Turkey · Marmara · Travel guide
What two days in the second Ottoman capital really cost, why Sinan's masterpiece is worth any journey and how to eat the liver like a local.
Photo: Sami Türk / 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
Small family hotel in an old house in the Kaleiçi quarter, a two-minute walk from the Selimiye. Rooms plain and clean, breakfast with local produce, a warm-hearted owner who tells you where the best liver is. For the price and location, the first choice in Edirne.
Larger city hotel on the main road towards the station, ten minutes on foot from the old town. Functional rooms, in-house restaurant, parking, which is otherwise difficult in the centre. No charm, but reliable and often the cheapest price for a room with a private bathroom.
Small family-run hotel in the middle of the bazaar quarter; the Selimiye Mosque and the liver restaurants are a few minutes away. Rooms are clean and air-conditioned with a fridge, breakfast is simple and halal. Guests praise the location and the price above all. Important: the house only accepts married couples and asks for a marriage certificate at check-in.
Mid-range
Well-kept hotel in a side lane of Kaleiçi with views of the Selimiye minarets from the roof terrace. Modern rooms, good breakfast, staff speak English. The best combination of location, comfort and price in the centre, especially recommended for couples. Parking on request.
Historic stone building right against the wall of the Selimiye Mosque, you cannot get closer. Just a few rooms with vaulted ceilings and wooden furniture, restaurant with Ottoman cuisine in the courtyard. You hear the call to prayer from very close, which is worth knowing before you book. Uniquely located.
Modern city hotel a few minutes from the old town with spacious, bright rooms, a small spa and a breakfast buffet. Not historic, but reliable with good beds and air conditioning, which counts in the Thracian summer. Popular with business travellers, often cheaper at weekends. Parking and restaurant on site.
Luxury
The only five-star in the city, a little outside the centre towards Bulgaria, with spa, hamam, indoor pool and large rooms. Modern design, good restaurant, attentive service. You need a taxi to the old town (CHF 4, about EUR 4). For anyone who wants peace and comfort after a day in the city.
A caravanserai by Mimar Sinan from 1561, right next to the Eski Cami, now a hotel with rooms in the old vaulted chambers around a large courtyard. The rooms are simple for the category, but you sleep in a Sinan building in the middle of the old town. Unbeatable for history lovers.
Hotel in the centre of Edirne, walkable to the Selimiye, the Eski Cami and Saraçlar Caddesi. No spa and no pool, but a central location and a price that is fair for the category. An alternative if the Margi is too far out for you and the Kervansaray too rustic. Check current reviews before booking.
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Sinan's masterpiece with a 31-metre dome and four minarets, UNESCO World Heritage. Mornings for the light, evenings for the atmosphere. Free entry, dress appropriately, museum in the medrese next door. With a guide you spot Sinan's tricks.
Since 1361, oiled-up pehlivan have wrestled for the golden belt, one week at the end of June or beginning of July in the Sarayiçi stadium. The oldest sporting festival in the world, with drums, zurna and thousands of spectators.
Ottoman hospital from 1488 where patients were treated with music and water, now an impressive museum with wax figures. UNESCO candidate, hardly any tourists, entry around CHF 3 (about EUR 3), on the river two kilometres from the centre.
Three centuries of Ottoman architecture within a ten-minute walk: the Old Mosque with its giant calligraphy, the mosque with the striped minaret and the covered bazaar. All free, two hours with a guided city tour.
Crispy calf's liver with fried chillies and onions, the dish Istanbulites drive to Edirne especially for. At Niyazi Usta or Kazım Usta, with ayran, for under CHF 8 (about EUR 9). Go at lunchtime, evenings are packed.
Ottoman stone bridge of 1847 with a pavilion, beyond it tea gardens on the bank looking across to Greece. The locals' evening stroll, 20 minutes on foot from the old town, with fish and rakı by the water in summer.
The river island with the wrestling stadium, the remains of the sultans' palace and the Balkan Wars memorial. Loveliest by bicycle, over the old Saray bridges. Quiet, green, steeped in history, and almost deserted outside Kırkpınar week.
The art nouveau station of 1914 where the Orient Express once stopped, now part of the university, with the monument to the Treaty of Lausanne in front. A piece of diplomatic history, with a tea garden and a cycle path along the river.
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Edirne is a food pilgrimage: people from Istanbul drive two and a half hours for a plate of crisp liver. Add the legacy of Ottoman palace cooking in the form of almond sweets and halva, and a Thracian hinterland that supplies cheese, kaymak and fermented grape juice.
Paper-thin slices of calf's liver, dusted in flour and fried crisp in plenty of hot oil, with fried dried chillies and raw onions. Tender inside, like crisps outside. CHF 5 to 8 (about EUR 5.30 to 8.50) a portion.
Tip:Go at lunchtime, in the evening it is packed; ayran or şalgam to drink, beer does not fit and is not served there anyway.
Flat grilled meatballs with plenty of onion, served with piyaz and hot sauce. The alternative for anyone who does not like liver. CHF 5 to 7 (about EUR 5.30 to 7.50).
Tip:Order one portion and look at the size of the plates; reordering is quick.
Edirne marzipan made from ground almonds and sugar, softer and less sweet than the Lübeck kind, often in rolls or as small sweets. A box CHF 6 to 10 (about EUR 6.40 to 11).
Tip:Buy it fresh and eat it within a week, it dries out quickly.
White almond halva made to a recipe from the medical school of the Beyazıt II complex, with 41 spices, once prescribed as a remedy. A tin CHF 5 to 8 (about EUR 5.30 to 8.50).
Tip:Small pieces, it is rich; goes well with Turkish coffee in the afternoon.
Breakfast in the old Kaleiçi quarter with kaymak, honey, white cheese from Edirne, olives, eggs and endless tea. CHF 6 to 10 (about EUR 6.40 to 11) per person.
Tip:At weekends come before ten, after that the Istanbul crowd has the tables.
Fermented grape juice with mustard seeds and cherry leaves, barely alcoholic, tart and refreshing, a Thracian drink from the area around Kırklareli and Edirne. CHF 1 to 2 (about EUR 1.10 to 2.10) a glass or bottle.
Tip:Well chilled with köfte or after the liver, it helps digestion.
An Edirne meze of grilled peppers, aubergines and tomatoes, roughly chopped with olive oil and vinegar. On every table in the meyhanes by the river. CHF 3 to 4 (about EUR 3.20 to 4.30).
Tip:On summer evenings on the riverbank looking across to Greece, with rakı and fish.
White cheese from sheep's and cow's milk, creamy and mild, matured in brine. Together with Ezine it counts as the best beyaz peynir in the country. CHF 8 to 12 (about EUR 8.50 to 13) a kilo.
Tip:Tasting is normal, just ask; vacuum-packed it makes a good souvenir.
Edirne was founded around AD 125 by the Roman emperor Hadrian as Hadrianopolis, at the spot where the Tundzha, Arda and Maritsa rivers meet. Its position on the road from Constantinople to Belgrade made it the most fought-over place in Europe: Goths, Bulgars, Crusaders and Ottomans fought battles here, and in 378 Emperor Valens fell outside its gates. Around 1362 Sultan Murad I conquered the city and made it the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which it remained until the capture of Constantinople in 1453. Mehmed the Conqueror grew up here, and the campaign against Byzantium was planned here. Even afterwards, Edirne remained a sultans' residence with a huge palace on the Tundzha, of which only ruins survive today. In 1575 the architect Sinan built the Selimiye Mosque for Selim II, which he himself called his masterpiece; it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011. In the 19th and 20th centuries Edirne was occupied several times by Russians and Bulgarians and shrank from a multi-ethnic hub to a border town. Today the city of 180,000 lies in the far northwest of Turkey, a few kilometres from Greece and Bulgaria, and is a quiet, green university town that lives from its Ottoman heritage.
The Selimiye Mosque is the reason Edirne is on the world map. Mimar Sinan completed it when he was over 80 and claimed that here he had finally surpassed the Hagia Sophia: a dome 31 metres across resting on just eight pillars, turning the entire interior into a single space, and four minarets with three balconies each, 71 metres high. After years of restoration lasting until 2025 it is fully accessible again. Go twice: once in the morning, when the light falls through the windows of the dome, and once for the evening prayer, when the lamps are lit. Free entry, outside prayer times, shoulders and knees covered, headscarves for women are available at the entrance. Beneath the mosque lies the Arasta, a covered bazaar that was meant to fund the mosque and today sells soaps, mirrored brooms and souvenirs. The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art in the medrese next door explains the Kırkpınar wrestling and the history of the city.
Edirne tava ciğeri is thinly sliced calf's liver, dusted in flour and fried crisp in plenty of hot oil, served with dried fried chillies and raw onions. It sounds simple but it is a science, and the city's restaurants have argued for decades over who makes the best. The famous names: Ciğerci Niyazi Usta and Ciğerci Kazım Usta in the old town, plus several places around Saraçlar square. A portion costs CHF 5 to 8 (about EUR 5 to 9), and a portion and a half is normal for the hungry. It comes with ayran or şalgam (fermented turnip juice), not beer. If you do not like liver: Edirne also has köfte and, for dessert, deva-i misk helvası, an almond halva made to an Ottoman recipe, and badem ezmesi, a marzipan variant sold in the patisseries on Saraçlar Caddesi. Breakfast in Edirne with kaymak and honey is also renowned; the best addresses are the small places in the Kaleiçi quarter.
Since 1361 the pehlivan have wrestled in Edirne every summer, in leather trousers and smeared with olive oil, for the golden belt, according to Guinness the oldest continuously held sporting event in the world and UNESCO intangible heritage. The festival lasts a week, usually at the end of June or beginning of July, with the final day on a Sunday. The bouts take place in the Sarayiçi stadium on the island in the Tundzha, where the sultans' palace once stood. Tickets for the first days cost a few francs, the final day CHF 20 to 40 (about EUR 21 to 43), and then it gets crowded: hotels in Edirne are booked out that week, so reserve months ahead. The bouts last for hours, with drums and zurna and hundreds of wrestlers on the grass at the same time, and are a spectacle you see nowhere else. Outside the festival, the Kırkpınar House (Kırkpınar Evi) tells the story, and wrestler statues stand all over the city.
Edirne has a dozen Ottoman stone bridges over the Tundzha and Maritsa, and they make the best walk in the city. The Meriç Bridge of 1847 with its pavilion in the middle leads to the riverbank, where in summer tea gardens and restaurants look out over the river, with the sun setting over Greece in the evening. From the old town it is a 20-minute walk. To the north, the Saray bridges lead to Sarayiçi, where the Edirne Palace stood until it blew up in a gunpowder store fire in 1875; part of it is now being reconstructed. The Balkan Wars memorial and the Kırkpınar stadium are there too. Take a bicycle for the trip, Edirne is flat and quiet. South of the centre is Karaağaç station, an art nouveau building that now belongs to the university, with the Lausanne Monument in front of it: the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, signed in Switzerland, awarded Edirne to Turkey. A nice moment if you have a Swiss connection.
Two kilometres northwest of the old town on the Tundzha lies the külliye of Sultan Bayezid II from 1488: mosque, hospital, medical school and kitchen in a single complex. The hospital is now the Health Museum (Sağlık Müzesi) and uses wax figures to show how mentally ill patients were treated here 500 years ago with music, the sound of running water and scents, long before Europe knew anything of the kind. Entry around CHF 3 (about EUR 3). The museum is one of the most impressive places in the city and almost free of tourists; the mosque beside it, with its single great dome, is a calm counterpart to the Selimiye. The route goes over the Yalnızgöz Bridge and along the river. Back in the city, the Eski Cami (old mosque) of 1414 with its giant calligraphy, the Üç Şerefeli Cami with its striped minaret and the Bedesten next door are all worth a look. All mosques in Edirne are free.
Edirne is pronounced "eh-DEER-neh", with the stress on the dir. From Istanbul you reach the city by bus from Esenler in two and a half to three hours for CHF 8 to 12 (about EUR 9 to 13), with departures every half hour, or by train from Halkalı in four hours, slower but scenic. The bus station is outside town; city buses and taxis (CHF 5) go to the centre. Everything important is then within walking distance. Edirne is a border town: Greece is 7 kilometres away, Bulgaria 20, and many visitors come from Bulgaria to shop, which pushes up prices in the centre at weekends. On weekdays the city is quiet and cheap. Budget CHF 25 per day for food if you eat liver, köfte and breakfast in local places. Alcohol is available in restaurants on the Meriç and in the old town, the city is relaxed. One night is not enough, two is right, three with Kırkpınar or a side trip to Kıyıköy on the Black Sea.
Two full days: one for the Selimiye, the old town and the liver, one for the Bayezid II Külliye, the bridges and Sarayiçi. During Kırkpınar or with a side trip to Kıyıköy on the Black Sea it is three. A day trip from Istanbul is possible but rushed.
April to June and September to October. Summer in Thrace is hot and dry, but Kırkpınar takes place at the end of June or beginning of July, and that is worth the heat. Winter is cold and grey with occasional snow, and the Selimiye is wonderfully empty then.
Fly to Istanbul (IST), then take the bus from Esenler or directly from Istanbul Airport to Edirne in around three hours for CHF 8 to 15 (about EUR 9 to 16). A hire car from Istanbul covers the motorway in two and a half hours. Edirne has no airport with scheduled flights.
Every year at the end of June or beginning of July, for a week, with the final day on the Sunday. The exact date is published by the city in spring. Hotels are booked out months in advance for that week; tickets are sold at the stadium and online.
Yes, the borders are a few kilometres away. With an EU or Swiss passport you need no visa for either country. Note, however, that Turkey checks your e-Visa on exit and re-entry; a multiple-entry visa is standard. With a hire car, clear the border crossing with the rental company beforehand.
The food revolves around liver and köfte, but the breakfast with kaymak, honey, olives and cheese, the lokanta vegetable dishes in olive oil and the almond sweets are strong too. If you skip the liver you miss the landmark dish, not the city.
The oldest continuously held sporting tournament in the world, running since the 14th century and on the UNESCO heritage list: over a thousand wrestlers in leather trousers, rubbed with olive oil, compete on the meadow at Sarayiçi for the title of Başpehlivan. With drummers and zurna players, market stalls and a fairground. Grandstand entrance costs a few francs; the final on Sunday is the highlight.
For travellers: Edirne is fully booked during Kırkpınar week; a day trip from Istanbul (two and a half hours) is the easier option.
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