Sandy and quite secluded in low season, and with fine views of the fortress, Cleopatra's Beach is the city's best. Alanya's main beaches are also decent enough, although east of the centre they're fronted by a busy main road. The teleferik will deposit you practically on Cleopatra's Beach from the castle.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
11.71 MILES
Don't miss the opportunity to visit this often overlooked ancient port city in Rough Cilicia, which was settled in the 7th century BC but abandoned in the…
1.21 MILES
Surmounting Alanya's rocky peninsula is its awesome, Seljuk-era castle, girdled by 6km of walls and awaiting Unesco World Heritage listing. Climb to it…
1.43 MILES
A wooden walkway runs south along the old harbour's east wall from the Red Tower to the Tersane, the only Seljuk-built shipyard remaining in Turkey…
7.26 MILES
This underground fairyland is home to spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations with a crystal-clear pool at the deepest depth. A 360m-long walkway…
1.12 MILES
As you walk up to Alanya Castle, the road passes a turn-off for the village of Ehmedek, which was the Turkish quarter during Ottoman and Seljuk times…
0.59 MILES
Refurbished in 2012, Alanya's small but excellently curated museum is worth a visit to see artefacts, including tools, jugs, jewellery, letters and coins,…
17.35 MILES
This partially restored han (caravanserai) on the Aalara River was built by Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I (who also built Alanya Castle) in 1231 to…
1.31 MILES
This striking five-storey octagonal defence tower, measuring nearly 30m in diameter, more than 30m in height and with a central cistern within for water…
Nearby Alanya attractions
1. Alanya Archaeological Museum
0.59 MILES
Refurbished in 2012, Alanya's small but excellently curated museum is worth a visit to see artefacts, including tools, jugs, jewellery, letters and coins,…
0.67 MILES
Close to Cleopatra's Beach and the cable car to the castle, this stalactite-studded cave has humidity levels of 98% and is said to produce a certain kind…
1.08 MILES
Built in 1227 to protect the Inner Fortress, this is the northern part of Alanya Castle and consist of three towers in two distinct parts.
1.1 MILES
Kuyularönü Camii, renovated in 2005, is a an island of spirituality amid the bland knock-off designer-T-shirt shops and plastic-fantastic souvenir stores…
1.12 MILES
As you walk up to Alanya Castle, the road passes a turn-off for the village of Ehmedek, which was the Turkish quarter during Ottoman and Seljuk times…
1.16 MILES
The Akşebe Türbesi is a distinctive mausoleum thought to have been built in about 1230 for a Seljuk commander of the castle, though this has not been…
1.17 MILES
Enjoy this wonderful viewpoint looking across the city and Cilician mountains while walking up to the castle through the steep streets of the Tophane…