Turkish food and café towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed food and café towns in Turkey, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Bozcaada's vineyards have been famous since the Iliad was written, and that same unhurried instinct for pleasure runs through all ten towns on this list — from Ürgüp's stone-house wine country in Cappadocia to Amasra's fish restaurants overlooking two Black Sea harbours. Gökçeada earned the world's first Cittaslow certification for an entire island, Avanos pours Kızılırmak red clay into its ceramics and its café culture equally, and Vize quietly feeds travelers moving between Istanbul and Edirne.
Avanos
Pottery workshops line this little Cappadocian town on the banks of the Kızılırmak — Turkey's longest river — where red clay from the riverbed has fuelled a…
Kemer
This Mediterranean resort town on the Turkish Riviera where the western Taurus Mountains meet a long stretch of coastline, Kemer sits a short drive southwest…
Amasra
A Black Sea port town in Turkey's Bartın Province, Amasra sits on a headland flanked by two sheltered harbours and two small islands, with beaches and forest…
Gökçeada district
Gökçeada — also known historically as Imbros — is Turkey's largest island, sitting in the northern Aegean at the entrance to the Gulf of Saros, and holds the…
Goeynuek
This small coastal town in Antalya Province, Göynük sits directly on a Blue Flag beach with mountain scenery rising behind it.
Ürgüp
A well-established base for exploring Cappadocia's rock-cut churches, underground cities, and fairy chimney landscapes, Ürgüp is a highland town in central T…
Tenedos
Famous for its grapes and wines since antiquity, Bozcaada — also known by its Greek name Tenedos — is a modest Aegean island off the Turkish coast with viney…
Vize
Designated a Cittaslow (Slow City) in 2012, Vize is a small town in Eastern Thrace with a café and restaurant scene that would suit a town twice its size.
Cesme
This popular holiday resort on Turkey's westernmost tip, Çeşme occupies a peninsula in İzmir Province with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants.
Gazipaşa
A coastal town on Türkiye's Antalya shore where rugged upland terrain meets the Mediterranean, with a walkable centre packed with cafés and restaurants drawi…