Turkey · Marmara · Travel guide
What a few days in the first Ottoman capital really cost, where the İskender kebab was invented and how to experience Uludağ without the tourist markup.
Photo: Şinasi Müldür / Pexels
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Estimates for orientation, not booking prices. Flights and hotels vary strongly by season: current prices are behind the links below.
Money & payment: You pay in Turkish lira (TRY). The exchange rate moves a lot, which is why all prices here are given in francs and euros. Cards are accepted almost everywhere; you need cash for the dolmuş, markets and tips. Flight time: 3 to 4 hours.
Nine options in three price ranges, each among the best-rated on Booking.com.
Budget
Simple, clean city hotel right on the main road by Heykel square, family-run for decades and known as a place where solo travellers feel at home. The Ulu Cami, the Koza Han and Kebapçı İskender are a five-minute walk. Breakfast included, no frills.
Restored Ottoman timber house in Tophane, the quiet quarter above the old town near the tombs of Osman and Orhan. Ten rooms, yellow paintwork, small garden with a restaurant. Not modern, but full of character and ten minutes on foot from the old town.
The reliable chain option: modern, compact rooms, good beds, parking, fair prices. Not in the old town but on the main axis towards Mudanya, though the metro gets you to the centre in a quarter of an hour. Makes sense for travellers with a hire car, a late check-in or a small budget who still want spotless rooms.
Mid-range
Former Ottoman mansion in Tophane that long served as a bookshop and is now a small boutique hotel with a courtyard garden. Antique furniture, a library, a terrace with views over the city and Uludağ. Quiet, personal, and breakfast in the garden is among the loveliest in Bursa.
One of the oldest thermal hotels in the city, in Çekirge since 1890, with its own marble thermal baths in the basement and views over the plain. Classically furnished rooms, warm service, many guests are regulars from the region. The bath is included in the room rate.
New, practical chain hotel with large rooms, free breakfast and a gym. Located near the Fomara district close to the metro, so the old town is quick to reach. If all you want on the road is a predictable, clean bed and you do not need atmosphere in the hotel, this is the right place.
Luxury
The largest five-star in the city with an indoor pool, thermal spa, several restaurants and rooms looking out on Uludağ. Modern and international rather than Ottoman, but with every comfort. West of the centre, the old town is ten minutes away by taxi. Good breakfast buffet.
High-rise hotel with panoramic views over the whole city to the Sea of Marmara, rooftop restaurant, spa and pool. The upper floors are worth it for the view alone. Business-oriented on weekdays, often with good deals at weekends. The centre is a quarter of an hour by metro or taxi.
Large conference and thermal hotel in the modern west of the city with thermal pools, hamam, indoor pool and spacious rooms. Practical for families because children are welcome in the thermal area. Not walkable to the old town, but with a hire car the most convenient base for trips to İznik and Mudanya.
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From the city to 1,800 metres in 20 minutes, with views over Bursa and the Sea of Marmara. Go early, long queues form at weekends. Bring hiking shoes in summer and warm clothing in winter.
Twenty domes, a fountain in the middle of the prayer hall and giant calligraphy on the walls. The most important Seljuk-Ottoman mosque in Turkey. Free entry, visit outside prayer times, cover shoulders and knees. A city tour helps you understand the details.
The turquoise-tiled tomb of Sultan Mehmed I and the mosque beside it are the finest architecture Bursa has to offer. In the Yeşil district, a ten-minute walk from the old town, free entry.
Ottoman village with 700-year-old timber houses, UNESCO World Heritage. The village breakfast with dozens of little plates is the reason to come. Almost deserted on weekdays before nine, overrun at weekends.
Caravanserai from 1491 with a courtyard under plane trees, tea by the fountain and silk shops. The cosiest spot in the old town. You can tell real silk by the price: under CHF 20 (about EUR 21) it certainly is not.
The 14th-century Eski Kaplıca and the Yeni Kaplıca are genuine hamams with thermal water rather than a tourist show. Scrub and soap massage for CHF 15 to 25 (about EUR 16 to 27). Men and women separate.
Kebapçı İskender, run by the inventor's descendants, has served just one dish since 1867. Pricier than elsewhere, but once is part of the deal. Go at lunchtime without a reservation, evenings get crowded.
Ancient Nicaea with its city walls, Hagia Sophia and tile workshops lies 80 kilometres away on the lake. Reachable by bus or hire car in 90 minutes. Ideal as a quiet day after the bustle of Bursa.
The port town of Mudanya and the Greek fishing village of Trilye (Zeytinbağı) with stone houses, olive groves and fish restaurants on the water. One hour by metro and dolmuş. Perfect for dinner by the sea.
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Bursa is the capital of Marmara cooking: the İskender kebab was invented here, chestnuts are candied here, and the best-known meatballs in the country come from neighbouring İnegöl. The food is hearty, buttery and cheap; vegetables show up mainly at the village breakfast and in the lokantas.
Thinly sliced döner on cubed flatbread, topped with tomato sauce and sizzling hot butter, yoghurt on the side. CHF 10 to 14 (about EUR 11 to 15) at the original, CHF 7 to 10 at the imitators.
Tip:Go at lunchtime and there is no queue; the butter is poured on at the table and you are allowed to wave it off.
İskender's sister dish: grilled meatballs instead of döner on cubes of pide, the same tomato sauce, the same butter. For many locals the more honest dish. CHF 7 to 10 (about EUR 7.50 to 11).
Tip:Ayran or şıra to drink; no need to order bread, it is already in there.
Small, elongated meatballs of beef and lamb, seasoned only with onion and salt and grilled over charcoal. Juicy and simple. A portion with bread and piyaz CHF 5 to 8 (about EUR 5.50 to 8.50).
Tip:One and a half portions (bir buçuk porsiyon) is the standard order for the hungry.
A palm-sized pide with minced meat, onion and parsley, crisp from the stone oven. Bursa's street food, eaten warm out of the paper, CHF 2 to 3 (about EUR 2.10 to 3.20) a piece.
Tip:Freshest in the morning; two pieces and an ayran make a lunch.
Sweet flatbread with tahini and grape syrup, crisp outside and sticky inside. A speciality of the Tophane district. CHF 1.50 to 2.50 (about EUR 1.60 to 2.70).
Tip:Buy it straight from the oven and eat it on the terrace by the clock tower viewpoint.
Candied chestnuts from Uludağ, soft and deeply sweet, in syrup or coated in chocolate. The souvenir from Bursa. 500 grams cost CHF 12 to 18 (about EUR 13 to 19); loose ones are cheaper.
Tip:Quality shows in whole, uncrumbled chestnuts; vacuum-packed they keep for weeks.
Lightly fermented grape juice, barely alcoholic, sweet and cool. The traditional drink with İskender, CHF 1 to 2 (about EUR 1.10 to 2.10) a glass.
Tip:Refreshing in summer; in winter it is replaced by salep or boza.
The village breakfast of Cumalıkızık: dozens of small dishes with cheese, olives, jams, kaymak, honey, gözleme and eggs. CHF 8 to 12 (about EUR 8.50 to 13) per person, full until evening.
Tip:On a weekday before nine; at weekends you queue.
Through markets and eateries with a guide, tastings included.
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Bursa lies at the northern foot of Uludağ, the "great mountain" that antiquity knew as the Mysian Olympus. The city was founded around 200 BC by the Bithynian king Prusias, hence the name, and under the Romans and Byzantines it was a prosperous but second-tier provincial town. That changed in 1326: after years of siege, Orhan Gazi took the city and made it the first capital of the young Ottoman Empire. The buildings that defined the Ottoman style were born here: the Ulu Cami with its twenty domes, the Green Mosque and the Green Mausoleum of Mehmed I, the Bedesten and the caravanserais that made Bursa the western terminus of the Silk Road. Long after the capital moved to Edirne and then Istanbul, Bursa remained the city of the sultans' tombs and of silk. In the 19th century hundreds of silk mills ran here; today, with its car factories and textile industry, Bursa is the fourth-largest city in Turkey. The old town, the sultans' tombs and the village of Cumalıkızık have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014. Why Bursa is called "Yeşil Bursa", green Bursa, in Turkish becomes clear the moment you look down from the cable car over the plane trees and chestnut forests.
There are two ways to reach Bursa from Istanbul. The bus leaves from the Esenler terminal, crosses the Osman Gazi Bridge and takes a good three hours for around CHF 10 (about EUR 11). The ferry is nicer: from Yenikapı or Eminönü, a BUDO or IDO boat takes you to Mudanya in about two hours, and from there the metro (Bursaray line) or a dolmuş brings you into the city in 40 minutes. The ferry costs CHF 8 to 15, depending on when you book. On the way you see the Sea of Marmara, the Princes' Islands and the coastline, and you arrive relaxed. Bursa does have its own airport in Yenişehir, but connections are thin. In practice you almost always fly to Istanbul (IST or Sabiha Gökçen). From Sabiha Gökçen, by the way, the bus to Bursa is shorter than from IST, if you have the choice.
The İskender kebab was invented in Bursa around 1867 by İskender Efendi: thinly sliced döner meat on cubed flatbread, topped with tomato sauce and hot butter, with yoghurt on the side. His descendants still run restaurants under the name Kebapçı İskender. The best known is on Atatürk Caddesi near Heykel, a second one is by the Ulu Cami. A portion costs CHF 10 to 14 (about EUR 11 to 15) there, noticeably more than elsewhere, but once is part of the programme. Just as good and cheaper is Uludağ Kebapçısı, also a long-established family business. Two more things that only taste right in Bursa: kestane şekeri (candied chestnuts, sold all over the old town, watch the quality) and cantık, a small pide with minced meat that exists only here. For something sweet: Kemalpaşa tatlısı, a syrup pastry with kaymak, offered in the patisseries around the Koza Han.
The Teleferik, one of the longest cable cars in the world, starts in the Teferrüç district and takes you up to 1,800 metres in around 20 minutes. A return trip costs about CHF 15 to 20 (about EUR 16 to 21), less for locals with a Bursakart. At the top there are picnic spots, hiking trails and, in winter, the largest ski area in Turkey. The honest assessment for skiers from the Alps: the runs are short and easy, and the hotels in the Oteller Bölgesi are expensive and dated. As a winter outing with snow and views Uludağ is great, as a replacement for a week in Davos it is not. In summer the mountain is pleasantly cool while the city swelters at 35 degrees. Go up early, the cable car is packed in the afternoon and at weekends. The restaurants at the top tempt you with köfte and grilled sucuk, at double the prices down in town. A thermos of tea and a simit from the city do the job just as well.
The village of Cumalıkızık, 12 kilometres east of the centre, is a 14th-century Ottoman village with around 270 surviving timber and mud-brick houses, protected by UNESCO. The narrow cobbled lanes, the colourful facades and the women baking gözleme and selling jam outside their front doors are genuinely lovely. The problem: at weekends buses from Istanbul and half of Bursa arrive for the village breakfast, and then you queue. Come on a weekday and before nine in the morning, and you have the village almost to yourself. The village breakfast (köy kahvaltısı) with dozens of little plates costs CHF 8 to 12 (about EUR 9 to 13) per person and is what you come for. The bus (line 22 from Heykel) takes 40 minutes, a taxi costs around CHF 12. The raspberries from Cumalıkızık are famous in season (June, July), and the jam made from them is the best souvenir.
Bursa has had hot springs since Roman times, and the Çekirge district in the west is full of them. The Eski Kaplıca (old bath) from the 14th century now belongs to the Kervansaray Hotel but is open to the public as a hamam: a visit with scrub (kese) and soap massage costs CHF 15 to 25 (about EUR 16 to 27). The Yeni Kaplıca next door is a bit simpler and cheaper, but more authentic. Many hotels in Çekirge have their own thermal baths in the basement, some with 19th-century marble pools. So if you need a hotel anyway, take one in Çekirge with a thermal bath: you pay hardly more than in the centre and get the spa for free. Men and women bathe separately or at separate times, which is standard in the traditional baths. Swimming trunks or a peştemal (cotton wrap) are provided on site. The water is around 45 degrees, more than 20 minutes at a stretch is not necessary.
The historic centre lies between the Ulu Cami, the Bedesten and the hans (caravanserais). The most beautiful is the Koza Han from 1491: a two-storey courtyard with plane trees, a small fountain pavilion and dozens of silk shops. This is where you drink tea under the trees and watch the city go by, for about 50 centimes. The silk scarves in the shops are partly real and partly polyester from China. A genuine silk scarf starts at CHF 20 to 30 (about EUR 21 to 32), anything below that is certainly not silk. The sellers are honest if you ask directly. Two lanes further on begins the Kapalı Çarşı, the covered bazaar, where locals shop rather than tourists: towels from Bursa (the city is known for them), knives from Bursa and olives from Gemlik. The Green Mausoleum and the Green Mosque are a ten-minute walk east in the Yeşil district and are free to visit.
Two full days are enough for the old town, the Green Mosque, a thermal bath and Uludağ. With Cumalıkızık, a side trip to İznik or down to the sea at Mudanya, three days are ideal. As a day trip from Istanbul you only see the old town, which is a shame for the rest.
April to June and September to October are pleasant with 18 to 28 degrees and plane trees in leaf. Summer gets hot, which is when you escape up Uludağ. December to March is ski season on the mountain; the city is damp and cool then, but that is exactly when the thermal baths come into their own.
You fly to Istanbul (around three hours from Zurich, Basel or Geneva, similar from most of Western Europe) and continue by ferry from Yenikapı to Mudanya (two hours) or by bus from Esenler or Sabiha Gökçen (around three hours). Budget CHF 10 to 15 (about EUR 11 to 16) per person for the onward journey.
Yes, especially then. The cable car ride with views over the city and the Sea of Marmara is the experience, and the mountaintop is 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the city in summer. Hiking trails, picnic spots and meadows in bloom in July. The ski hotels are mostly closed in summer, which is no loss.
Better than in many Turkish cities. The village breakfast in Cumalıkızık is almost entirely vegetarian, lokanta kitchens serve several vegetable dishes in olive oil (zeytinyağlı) every day, and gözleme, cheese pide and kestane şekeri always work. Only the İskender kebab has no meat-free version.
With the Bursakart, which you buy at kiosks and machines. It covers the metro (Bursaray), buses and the cable car. A ride costs less than a franc (under one euro). You walk the old town; to Çekirge and the cable car you take the metro or bus. Taxis are cheap but slow in traffic.
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