Luxury hotels in Bodrum

Bodrum guide

Bodrum: the castle, the coves and the blue cruise

A crusader castle with an underwater museum, white villages and a gulet along the coast.

The Castle of St. Peter, built by the Knights Hospitaller over the harbour, is Bodrum's most cited sight and home to the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. The town stands on ancient Halicarnassus, site of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

A day or a week on a gulet, a traditional wooden sailing boat, along the turquoise coves of the peninsula and the Gulf of Gökova, is the classic experience. The villages of Yalıkavak and Türkbükü have beach clubs and marinas, and May to October is the season.

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Bodrum peninsula

Bodrum stands on ancient Halicarnassus, and the site of the Mausoleum, built for King Mausolus in the fourth century BC and one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, is one of its most cited visits; little remains, but the museum explains its grandeur. The ancient theatre above the town gives the best view of the bay.

The old windmills on the hill between Bodrum and Gümbet are lovely at sunset, and the peninsula's villages, such as Gümüşlük, with fish restaurants by the water and the sunken ancient city of Myndos, are perfect for dinner.

Ephesus from Bodrum

Ephesus, about two and a half hours north of Bodrum, is one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the Mediterranean and a UNESCO site, and it is the most cited excursion from the peninsula: the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre and the marble streets of a Roman metropolis.

The Terrace Houses, covered by a roof, preserve frescoes and mosaics of wealthy Roman homes, and the House of the Virgin Mary is a place of pilgrimage. Arrive early with a private guide to avoid the heat and the cruise groups.