Turkish Riviera

The Turkish Riviera, also known as the Turquoise Coast, is a sun-bleached sweep of shoreline where the Mediterranean and Aegean seas meet in shades of impossible blue. Stretching across the provinces of Muğla and Antalya, this coast is a study in contrasts: ancient and modern, lush and arid, languorous and adventurous. It’s where marble ruins lounge beneath olive trees, pine-clad mountains slip into coves, and cosmopolitan marinas sit beside fishing villages unchanged by time.

Bodrum remains the Riviera’s best-known name, long favoured by Istanbul creatives and international aesthetes. Its whitewashed streets, castle walls and amphitheatre offer glimpses into a layered past, while its boutique hotels and beach clubs serve up a polished, design-forward escape. Further south, Marmaris blends natural harbours with forested hills and a livelier tempo. But it’s in Fethiye where the coastline softens into something deeply elemental. Backed by mountains and dotted with islands, this harbour town is a favourite for slow travellers and sailing types, its turquoise bays best explored by gulet. From the Lycian rock tombs carved into the cliffs to the local markets piled high with herbs and figs, Fethiyeoffers a grounded, sunlit elegance. It’s also the jumping-off point for the famed Blue Lagoon at Ölüdeniz, where paragliders trace lazy arcs above the water and forested ridges fall into glassy blue.

The Datça Peninsula feels more remote, fringed with almond groves, quiet beaches and the poetic ruin of Knidos, where ancient theatres look out to sea. On the other end of the Riviera, Antalya offers a different rhythm – a city where old Ottoman houses line narrow lanes and the scent of citrus drifts through palm-lined parks. Kaleiçi, the old town, is a romantic maze of stone and shadow, best explored slowly, with stops for strong tea and antique finds.

Its sense of time makes the Turkish Riviera more than just a beach destination. Civilisations have left their fingerprints everywhere: the Lycian tombs above Dalyan, the collonadedavenues of Ephesus, the amphitheatres of Aspendos, and the ancient city of Perge. You can swim above a sunken city at Kekova or hike from ruin to ruin on the Lycian Way, a long-distance path that threads coastal cliffs, forested ridgelines, and villages seemingly frozen in another era.

Nature is no less magnetic. The coast is scalloped with secret bays, sea caves, and pine forests that descend to the water. Valleys burst with wild herbs and sweetgum trees. Inland, the Taurus Mountains rise into myth – their flanks home to nomadic traditions and panoramic hiking routes.

The food is as vivid as the landscape. Coastal mezes, stuffed courgette flowers, sea bass grilled over olive wood, warm flatbreads and honeyed desserts. In Muğla’s villages, lamb is slow-cooked in earthen ovens. In Bodrum and Fethiye, Aegean greens are dressed simply with lemon and local oil. Market stalls are piled high with olives, figs and sun-gold tomatoes. It’s a cuisine rooted in generosity and regional pride.

The Turkish Riviera is for those who like their glamour with a touch of age, their beaches with a side of mythology. It is history worn casually, luxury softened by nature, and discovery unfolds quietly, one cove, one carving, one conversation at a time.