Gathering the gems worth your time…
Destination guide
Ankara
Türkiye
Ankara is the capital of Turkey, central within the country on the plateau of Central Anatolia. It's a sprawling modern place around an ancient citadel, and in 2022 had a population of almost 5.2 million (second in size to Istanbul), with a further 600,000 living in the wider metropolis.
Introduction quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Sources gathered & checked 3 days ago
At a glance
- Best time to go
- April–June and October–November
- Getting around
- Bus · Metro · Suburban railway
- Vetted picks
- 23 places to see, do, eat, and stay
- Real coverage
- 11 vetted creator sources — mostly locals
AI insights
Local-ledComputed from the Wikivoyage listings, transport section and mostly LOCAL creators' videos on this page
The most-viewed guide here is "ANITKABİR GEZİ VLOG 4K ( Gezdikçe Bilelim Ankara )" by gezdikçe bilelim (126K views) — a solid first watch.
gezdikçe bilelim and gezilesiyer are creators from here, not a visiting channel — worth watching for what the guidebooks skip.
Getting around: by bus, by metro, suburban railway and 1 more — the section below has the details straight from Wikivoyage.
3 of the places below list a real price from their own source — worth a scan before you budget the trip.
How these 23 picks are sourced
4 of 23 are named by a second, independent source — Lonely Planet, Ados Tatilde and Before You Go — and each card names its own. The remaining 19 rest on the reference article alone: we list them because Wikivoyage or Wikipedia documents them, not because anyone else vouched for them. We also watched 11 creator videos, 6 of them from local channels rather than visiting ones. 20 of the 23 descriptions are quoted word for word from Wikivoyage under CC BY-SA rather than written by us, as is the introduction above — each of those cards says so. What we add is the checking, the corroboration above, and the choice of which places are worth your time at all.What we can't promise is that it's still true. Venues close, hours and prices change, and we don't re-check them — a place here closed for good and sat on this page for a year before anyone noticed. The insights are AI-written from these sources and can be wrong too. Confirm anything you'd be sorry to be wrong about before you set out. Terms.
Watch first
Ranked by views and how well each landed with the people who watched it, judged against the other coverage of this place — plus a local creator where we found one.
ANITKABİR GEZİ VLOG 4K ( Gezdikçe Bilelim Ankara )
gezdikçe bilelim · 126K viewsLocaltr
ANKARA! 🇹🇷 The Capital of Turkey! Travel VLOG #390
WAY AWAY · 416K views
Ankara'da Gezilecek Yerler | Mutlaka Görmeniz Gereken 76 Yer!
gezilesiyer · 152K viewsLocaltr
I Went To Ankara Turkey And I Was Amazed!!
Myer Travels · 76K views
ANKARA GEZİSİ ( Başkentte 1 gün ne yapılır )
EYK · 115K viewsLocaltr
Ankara Turkey Travel Guide: 11 BEST Things to Do in Ankara
Before You Go · 80K views
Başkent Ankara: En iyi gezilecek yerler 2025 / Ankara Kalesi / Anıtkabir
Ados Tatilde · 53K viewsLocaltr
A Tour of ANKARA | Is The Capital of Türkiye Worth Visiting? 🇹🇷
Jack Roaming · 6K views
ANKARA’DA MUTLAKA GEZİLECEK YERLER - ANKARA’DA İKİ GÜN VLOG
Simge İşmen · 39K viewsLocaltr
TOP 10 Things to do in Ankara - Turkey 2023!
The Travel Boss · 9K views
BEYPAZARI ANKARA gezilecek yerler Detaylı Gezi Rehberi #beypazarı #ankara
Alper uflaz · 19K viewsLocaltr
Best time to go
Best window: April–June and October–November
No month to avoid, though the shoulder seasons are the pick.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
IdealGoodOkayOff-season
Rated from ten years of daily temperature and rainfall recorded at this destination, via Open-Meteo's ERA5 reanalysis. Hover a month for its real numbers.
Getting around
By bus
All buses are operated by EGO. Most of them are white or blue, while the newer ones are red. Central bus stops often have displays of real-time services. Bus fares cannot be paid in cash, but can be paid by contactless card payment.
By Metro
The Metro, run by EGO the city transport operator, has three lines, which intersect at Kızılay (the station's official name is 15 Temmuz Millî Irade Kızılay) Remarkably, EGO have contrived to muddle their numbering.
Suburban railway
Başkentray is the suburban line, transecting the city between Sincan and Eryaman in the west, through city centre and the main railway station, to Kayaş in the east. Trains run every 10 minutes from 07:00 to 21:00, then every 30 min to 23:00.
By taxi
Taxis are numerous: they are yellow, have the sign Taksi on top of the car, and the letter T in their license plates. Have nothing to do with unlicensed drivers. The rates for day and night are same. Tipping is not usual but you round up to the next TL.
Transport notes from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What to see
Places are listed from Wikivoyage and our own sourced research. Worth it means a second, independent source names the place too; “3 sources agree” means three or more do — and each card names them, so you can check. Single source means the opposite, said plainly: the reference article lists it and nothing else we checked does.
Anıtkabir
Worth itAlso recommended by Lonely Planet and 1 other
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's marble mausoleum sits high above the city, still treated as a place of national veneration.
Vetted sources
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
Worth itAlso recommended by Before You Go
800 m east of Ulus
Excellent display ranging from prehistory to the proto-Greek and Roman eras.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Museum of Anatolian Civilisations
Worth itAlso recommended by Lonely Planet
You walk through Neolithic, Hittite and Phrygian artifacts pulled from nearly every major archaeological site in Anatolia, widely considered Turkey's best history museum.
Vetted sources
Ethnography Museum
Worth itAlso recommended by Lonely Planet
Seljuk ceramics and intricately carved Ottoman minbars fill the building that served as Atatürk's mausoleum before Anıtkabir was completed.
Vetted sources
Ankara Castle
Single source1.3 km east of : Ulus· Free
This volcanic outcrop has probably been fortified since the dawn of mankind, but the earliest traces are from the Phrygians of 8th century BC. The castle was reinforced by the Galatians then the Romans.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Arslanhane Mosque
Single source1 km north of and Kurtuluş
Built in 1290 in Seljuk style, and repaired in 1330 under Ahi Şerafeddin hence its other name.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Sultan Alaeddin Mosque
Single source100 m west of castle
This is the city's oldest mosque, built in AH 574 (1178 AD) according to the inscription on its walnut mimber, but much modified since.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Roman Theatre
Single source1 km east of Ulus· Free
Scrappy remains of the stage and backstage, they haven't restored the seating. Statues from the site are in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Ahielvan Mosque
Single source200 m below Arslanhane Mosque
Built in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, it has a richly carved walnut mimber or pulpit.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
What to do
Ankara Opera & Ballet
Single sourceAtatürk Blv 20
This opened in 1948 and looks it, the grandeur is kinda faded. It hosts theatre as well as opera and ballet.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Goksu Park
Single sourceBus 501, 502
Ranged around Susuz Lake, with an island restaurant, cafes and funfair.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
What to eat
Kırık Oklava
Single sourceCemal Gürsel Cd 16
Great place by Ankara University Cebeci Campus for inexpensive wraps and pancakes.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Cafe des Cafes
Single sourceTunalı Hilmi Cd 83/A, Kavaklıdere
Slick European-style cafe with Italian and Spanish choices.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Göksu Lokantası
Single source200 m east of Kızılay station
Great dining here. They have another branch south at Nenehatun Cd 5.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Kıtır
Single sourcesouth of Cafe des Cafes next to Kuğulu Park
Traditionally a rock bar but nowadays more of a restaurant.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Yargitay Evi Lokali
Single sourcewest side of Güvenpark
Inexpensive place looking onto Kızılay Square, quality erratic.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Ward Restaurant and café مطعم ورد
Single sourcein Kızılay cafe block
This is the place to come for Iraqi food.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Where to stay
Bihostel
Single sourceKizilay
Amazing to find such a friendly well-equipped hostel so central. Open all year with dorms and private rooms.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Yeni Bahar Oteli
Single sourceÇankırı Cd 25
Clean and helpful, you can find cheaper on this strip north of Ulus Square but most are dismal.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
New Park Hotel
Single sourceKolej
Boxy modern hotel, usually clean, some street noise.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
King Hotel
Single sourceeast side of Parliament
Simple rooms but good value for the prime location.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Divan Ankara Çukurhan
Single sourcefacing Koc Museum near castle
Charming hotel in a han, a former marketplace.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Radisson Blu
Single sourcenext to : Ulus
Good value hotel 500 m from railway station.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Build your day
Pick the places you want in Ankara, Türkiye and we will put them on a map in an order that does not cross the city twice.
Where to next
Nearby cities in Türkiye we’ve vetted too.
- SafranboluUNESCO World Heritage old town of Ottoman timber-framed mansions clustered in a river valley.
- CappadociaSunrise hot-air balloon flights over volcanic fairy chimneys and cave-carved cities like Göreme and Derinkuyu.
- KonyaSpiritual home of the whirling dervishes and the Mevlana Museum, mausoleum of the Sufi poet Rumi.
- BursaFirst Ottoman capital, known for İskender kebab, silk trade history, and the Uludağ mountain backdrop.
- IstanbulThe only city spanning two continents, with Ottoman imperial architecture, the Grand Bazaar, and a Michelin-rated dining scene.
Travel content from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Encyclopedic context from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Videos via the YouTube Data API.