alaçatı, 44 km away. For more addresses in the same spirit, see our food and dining page.

Sığacık and Teos

Sığacık is a small harbour on the south side of the peninsula. Next to it, Teos was an Ionian city: you can see the remains of the Temple of Dionysus, a theatre and an agora spread across the peninsula. Admission will be €5 from 1 April 2027.

Hotels in the Sabaro selection

Three addresses, one for each stop.

• Key Hotel, in İzmir: 31 rooms in the former Central Bank building, opened in 1950, on the Kordon. Listed in the MICHELIN Guide. About €219 a night for two, room only.
• KeyUrla, in Urla: 24 villas set in 15,000 m² of vineyards, an infinity pool, a restaurant and a wellness area. It is the region's only Relais & Châteaux member and is for guests over 12. About €500 a night for two, breakfast included.
• Hiddenbay Teos, in Sığacık: 22 rooms and suites, a private pier, a spa, tennis and padel. Listed in the MICHELIN Guide. Price on request for June 2027.

Prices were checked in October 2026 for two nights from 1 to 3 June 2027, including taxes and fees.

Getting there and getting around

Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB) is 18 km from central İzmir, a 23-minute drive without traffic, 50 km from Urla (45 minutes) and 60 km from Sığacık (about an hour). It has flights to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and AJet; SunExpress, Corendon and, in season, Transavia link it with several European cities. İzmir is a few hours' flight from Europe's main cities, direct or with one stop.

Locally, a car, with or without a driver, is the easiest way to link the three stops. From İzmir, Selçuk and Ephesus are under an hour away and Bergama 1 h 30: see Ephesus, Selçuk and Şirince and Ayvalık, Cunda and Pergamon.

Climate and best time to go

İzmir has a distinctly Mediterranean climate. Average highs range from 12.7 °C in January to 33.8 °C in July; there is almost no rain in summer (1 mm in July), but 711 mm falls over the year, mostly from November to February. The sea reaches 23 °C in June and 25.5 °C in August, and drops to around 15 °C in winter.

The best months for the city and the vineyards are April, May, June, September and October, with highs of 21 to 31 °C. For swimming at Sığacık, aim for June to September.

Safety

No European foreign ministry advises against İzmir, Urla or Sığacık. Several ministries point out that the risk of terrorist attacks exists throughout the country, including İzmir, and report deaths from methanol-contaminated alcohol in the region: drink in established bars, restaurants and shops. In summer the risk of forest fires on the Aegean coast is high. The "Travel advice" table on this page gives the advice of your country.