Balikesir travel guide

Balikesir, Turkey

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Balikesir

Introduction

Balıkesir is a city in the Marmara region of Turkey, and it serves as the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a metropolitan municipality. The city lies within a province that carries the same name, so when you plan a trip here, you are entering both a city and the administrative heart of a wider metropolitan area.

Its past is long and layered: between 1341 and 1922, Balıkesir was the capital of Karasi. That history gives the city a sense of having been a centre of gravity in the region for centuries, and it is the main thread to keep in mind as you explore.

Before you go

Balıkesir sits on the main trade route between Istanbul and Izmir, and it has been settled since antiquity. In Roman times there was a hunting lodge and small town near where the football stadium now stands; the place later became known as "Old Castle" — Palaeokastron in Greek, Balukiser in Turkish — and grew into a provincial capital. Very little of that past survives, because a devastating earthquake in 1898 left the city you see today mostly modern.

The surrounding area is hilly but fertile, which shapes what the city produces and what you'll find on your plate: dairy, wheat, olives and sunflower oil all come from the land around here, and the city also quarries limestone and borax. As one of the "Anatolian Tiger" towns, it keeps developing new industries, and it has a university. Expect a working provincial capital rather than a monument city, and plan your sightseeing around the modern streets rather than ancient remains.

Getting there

Balıkesir sits on the main overland route between Istanbul and Izmir, so most travellers arrive by bus or by train. International visitors will find it easiest to fly into one of the Istanbul airports and continue overland or by ferry. Edremit Airport, renamed Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport (EDO), is 100 km west of town with daily flights from Istanbul and a weekly service from Ankara; the airports at Bursa and Çanakkale are similarly inconvenient and sparsely served. Balıkesir Merkez Airport, 5 km southeast of town, has a military airbase but no commercial flights.

Two railways meet at Balıkesir, and using them calls for patience. From Ankara the İzmir Mavi Treni (Blue Train) runs nightly, taking nine hours via Eskişehir and Kütahya, and continues another four hours via Manisa and Soma to Izmir. The Ege Ekspresi is a daytime train between Izmir and Eskişehir, which connects with high-speed trains from Istanbul, Ankara and Konya. From Izmir, the 6 Eylül Ekspresi runs daily via Manisa and Soma and continues north from Balıkesir to Bandırma on the coast; on its return south from Bandırma it is called the 17 Eylül Ekspresi and connects with the ferry from Istanbul. The railway station is on Cumhuriyet Meydanı at the east edge of downtown, with the old bus terminal, Eski Garaj, across the highway.

Buses run every 30 minutes with competing companies, taking six hours from Istanbul via Gebze and Bursa and continuing south via Akhisar and Manisa to Izmir. Lines include Metro Turizm, Pamukkale and Flixbus. The otogar is 5 km northeast of town along Bandirma Cd D220, with frequent buses to Eski Garaj. By car, Balıkesir is near motorway O5 from Gebze, via Bursa, continuing south to Izmir.

Getting around

Balıkesir is a walkable city at its core, and most of what you will want to see sits close together in the centre. Most places of tourist interest lie within a short stroll of the railway station and the clock tower, so if you base yourself downtown you can reach the main sights on foot without needing any transport at all.

There is no metro or tram network — public transport is built around buses, minibuses and rail. Balıkesir Merkez Airport has a military airbase and no commercial flights, so it is not an option; the nearest airport with commercial service is roughly 100 km west of the city, a long way off, so you will need overland transport to cover the distance into town. For many international visitors the most convenient approach is to fly into one of the Istanbul airports and continue by overland transport or by ferry, connecting to Balıkesir by coach or train.

Where to stay

Most of Balıkesir's accommodation clusters near the railway station and transport hub, where you'll find a run of simple, inexpensive places. Otel İnanöz, a creaky old building just north of the station, is clean and cheap. Saray Otel on Başsaran Sk is similarly simple and close to transport, with Özdemir and Tekinler next door offering similar prices and quality. Otel Mola, a short walk south, is cheaper still, though cleanliness varies.

Elsewhere, Hotel Asya on Gazi Bvd generally satisfies visitors, though it sometimes reeks of tobacco smoke, and Elit Asya on Pamir Cd sits just behind it. Onhann Hotel, within Yaylada AVM on Bandırma Cd, is a decent business hotel. Near the clocktower, Anafartalar Hotel has small but clean rooms and friendly staff.

Food & drink

For a family meal, head to Mega Yıldız on Cumalı Cd, a short walk north of the railway station; it's a city institution serving a wide range of typical, inexpensive Turkish dishes, and it's known above all for being clean and for having a children's garden. Otherwise, the town centre eating strip lies east of the railway station, in the triangle bounded by Milli Kuvvetler Cd and Vasıf Çınar Cd, where you'll find plenty of options including Sirin Lokantasi, Nese Sucuk Evi, Köfteci Şaban, Köfteci Sedat and Buhara Aile Lokantası. If you can't decide between a cafe and a live music venue, Hisler Kahvesi Avlu splits the difference; it's in the shopping centre off Kepsut Cd, about 500 m east of the railway station. Local specialties to seek out include keskek (meat and barley stew), tirit (leftover bread with meat and offal), fringed ravioli, and eggplant with cheese. For dessert, try höşmerim, a cream cheese halva topped with ice-cream, honey or nuts, or zerde, a saffron rice pudding made with water rather than milk. To drink, rakı is Turkey's national drink, an aniseed-flavoured twice-distilled spirit similar to ouzo, sambuca and arak. The first distillation yields a fiery spirit called suma, and Balıkesir has a tradition of drinking it; visitors who wish to avoid concussion should await the second distillation, the standard commercial rakı at 40% ABV, most of which is made in Manisa near Izmir. Ayran is a cold savoury yoghurt drink found throughout the Turkic regions, and the local brand is Hisar ("fortress") Ayran, often drunk alongside rice and meat. Whatever you do, don't show any signs of sleepiness after drinking it.

What to see and do

Start at the Clock Tower on Anafartalar Cd, the focal point of the city centre. The original tower of 1827 was destroyed by the 1898 earthquake and rebuilt to the same design; it's often described as a copy of Istanbul's Galata Tower, though it looks nothing like that cylindrical structure and more like something that ought to grace a railway terminus. Right by it is the Balıkesir National Forces Museum, a former mansion that served as headquarters of the Kuva-yı Milliye, the irregular force assembled in 1919 after Greek troop landings in Smyrna and the main resistance until it was absorbed into the regular army in 1920. The museum displays documents, personal items and photos of the fighters, photos of Kemal Atatürk visiting the city, and archaeological and ethnographic finds from the region upstairs. Also by the tower is the Ömer Ali Bey Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, a reference library of early Ottoman books and manuscripts open to serious scholars by prior arrangement. The Photography Museum, 100 m north, remained closed in 2022. < ul > < li >Zagnos Pasha Mosque on Turan Cd was built around 1461 by Zağnos Pasha, grand vizier of Mehmed II, as a religious complex; the hammam survived the 1897 earthquake while the mosque, tombs and shadirvans were rebuilt. The engravings on the minbar are especially fine, and Atatürk himself preached a sermon here in 1923. The tombs of Karesi Bey and his five sons stand on the south side; he founded the Karasid dynasty, which ruled Southern Marmara from 1297 until it was engulfed by the nascent Ottoman Empire.< /li > < li >Yıldırım Mosque was built by Sultan Bayezid I in 1388, a couple of years before he built the similar mosque of the same name in Bursa.< /li > < li >Umurbey Mosque is fairly simple, built in 1413 and repaired in 1635 and 1925, 200 m west of the railway station.< /li > < li >The Devril Erbil Contemporary Art Museum on Gazi Bv states opening hours that are, in practice, a token of good intentions.< /li > < li >The town centre is modern, but a few higgledy-piggledy streets with traditional houses survive in the Aygoren and Karaoglan neighbourhoods east of Atatürk Park.< /li > < li >Atatürk House on Edremit Cd, opened in 2021, is a replica of the house where Atatürk was born in Thessaloniki and depicts events of the War of Independence.< /li > < li >Balya, a town 50 km northwest on the scenic mountain road to Çanakkale, is a struggling community today but was home to a large population in its lead- and zinc-mining heyday. The main mining heritage lies north of town around the road to Gönen: follow the brown signpost at the turn-off 1 km north to reach the atmospheric shell of a stone building overgrown by pine forest, with the far more extensive ruins of extraction and processing units and what seem to be furnaces just behind. About 350 m north of the turn-off stand a pair of derelict villas known locally as Fransız evleri.< /li > < /ul > For green space, Atatürk Park is a bosky spot 200 m south of the railway station, with Atatürk Stadium at its south end, home to Balıkesirspor. Thermal springs emerge in the hills around town, with spa hotels: north is Ilica, south is Pamukçu, and see also Sındırgı. Kuş Lake, a birdlife reserve on the road north to the coast, is covered under Bandırma.

When to go

Balıkesir has a continental hot-summer Mediterranean climate, so the season you choose shapes your trip considerably. Winters are cool and wet, with frequent frosts and occasional snowfall; if you head inland, expect conditions to turn colder and snowier than along the coast. Summer, by contrast, is hot and dry, with little rain to interrupt the heat.

Three days in Balikesir

Day one: Start in Balıkesir itself, the provincial capital whose roots run back through Karasi and Roman times to the Palaeokastron, or Old Castle, that gave the city its Greek name Balukiser. Wander the centre and get your bearings in this Anatolian Tiger city, then use the day to sort out onward transport. Balıkesir sits in the Marmara region of Turkey, within Balıkesir Province, and is well connected by rail: the Mavi Treni, or Blue Train, links Ankara with Eskişehir, Kütahya, Balıkesir and Manisa, while the Ege Ekspresi and the Eylül Ekspresi serve the İzmir corridor. If you prefer to fly, Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport at Edremit and Balıkesir Merkez Airport both serve the province, and EDO runs services from Ankara, Bursa and Istanbul.

Day two: Head west toward Bandırma, the port town on the Marmara coast that connects the province to Istanbul by sea and rail. Bandırma makes a practical base for a day of slow travel along the water, and from there you can trace the corridor back toward Balıkesir or onward to İzmir. Expect the transport network to shape your day: the same lines that bring you in — the Mavi Treni from Ankara via Eskişehir and Kütahya, or the Ege Ekspresi and Eylül Ekspresi from İzmir — also tie Bandırma into the wider region.

Day three: Use your last day to loop back through the province's inland towns, following the rail corridor through Manisa and Soma if you are heading south, or returning toward Bursa and Ankara if you are heading east. Balıkesir's position between Istanbul, İzmir, Bursa and Ankara makes it easy to end a short trip without doubling back far. Whether you finish at Balıkesir Merkez Airport or press on by train, the province rewards a few unhurried days spent moving between its city, its coast and its connections.

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