Last Updated on 12/06/2025
Visiting Antalya? No doubt you will be visiting Kaleiçi Antalya Old Town, a charming maze of cobbled streets filled with historical sites and, without a doubt, the most popular area in the city. In this post, I’ll be sharing the perfect Old Town Antalya 1 day itinerary, with plenty of things to do in Antalya, including attractions, restaurants and unique ancient sites.
Please note, this Antalya blog post is specifically about the Old Town, known as Kaleiçi, if you are looking for an overall guide to the region of Antalya, check out my post about How to Spend 4 days in Antalya, which gives you all the ancient cities, attractions and restaurants I visited in Antalya.
This Antalya Old Town itinerary has been compiled following a recent press trip package holiday to Antalya with Jet2Holidays, which included activities, towns and restaurants recommended and sourced by GoTürkiye Tourist Board. However, as always, my honest opinions are contained in this post. Thanks for supporting my content!
Visiting Antalya at a later date and want to save this post? Use the sharing icons or click the image below to pin this post to Pinterest:
Kaleiçi Antalya Old Town Things To Do
The best part about visiting the city of Antalya is without a doubt the region’s quaint old town, Kaleiçi located in the heart of the city, which is car-free and under restoration to bring it back to its former glory.
Kaleiçi is perched upon steep, sheer cliffs facing onto turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea which stands testament to the name, Turquoise Coast. Shielded by towering fortified city walls, which until recent times confined the entire city, the cobbled streets are where you will find Ottoman-era konaks with unique shops, restaurants and historical artefacts from Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Anatolia Seljuk periods.
Of course, if you’re limited in time, one of the best ways to explore is by booking an Antalya Old Town walking tour as a local guide will be able to give insight on the Old Town Antalya attractions worth seeing and the intriguing history behind some of the iconic sites. However, the Old Town is walkable without a guide, even with the labyrinth of streets.
To enter Kaleiçi Antalya Old Town, you can walk past the Town Hall, which is now used as a concert hall and hosts photography exhibitions and walk along Kaleiçi Park, or you can enter the Old Town through the most imposing and dramatic entrance.
Hadrian’s Gate Antalya
Like many other destinations, the most well-travelled Roman Emperor Hadrian also made his mark on Antalya by building Hadrian’s Gate in 130 AD to commemorate his trip to Antalya.
Hadrian’s Castle Gate is the principal entrance to Kaleiçi Antalya Old Town and is beautifully preserved despite being built 2,000 years ago. If you look closely, in the middle arch floor you can still see deep chariot wheel tracks ingrained in the stone as you walk through.
This popular Antalya photo spot looks particularly atmospheric at night if you get a chance to revisit it during your day in Antalya.
Umbrella Street
If you like finding Instagrammable photo spots during your travels, head to Umbrella Street located in the centre of the Old City, which you may have guessed contains a street lined with umbrellas, similar to Umbrella Street in Dublin, Bratislava and Pink Street in Lisbon!
Whilst not unique to Antalya, you never know when you’ll need an umbrella when visiting Antalya in Winter – early Spring! In Umbrella Street you have over 600 brightly-coloured umbrellas to make the perfect backdrop for your Instagram photos!
Keçili Park
The beautiful park areas in Antalya Old Town are lovely places to unwind and enjoy picturesque views outside the bustling streets. Keçili Park, named “Goat Park” after two wooden goat sculptures found in the park, has a fountain and a glass viewing platform over Mermerli Beach out to the Mediterranean Sea.
Keçili Park is filled with carob trees, with visible seedling pods hanging from its branches which are often used as a substitute for cacao.
This peaceful area is a nice place to relax with the sounds of birds chirping away adding to the serene atmosphere (as you can hear from my Antalya Instagram Stories).
Mermerli Beach Antalya Old Town Beach
After witnessing the aerial views of Mermerli Beach from Keçili Park it would be rude not to visit!
Access to this small private beach requires an entrance fee of 140 liras (5 euros) and it’s possible to enjoy a coffee or lunch on the beach from the bar. The crystal clear turquoise waters are perfect for snorkelling and a little paddle.
If you would prefer to visit a free public beach, you can visit the golden sands of Konyaalti Beach or Lara Beach nearby.
Antalya Old Town Monuments
Antalya Old Town has an array of monuments within its walls, aside from the iconic Hadrian’s Gate (mentioned earlier in this post!)
If you’re interested in uncovering some Antalya history, then you’ll want to check out these iconic sights:
Hıdırlık Tower
The Hıdırlık Tower overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and is thought to have been built in the 2nd Century AD, though its purpose is quite a mystery. Some say the tower is a lookout point, whereas others believe it was the tomb of someone important in Antalya.
All I know is, the grounds were currently being dug for archaeological purposes during my recent trip to Antalya…
Kesik Minaret (Broken Minaret)
The Kesik Minaret, a former meeting place, contains three generations of uses, from a Pagan Temple, Byzantine Church, to an Ottoman Mosque before it was destroyed in a fire in 1846. Now restored, the minaret is no longer broken!
Inside the building today you will find the Ethnographic Museum containing traditional tapestries and embroidery.
Attalos II Monument
Located on Republic Street, opposite the Clock Tower is where you will find the Attalos II Monument.
A symbol of Antalya’s ancient history, Attalos II the ruler of the Kingdom of Pergamum ordered the construction of a city named Attalia in his honour. The city was founded with a port and later became Antalya.
The Clock Tower (Saat Kulesi)
Antalya’s Clock Tower dates back to the 2nd Century Byzantine period and was part of the original fortress gate forming the main entrance to Kaleiçi.
Atatürk Monument
Celebrating Atatürk’s rise to power which resulted in the creation of the Turkish Republic, the monument built in 1964 features Atatürk riding on a horse with a boy and girl by his side.
Republic Square
Republic Square is one of the busiest spots in the Antalya Old Town area as it enjoys great views over the harbour and is also used as a meeting place for Antalya tours, where you may also encounter live musicians.
Kaleici Old Town Antalya shopping
The Old Town area of Antalya offers a unique shopping experience where visitors can browse unique boutique shops, ranging from independent clothing and jewellery shops to souvenir shops and traditional Turkish shops.
Traditional Turkish Kilim Rugs
There’s no Turkish souvenirs like a traditional Turkish kilim rug to take home! If you’re flying with a low-cost airline that does not offer the same great luggage allowances you can get with Jet2, the carpet shop can ship your rug to your place of residence.
Carpets have been traditionally woven in Turkey for hundreds of years, and are considered to be one of the most important arts and crafts of the nation. It is not unusual for different areas and regions to have their own symbolic rugs made – for instance, the carpet of Antalya crafted by nomads includes camels, which were used for transportation, eagles to demonstrate freedom, and scorpions to highlight the pride of the region.
The Explorer Marco Polo famously remarked that the most beautiful carpets he’d ever seen were from the Central and Eastern parts of Turkey. In fact, the blue carpet shown below is a design replica of an award-winning carpet.
There are a variety of carpets and rugs to choose from, both traditional hand-crafted kilim carpets and normal carpets and rugs.
To identify a real kilim carpet, you should be able to see hand-crafted visible stitching on the reverse side of the rug, as opposed to normal carpets which have knots.
Antalya Old Town Bazaar
If you enjoy visiting traditional shops on your travels, similar to the Turkish carpet shop in Kaleiçi, Explore the vibrant stalls of the Old Bazaar (Kaleiçi Çarşı) or head to the Antalya Bazaar (Antalya Kapalı Çarşı), where you will find everything from colourful carpets, souvenirs and clothes, whilst taking in the aromas of the spices and fresh food.
Ideal if you want to take in the sounds and smells of traditional Turkish culture, whilst mingling and haggling with the locals.
Places to Visit in Antalya Old City & Beyond
If your Antalya itinerary allows, I’d recommend visiting the places detailed below, which are within close proximity to Antalya Old Town.
7 Mehmet Restaurant
Whilst, there are certainly a good range of Kaleiçi Old Town Restaurants, one of which we visited for dinner and I’ve shared further in this post. For lunch, our press trip group headed to 7 Mehmet Restaurant located a short distance from Antalya Old Town.
7 Mehmet Restaurant had a humble beginning operating as a soup kitchen serving local tradesmen in the 1940’s. These days Chef Mehmet Akdağ reimagines traditional Turkish recipes with local Mediterranean flavours to create a seasonal menu with naturalness and sustainability in its foreground.
We enjoyed an array of beautiful dishes, from creamy yoghurt dips topped with pomegranate, beef served on a bed of rice and raisins, and for pudding, a surprising, but delicious nonetheless, serving of cottage cheese topped with fresh pumpkin and sprinkled with crushed hazelnuts and a tahini sauce. Let me tell you, despite having some reservations, this dessert was absolutely delicious and is a popular Turkish dessert!
Antalya Old City Marina
Antalya’s Old City Harbour was the first harbour built in Antalya and dates back 2,000 years. With views of the Mediterranean Sea to the Taurus Mountains and beyond, it is still an active marina where local fishermen venture out to capture the catch of the day.
The Old City Marina is where you will see a beautiful array of traditional wooden boats called “gulets” amongst the huge modern yachts lining the harbour.
To easily reach the harbour area, you can take the Kaleiçi Panoramic Elevator, a glass lift that takes you to and from Antalya Harbour back to the popular tourist area of Republic Square.
Antalya Harbour Cruise Tour to Düden Waterfalls
After taking a stroll along Antalya Harbour, you have the option to hop on a 2 hour boat tour to Aşağı Düden Waterfall also known as Karpuzan Waterfall, which is the only seaside waterfall in Turkey (Türkiye) and considered to be one of Antalya’s top tourist attractions.
A boat tour to Düden Waterfalls enables you to admire the cascades of the Lower Düden Waterfalls as they plunge directly into the Mediterranean.
Visiting Düden Waterfalls is quite spectacular and a boat tour is well worth doing, particularly if like me, you’ve never seen a waterfall go directly in the sea.
Our group took a minibus to see the Lower Düden from the Düden Park viewing area, which is free to access from the top level of the park
If you have the opportunity to explore the Düden Waterfalls, you can walk around the beautiful park area for a small fee to explore the waterfalls under the shade of trees and explore the Düden Cave.
Alternatively, if you would prefer to visit the falls by bus, this is also possible from the Kaleiçi area. If you are staying in the Lara Beach area, the Lower Düden Waterfall is a short westerly walk along the coast.
For other spectacular waterfalls, check out:
Antalya Sunset Spots You Won’t Want to Miss!
It doesn’t matter where I travel, I love nothing better than the golden hour of sunset. Here are some sunset spots in Antalya Old Town to add to your itinerary:
Karaalioğlu Park
This Antalya Old Town park offers the most picturesque sunset views over the Mediterranean Sea with breathtaking views of the Taurus Mountains beyond, as you can see from my Antalya Reel:
Another Antalya photo spot, the park is a haven for local cats who are cared for by the community and love nothing more than a fuss and a cuddle.
Tipsy Old Town Bar
Prefer to enjoy your sunsets with a drink in hand? Head to Tipsy Old Town Bar at sunset for rooftop terrace views offering the golden hour glow and cocktails!
Whilst lacking the sunset views of Tipsy Old Town Bar, another bar I noticed was popular during my day in Antalya Old Town was Luna Garden, which seemed popular with both locals and tourists with some great-looking cocktails being served.
Kaleiçi Old Town Restaurants
There are a variety of restaurants in Kaleiçi Antalya Old Town to choose from, our group dined at Seraser Restaurant during our day trip to Antalya City.
Seraser Restaurant
Located in a former 300-year-old mansion, Seraser Restaurant offers a timeless Turkish dining experience in the heart of Kaleiçi.
Access to the restaurant is via a pretty courtyard decked out with tables, lights and various trees and seating next to an open fire, where you can choose to dine al fresco.
Inside the restaurant exudes both charm and grandeur, with stone walls, wooden beamed ceilings and floors, with an assortment of trinkets adding to the intrigue.
Our group enjoyed a variety of dishes to suit every palate, including sushi, stuffed vine leaves, shrimp casserole, tandoori lamb with a creamy chickpea mash and finished off with the most delectable Turkish coffee crème brûlée dessert.
Antalya Day Trips
If this Antalya travel guide hasn’t given you enough to do in a day or you have more days to explore in Antalya, don’t miss visiting these ancient cities:
Side
Side has an alluring old town similar to Antalya’s, with a more relaxed vibe. Enjoy a sundowner in a waterfront bar or restaurant and check out ancient sites and photo spots in Side, including the Apollo Temple (shown below).
Aspendos
Aspendos Amphitheatre is hands down one of the best places to visit in Antalya!
Perge
Termessos
I’ve shared more about these Antalya attractions in my Antalya 4-Day Itinerary!
Is it Worth Spending a Day in Antalya Old Town?
Visiting Antalya City can be quite the contrast to Antalya Old Town, as upon arrival to the City you will see modern building structures and commercial coffee chains and restaurants, which you will find across cities in the world – you know the ones! But, don’t let these put you off exploring!
Kaleiçi is the nicest area in Antalya City as it has so much timeless history, unique shops and restaurants with lots of pretty sights to admire. I hope the travel tips and recommendations included in this Old Town Antalya 1 day itinerary have provided you with plenty of inspiration for your own Antalya trip, with plenty of Antalya day trips to visit too!
Happy travels!
Jaz
Read my other Antalya blog posts & other one-day itineraries:
Antalya Luxury Hotel Titanic Deluxe Belek Review
Exploring Antalya in 4 Days Itinerary
How to Spend One Day in Side, Antalya’s Ancient Seaside City
What to Wear in Antalya in Winter-Spring
Things to Do in Rotterdam in One Day