We have compiled places to visit in Fethiye. In this post, you will read about places to visit in Fethiye and their details.
In honor of the pilot Fetih Bey, ancient Telmessos was renamed Fethiye in the early 20th century. This city of 30,000 inhabitants is housed in a bay enclosed by twelve islets and is an ideal stop for exploring the surroundings.
Beautiful beaches, picturesque mountain slopes, a multitude of historical and cultural attractions, excellent cuisine, and a wide range of distractions make Fethiye one of the most famous place in Turkey. The pine forests located in the premontane area are ideal for walking or cycling.
The air is extraordinary and pure, from the peaks of the mountains you can see the city and the coast. We have compiled places to visit in Fethiye. Here are places to visit in Fethiye!
What To Do and See in Fethiye?
Fethiye is the largest city in the area and is a good starting point for visiting nearby attractions. The city is home to beaches, the port, the bus station and shops, restaurants, agencies, etc. This is where you will find more things open if you travel out of season.
Inside the City of Fethiye
With its cafes, the fish market, the 16th-century Turkish Hamam, the spice market, and the bazaar, the old town of Fethiye is a network of picturesque streets full of colors and traditional Turkish buildings. Here you can buy souvenirs and visit the quaint bars that line the cobbled paths.
The most extraordinary thing to do in Fethiye, within the city, is to see the rock tombs of Lycia, a unique historical monument. It’s a series of Lycian period tombs carved into the mountain’s rock and dating back to the 4th century. They’re carved relatively high in the rocks because the Lycians believed that people’s souls would rise into the sky after death.
On a hill close to the small port of Fethiye, it’s possible to admire the remains of a fortress built in ancient times by the Knights of Rhodes to protect the coast.
If you prefer a good dose of adrenaline, you can try practicing the main activity in the area, paragliding. The entire Lycian coast is very mountainous and with intense green vegetation, that contrasts strongly with the turquoise of the sea and the white sand of the beaches. The landscapes are magnificent.
The day can end in style with dinner in the charming fish market of the city: You can directly choose the fish you want from one of the fishmongers, and the restaurant chosen nearby will cook it for you.
Ölüdeniz
The most famous seaside destination is Ölüdeniz, located on the slopes of Babadağ. It’s home to the largest sandy beach in the area, along which restaurants and leisure centers extend. Ölüdeniz beach offers an enchanting landscape with fine sand and turquoise water.
Here there’re several diving schools, and anyone who wants to can sign up for lessons and admire the beauties of the underwater world. Fans of underwater hunting and surfing can rent all the necessary equipment at one of the local centers.
Kayaköy
A few kilometers from Fethiye, you will find Kayaköy, a city abandoned almost 100 years ago that still preserves the houses and churches of the past.
The Lycian Route
If you like hiking, then you can’t miss this route. It’s an excellent route between Fethiye and Antalya that runs along the entire coast for more than 500 kilometers and passes through Mediterranean forests, cliffs, mountains of almost 3,000 meters, fishing villages, agricultural areas, and ruins of the Lycian, Roman, and Greek civilizations. A dream for all lovers of hiking.
It can take a month to complete, although you can do some of its sections if you don’t have that much time. For example, you can complete the section between Fethiye and Kayaköy or between Kayaköy and Ölüdeniz.
The Valley of the Butterflies
One of the most famous places in the bay of Ölüdeniz is the Butterfly Valley (Kelebekler Vadisi). It’s a valley between cliffs that can only be accessed in two ways. The first is by walking from the city called Faralya to the top of the mountain. It’s a route for experienced people, especially when going up to Faralya, due to the great verticality of the rock face. If you opt for this option, there is a dolmus between Fethiye and Faralya.
The second is by boat and is a very popular excursion. In summer, it’s usually a stop on full-day tours that take you to different beaches (depart from Fethiye and Ölüdeniz). At the same time, in the off-season, it’s the only thing visited on excursions of around three hours (only from Ölüdeniz). The boats reach the valley beach and leave you free time to travel or enjoy the sea.
