IZMIR CITY BREAK   >   TURKEY


Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia with a population of 3.35 million in 2010.

I's the third largest city in Turkey, the second biggest port after Istanbul, and a well equipped transport hub.

Greater Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is composed of eleven metropolitan districts: Balçova, Bayraklı, Bornova, Buca, Çiğli, Gaziemir, Güzelbahçe, Karabağlar, Karşıyaka, Konak and Narlıdere.


car hire, holiday rentals, hotels, tour operators - izmir tours, travel guides, travel to izmir

links


Car Rental Izmir 

  Sixt   -    

  Holiday Autos   -    
Hostelbookers.com is one of the worlds largest online booking services for hostels. All hostels you see here are offering realtime prices and availability.

Tour Operators 

 

 



  [ ATOL 230 ]
Flexible Luxury Holidays. Sovereign is a specialist tour operator with more than 30 years experience.



 
Create your perfect trip to Izmir 





Travel Guides Izmir / Related books 

Travel Guides Turkey  [ amazon.co.uk ]

  Izmir, Turkey: A Concise Travel Guide
Format: Kindle Edition; File Size: 382 KB; Language: English; ASIN: B006PBPYS6.

  Ottoman Izmir: The Rise of a Cosmopolitan Port, 1840-1880
Sibel Zandi-Sayek (Author)
Between 1840 and 1880, the Eastern Mediterranean port of Izmir (Smyrna) underwent unprecedented change. A modern harbor that welcomed international steamships and new railway lines that transported a cornucopia of products transformed the physical city. Migrants, seasonal workers, and transient sailors thronged into an already diverse metropolis, helping to double the population to 200,000. Simultaneously, Ottoman officials and enterprising citizens vied to control and reform the city's administrative and legal institutions.
Paperback: 288 pages; Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press (December 19, 2011); ISBN-10: 0816666024.

  Dorling Kindersley   -  

Transport / How do I travel to Izmir 

  Izmir Airport   -   Adnan Menderes International Airport

  

 
Book cheap flights at ebookers and benefit from discounted airfares. View their latest offers and book your flights, accommodation, car hire and insurance online

  Airline Tickets / Discount Flights
Cheap flights / Price comparison possible.

  Railway Station Izmir   -   Alsancak Terminal, built in 1858
Here the first railway line in the Ottoman Empire, the İzmir–Aydın line, entered service two years earlier, in 1856.
  Railway Station Izmir   -   Basmane Terminal, built in 1866

 
Travel by bus or coach to Izmir.

  Boat from Konak to Karşıyaka

  Izmir Metro
The network, consisting of one line [ 2011 ], starts from Üçyol station in Hatay in the southern part of the metropolitan area and runs northeast to end in Bornova.

  İZBAN   -   commuter rail system serving İzmir and its metropolitan area.

İzmir Municipality's urban ferry services in the Gulf of İzmir.


Links

  City of Izmir

  Gediz River's delta
  Gulf of İzmir
  Yassıca Island
The Island attracts people with its clean blue sea and serene atmosphere where transportation is provided by the daily boat trips of Izdeniz (Izmir Maritime Management, Shipping and Tourism Trade Inc).

  Ahmet Priştina Museum of Metropolitan History
  Agora Open Air Museum of İzmir
  Alsancak   -   business and luxury quarter in Konak
Small streets with lots of bars in old Greek houses, where you can have tea or a beer and try several waterpipe flavors.
  Asansör (Elevator)
It was constructed by a Jewish businessman in 1907. The purpose was to help residents to go to their districts on the top of the hill.
There is a restaurant located on the top of the elevator with a bird-eye view of Izmir.
  Teleferik (cable car)
Carries people to 423 m. up above the sea level. There are restaurants, cafes and gift shops located on the top of the hill.
  Beaches
Izmir owns lots of beaches which are not too far from the city center. The places include Foça, Dikili, Urla, Seferihisar, and Çeşme.
  İzmir Archaeology Museum
  İzmir Ethnography Museum
  İzmir Museum of History and Art
  İzmir Museum of Arts and Sculpture
  Kemeraltı Bazaar   -   historic bazaar zone in Konak
  Kadifekale   -   historic hilltop castle
  Konak Square
Main square of the city center, famous for the clock tower, one of the unique smybols of Izmir.
  Konak Yali Mosque
  Kordon   -   the waterfront promenade
  Selçuk Yaşar Museum of Arts
  Yeşilova Höyük   -   prehistoric settlement

  Go to Turkey   -   Turkey Tourist Office Ireland & UK

Cuisine   -   Gastronomy

İzmir's cuisine has largely been affected by its multicultural history.

  Cuisine of Izmir

  Boyoz, a pastry very typical of İzmir. To eat with a cup of tea at breakfast.

History

Izmir is one of the oldest settlements of the Mediterranean basin.

Izmir is said to have derived its name from Smyrna, the beautiful queen of the Amazons, the legendary female warriors. Excavations have revealed that the earliest settlement in Izmir was founded in the 3rd Millennium B.C. at present-day Bayraklı.

  History of Izmir / İzmirians

Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast.

  History of Smyrna
Etymology, Third millennium to 687 BC, Lydian period, Hellenistic period, Roman and Byzantine period, Ottoman period.

Homer, referred to as Melesigenes which means "Child of the Meles Brook" is connected with the valley of Smyrna and the banks of the Meles River, which flowed by the ancient city of Smyrna.

  Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922 - The Destruction of Islam's City of Tolerance
Giles Milton (Author)
On Saturday 9th September, 1922, the victorious Turkish cavalry rode into Smyrna, the richest and most cosmopolitan city in the Ottoman Empire. What happened over the next two weeks must rank as one of the most compelling human dramas of the twentieth century. Almost two million people were caught up in a disaster of truly epic proportions.
Paperback: 448 pages; Publisher: Sceptre (28 May 2009); ISBN-10: 034083787X.

Music, Arts & Culture, Events

  Izmir Art and Sculpture Museum and Gallery

Kültürpark is the culture and art centre of İzmir with its green fields filled with hundreds types of trees and plants from all around the world, İsmet İnönü Art Centre with the capacity of 760 spectators, Atatürk Open-Air Theatre with the capacity of 3,000 spectators.

  Izmir Cultural Centre
Having long enjoyed a reputation as a cosmopolitan and cultural city, Izmir thrives in art and culture. The Izmir Cultural Centre hosts opera, ballet and music performances.

  Ahmet Adnan Saygun Art Centre

  International Izmir Festival [ Uluslararası Izmir Festivali ]   -  Izmir Fair
See Fairs calendar.
  İzmir European Jazz Festival [ İzmir Avrupa Caz Festival ]
Programmed during the first half of March each year, it offers a selection of jazz performances featuring renowned artists and groups from Europe and Turkey. See IKSEV.
  International İzmir Short Film Festival

  İzmir Foundation for Culture Arts and Education [ İKSEV ]
The foundation contributes to the formation of the city identity of İzmir that has a past of about 8500 years, which has been the place of birth of many civilizations throughout history. It also organizes the International İzmir Festival and İzmir European Jazz Festival.


  Reiswijs UK is not responsible for the content of external internet sites