Side walking tour & city guide

Ancient Side

Side was founded by Greek settlers and flourished under the Romans as a busy harbor. Its theater, built into the slope of the peninsula rather than a hillside, could seat around 15,000 people and still dominates the town. Nearby, the remains of the agora, baths and a long colonnaded street lead toward the sea.

The Side Museum is housed in restored Roman baths and holds statues and sarcophagi found on site. At the tip of the peninsula, the reconstructed columns of the Temple of Apollo are the town's most famous sight, especially at sunset, when they glow against the water.

The old town and beaches

Between the ruins, the old village is a pedestrian maze of shops, cafés and small hotels, with a pretty harbor where boats leave for trips to the Manavgat waterfall and along the coast. Long sandy beaches stretch away on both sides of the peninsula, lined with resorts toward Kumköy and Sorgun.

The town of Manavgat, a few kilometers inland, has a lively weekly market and its broad, low waterfall, while the ancient city of Aspendos, with its spectacular Roman theater, is a short drive west.

A classic walk: city gate to the temple

Enter through the old city gate and follow the colonnaded street to the theater and the agora. Continue down the main shopping street to the harbor, then follow the promenade around the tip of the peninsula to the Temple of Apollo. Return along the eastern seafront past the beaches. The loop is about three kilometers and best done in the late afternoon.