Stand at the corner of Kurtuluş Caddesi and Kemal Paşa Caddesi, where the Habib-i Nejjar Mosque has just been rebuilt for the second time in living memory, and you get the shape of Antakya in one view: a city that keeps reassembling itself on the same ground. The narrow streets of the old city still carry traffic, the river still runs through it, and the hillsides above are still climbed by the remains of the walls.
Antakya suits travellers who are interested in layers rather than polish, and who are comfortable with a place where a good deal is under repair. It is a working provincial capital with restaurants, cinemas and a lively shopping centre, and it is also a city of Roman pavement, cave churches and cliff-cut tombs.
This guide covers the sights within the city and the sites close enough to reach on a day out, with practical notes on what to combine and when to go.
Top things to do in Antakya
1. Church of Saint Peter
This is one of the oldest churches of Christianity, where St Peter is said to have preached, though its earliest structures date from the 4th or 5th century. It is a cave recessing 13 m into a cliff face; around 1100 the Crusaders enlarged the cave and added a stone façade, rebuilt in 1863, and the statue of St Peter above the altar dates from 1932.
It is open daily 08:30-17:00 and adult admission is €8. Combine it with the Charon relief, a 4-m-tall rock carving on the hillside 300 m north, built in the 2nd century BC to protect the city from plague and left incomplete when the plague subsided. Do not accept local children as guides there.
2. Necmi Asfuroğlu Archaeological Museum
When builders prepared a hotel site in 2009 they found remains of ancient Antioch, so the hotel was mounted on steel pillars and a museum created below it. You can see an ancient road pavement, a ruined bathhouse and Roman floor mosaics.
It is on Süreyya Halefoğlu Cd 64 and open daily 08:30-17:00. It pairs naturally with a walk along Kurtuluş Caddesi, which overlies the Roman colonnades of Herod Street.
3. Habib-i Nejjar Mosque
Rebuilt after earthquakes wrecked it in 1853 and again in 2023, the mosque stands on the site of an ancient pagan temple that became one of the first Christian churches and, from the 7th century, one of the first mosques in the region, changing hands with control of the city. The tomb of Habib Al-Najjar is in the basement, along with four sarcophagi said to hold Apostles or Islamic prophets.
It is free, at the corner of Kurtuluş Cd and Kemal Paşa Cd. Kurtuluş Cd stretches north and south from here and is the old spine of Antakya, though many of its historic buildings collapsed in 2023 and rubble still lies underfoot.
4. Hatay Archaeological Museum
This museum holds a collection of classical mosaics, coins, sarcophagi and Iron and Bronze Age artefacts. It suffered minor damage in 2023 and is being repaired rather than rebuilt, and it is temporarily closed.
It is on Antakya Reyhanlı Yolu 117. Check before you build a day around it, and treat the Necmi Asfuroğlu Archaeological Museum as your mosaic stop in the meantime.
5. Titus Tunnel
The most substantial of the remains of Roman Seleucia, this is a channel and tunnel cut through rock for 1.4 km to divert a river, partly for flood control and mostly to stop the harbour being silted up. Work began under Vespasian, continued under Titus and was completed under Antoninus Pius.
It is at Çevlik, open daily 08:30-17:00. You enter the deep channel, dry except after rainfall, and with a flashlight can continue into the tunnel; most visitors turn back after 100 m but you can go right through. Beşikli Mağara, a Roman necropolis carved into the cliffs, is 500 m up the lane on the same hours and ticket.
6. Monastery of Saint Simeon
St Simeon the Younger was a stylite who lived his life atop a pillar, and this monastery is the site of the final pillar he occupied. Only its base survives, along with the ruins of three churches and a baptistry; the monastery was destroyed in 1268.
It is 22 km southwest of Antakya, off the D420 to Samandağ, open daily 08:30-17:00 and free. The draughty hilltop has fine views and a series of wind turbines.
7. Harbiye
In antiquity this was Defne, named for the Daphne of legend who turned into a laurel tree to escape Apollo. It is now a suburb of Antakya, and its south edge has laurel groves and waterfalls.
It sits 10 km south of the city centre and is a popular spot for a leisurely dinner, particularly for the variety of meze in the restaurants. Go in the evening rather than at midday.
8. Demir Kapı (Iron Gate)
These are the ruins of a dam built in 555 AD to control flash-flooding from the stream in a ravine, with an innovative arch design and city walls added on top. It was rebuilt in medieval times and derelict by 1800.
The 2023 earthquake destabilised it further and caused rockfalls along the access trail from Senpiyar Cd, so take care. There is still a good view back towards the city.
9. Hz Hızır Türbesi
An Alawite pilgrimage shrine and mausoleum in a modern building on a traffic island at Deniz, Samandağ. The plastered rock inside is believed to be the meeting place of Moses and the holy man Al-Khidr.
The custom is to burn incense while circumnavigating the shrine counterclockwise three times before entering to make a wish, and again three times after stepping out. It is free, and Deniz is the beach strip of Samandağ extending north from the shrine to Çevlik.
10. Moses' Tree (Musa Ağacı)
An ancient plane tree in Hıdırbey village, 2.5 km north of Vakıflı. In legend it grew from Moses' staff when he struck the ground.
It is a pleasant stop for a cup of tea, and it combines with a look at Vakıflı, the only village in Turkey to retain an Armenian majority, though most of its buildings were wrecked in 2023 and its museum and Orthodox church had not re-opened as of 2026.
11. Bakras Castle
This castle guards the southern approach to the Syrian Gates through the Amanos Mountains. The first known structure was 9th-century Byzantine, and it was kept in good repair by the Knights Templar and Armenians until it was abandoned in the 13th century after defeat by the Mamluks.
It is 32 km north of Antakya and free to visit at any hour. The trail is steep and rough and the ruin is so overgrown and tumbledown that you may struggle to find a way in.
12. Şenköy
A well-preserved historic village 23 km south of the city centre. The main sight is the 16th-century mosque and tomb of Sheik Ahmet Kuseyri.
It works as a half-day trip south, and can be combined with Harbiye on the way back into the city.
13. Altınözü Necropolis
A Roman and Byzantine necropolis carved into the mountainside 1 km north of the village of Yunushanı. It is free to explore at any hour.
It is degraded by graffiti, vandalism and trash, so set your expectations accordingly and take a torch.
14. Koz Castle
Above Sofular village, this castle was first built in the 7th century and reinforced during the 11th to 13th. It succumbed to a siege in 1275 and was abandoned.
Its bastions were already tottering before the 2023 earthquake and have not been shored up, so take care in approaching.
15. Cumhuriyet Meydanı
Republic Square is the roundabout at the centre of town, formerly surrounded by civic buildings such as the town hall, all destroyed in the earthquake. The statue of Atatürk has been restored to his central plinth but the rest is a gritty work in progress.
Ata Bridge across the River Orontes is a drab modern structure; the ancient bridge was demolished around 1960. The Council for Culture and Arts Center has been rebuilt on the north side of the roundabout, on the site of the former Assembly of the short-lived Hatay state.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start at Cumhuriyet Meydanı to orient yourself, then walk Kurtuluş Caddesi to the Habib-i Nejjar Mosque at the corner of Kemal Paşa Cd. Continue to the Necmi Asfuroğlu Archaeological Museum on Süreyya Halefoğlu Cd when it opens at 08:30.
Afternoon. Head to the Church of Saint Peter on Senpiyar Cd, open 08:30-17:00, and walk the 300 m north afterwards to see the Charon relief. If time allows, continue to Demir Kapı, watching your footing on the access trail from Senpiyar Cd.
Evening. Go out to Harbiye, 10 km south of the centre, for a leisurely dinner and the meze the restaurants there are known for. In the summer heat, people stay outside late into the night to walk with family and friends, so there is no need to hurry back.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Hatay Archaeological Museum open?
No. It is temporarily closed. It suffered minor damage in 2023 and is being repaired rather than rebuilt. The Necmi Asfuroğlu Archaeological Museum is open daily 08:30-17:00.
How much does the Church of Saint Peter cost, and when can I visit?
Adult admission is €8 and it is open daily 08:30-17:00. It is on Senpiyar Cd, and the Charon relief is 300 m north on the hillside.
What is there to see west of the city?
The Monastery of Saint Simeon, 22 km southwest off the D420 to Samandağ, open daily 08:30-17:00 and free. Further west at Çevlik is the Titus Tunnel, open daily 08:30-17:00, with Beşikli Mağara 500 m up the lane on the same hours and ticket.
Can I visit Vakıflı?
You can go, but as of 2026 the museum, Orthodox church and other facilities have not re-opened after the 2023 earthquake. Moses' Tree in Hıdırbey village, 2.5 km north, is a pleasant stop for a cup of tea.
Work out which of these fit your days, check the current status of anything under repair, and start planning your trip to Antakya.