By evening the light has gone from the Kızılırmak valley and the streets around Meydan fill with people heading out to eat, drink tea and meet friends. Sivas sits at over a thousand metres, so nights are cool even in summer and genuinely cold in winter; whatever you plan, you will want a layer.
This is a central Anatolian city with a working, local nightlife rather than a tourist one. The centre is compact and walkable, the evening revolves around Meydan and the surrounding streets, and the mood is conversational: tea houses, türkü bars with live folk music, and simple pubs rather than large clubs. It suits a visitor who wants an unhurried evening among residents, and who is content to make the centre the whole of the night out.
Where to go out in Sivas
1. Meydan and the streets just east of it
Meydan is the central square and the natural starting point for an evening. The drinking venues the sources name cluster just east of it: Rain Pub, Merkez Türkü Bar, Sis Pub and Kervan Biranesi. The mix tells you what to expect — a türkü bar for live Anatolian folk, pubs for a quieter drink — all within a short walk of each other.
This suits an evening where you want choice without taxis: start on the square, drift east, and move between places on foot. Because the centre is small, it is also the easiest area to navigate if you do not know the city.
2. A türkü bar evening
A türkü bar is a distinctly Turkish kind of night out: seated, music-led, with folk songs performed live and the audience joining in. Merkez Türkü Bar, east of Meydan, is the one the sources name in Sivas. Expect a long, sociable sitting rather than a quick drink.
It suits anyone who wants the evening to be about music and company rather than volume and movement. Go with people who know the songs, or go to listen.
3. Pubs around the centre
Rain Pub, Sis Pub and Kervan Biranesi, all named as being just east of Meydan, represent the plainer end of the evening: a drink, conversation, and a low-key atmosphere. These are the places to begin or end a night rather than to build one around.
This is the right choice if you are on your own, meeting someone, or simply want a drink before or after dinner. The practical point is the same as for the whole district: everything named here is within walking distance of the square.
4. A hammam as the early part of the evening
Kurşunlu Hammamı, on the east side of the Behram Paşa Hotel, is a traditional bath in a 16th-century building, and the sources give an entrance fee of 70 TL as of early 2023. A hammam is not nightlife in the bar sense, but it works as the first stage of an evening: scrub, rest, then eat and go out.
It suits a slow start, particularly after a day of travel or in cold weather. Treat the price as indicative only and check locally, since it dates from 2023.
5. A match at New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium
Sivasspor play at New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium, which opened in 2016 and holds 27,500; the club was relegated in 2025 and now plays in the TFF First League, the second tier. The ground is about 3 km west of the city centre, near the junction with the D200.
An evening fixture here is the one big-crowd night out in the city, and it suits anyone who wants to see Sivas en masse. Plan the trip out and back, since the stadium is beyond walking distance from Meydan.
How a night out unfolds
The sources do not describe eating times, when people go out, or how late venues run in Sivas, so no reliable pattern can be given. What they do establish is the shape of the centre: Meydan and the streets immediately east of it hold the named drinking venues, and the stadium sits 3 km west, which means a match evening and a Meydan evening are two separate plans rather than one continuous night. The climate is a practical factor — summers are warm and dry, winters cold and snowy, and the city stands at 1,278 metres, so evenings are cool year-round. Note also that the sources do not state a legal drinking age or any local rules for Sivas, so none are given here.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- Republic Day — 29 October, with a half-day on the eve, 28 October.
- Atatürk Commemoration Day — 10 November.
- New Year's Eve and New Year's Day — 31 December and 1 January.
- Ramadan and Ramadan Feast — Ramadan begins in early February and the feast falls in early to mid-March on the dates given, which are marked tentative.
- National Sovereignty and Children's Day — 23 April.
- Labor and Solidarity Day — 1 May.
Frequently asked questions
Where do people go for a drink in Sivas?
The sources name Rain Pub, Merkez Türkü Bar, Sis Pub and Kervan Biranesi, all just east of Meydan in the city centre.
Is there live music?
Merkez Türkü Bar is a türkü bar, the folk-music form of Turkish bar, which is the closest the sources come to naming a music-led venue in the city.
What else can fill an evening besides bars?
Kurşunlu Hammamı, a traditional bath in a 16th-century building on the east side of the Behram Paşa Hotel, and a Sivasspor match at New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium, 3 km west of the centre.
What should I wear?
Sivas has warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters, and sits at 1,278 metres, so bring a layer for the evening whatever the season.
Check the current state of any venue before you set out, then plan your evening around Meydan and the streets just east of it.