Four Days in Antalya for First Timers

Antalya brings hotels and beaches to mind, yet within the province there are three ancient regions, a mountain city at a thousand metres and the best preserved theatre in the Roman world. Most first timers go home without leaving the resort strip; with four days, far more is possible.

Day one, the city centre. Enter Kaleiçi through Hadrian's Gate, see the Seljuk fluted minaret and follow the lanes down to the old harbour. Give the afternoon to the Antalya Museum, whose sculpture from Perge and sarcophagus room make it one of the richest archaeological collections in Turkey. Seeing it first gives the following days their meaning, because the stones of the cities you are about to visit are kept here.

Day two, the Pamphylian plain. Perge, Aspendos and Side lie on one line, forty kilometres apart. Walk the colonnaded street at Perge, climb to the top row at Aspendos to test the acoustics, and meet the sunset at the temple of Apollo in Side. Close the day in the shade of the plane trees at the Manavgat falls.

Day three, go up the mountain. Termessos sits at a thousand metres with its theatre at the edge of a precipice. The climb from the car park is thirty steep minutes, but the view and the sarcophagi scattered across the slope more than repay it.

Day four, the coast. You can swim among the ruins at Phaselis, or head west for Kaş and Kaputaş. The second is a three hour drive and wants a full day.

When to come: April to May and October are the most balanced; the sea is still usable and the ancient sites are walkable. In July and August midday in unshaded places is punishing, so move the sightseeing to the morning.