Things to Do in Ankara

Editor's picks

A local's shortlist — the places worth your time first, each with a tip.

Anıtkabir

Landmark · Anıttepe, Çankaya

Atatürk's monumental mausoleum on its own hill — a colonnaded court, the Lion Road, and a museum of the War of Independence beneath it.

Local tip: Entry is free. Time your arrival for the hourly changing of the guard, and walk up the Lion Road rather than taking the vehicle entrance — the approach is the point.

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations

Culture · Ulus, Altındağ

Hittite, Phrygian and Urartian collections housed in a restored 15th-century bedesten below the citadel — the best single explanation of Anatolia anywhere.

Local tip: Do it in the same morning as the castle above it; the two are a five-minute walk apart and the museum takes about ninety minutes.

Ankara Kalesi & Hamamönü

Neighborhood · Altındağ (Ulus)

The old citadel walls with the whole city laid out below, and beneath them Hamamönü — a restored quarter of Ottoman timber houses, courtyards and craft workshops.

Local tip: Climb the castle late afternoon for the light, then drop into Hamamönü for a courtyard tea. Wear proper shoes: the castle lanes are steep, cobbled and genuinely uneven.

Kuğulu Park & Tunalı Hilmi

Neighborhood · Kavaklıdere, Çankaya

The swan park and the café-and-bookshop street running off it — the closest thing central Ankara has to a promenade, and the default place to arrange to meet someone.

Local tip: Tunalı is where the city actually socialises; walk south from Kuğulu towards Kavaklıdere for the older bars and north for the newer cafés.

Eymir Gölü

Hidden gem

Nature · Gölbaşı (managed by ODTÜ)

A long reed-fringed lake south of the city inside the METU campus land, with a flat loop road that Ankara runs, cycles and rows on at weekends.

Local tip: The standard Ankara Saturday: the loop on foot or by bike, then breakfast at one of the lakeside spots. Go early — the car park by the entrance fills by mid-morning.

Atakule & Seğmenler Parkı

Landmark · Çankaya

The 1989 observation tower on the highest ridge in the city, with a revolving restaurant on top and a big terraced park stepping down beside it.

Local tip: The view is best about an hour before sunset, when you can pick out Anıtkabir, the castle and the steppe behind the city in one sweep.

Explore 113 places across Ankara

Museums, landmarks, monuments, heritage sites and parks — mapped, with photos. The most notable spots first.

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Museum · 27Landmark · 12Monument · 16Religious · 32Archaeological · 5Park · 18Attraction · 3Open in OpenStreetMap

Museums & galleries

(27)

Photograph unavailable Ethnography Museum of Ankara

Museum

Ethnography Museum of Ankara

Museum in Ankara, Turkey

Editor's picks

Anıtkabir

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations

Ankara Kalesi & Hamamönü

Kuğulu Park & Tunalı Hilmi

Eymir Gölü

Atakule & Seğmenler Parkı

Explore 113 places across Ankara

Museums & galleries

Ethnography Museum of Ankara

Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum

Ankara Palas

Ulucanlar Prison Museum

The Atatürk and War of Independence Museum

Republic Museum

Pembe Köşk

War of Independence Museum

METU Science and Technology Museum

Feza Gürsey Science Center

Gökyay Association Chess Museum

Türkiye İş Bankası Economic Independence Museum

Atatürk's Residence and Railway Museum

Ankara Vakıf Museum

Mehmet Akif Ersoy Museum House

Police Heritage Museum

Ziraat Bank Museum

Hacettepe Art Museum

MKE Sanayi ve Teknoloji Müzesi

Ankara Atatürk House Museum

Hamiye Çolakoğlu Ceramic Museum

Cin Ali Museum

CerModern

Mother Museum

Mustafa Ayaz Müzesi ve Kültür Merkezi

Haritacılık Museum

Atlas Sanat Galerisi

Landmarks & architecture

Atakule

Ankara Castle

Çankaya Mansion

Kızılay Meydanı

Ulus Square

Zafer Square

Estergon Castle (Ankara)

Opera Square

Anadolu Square

Atatürk Republic Tower

Akkale

St. Petersburg Square

Monuments & memorials

Anıtkabir

Hittite Sun Course Monument

Güvenlik Monument

Korean Park

Marshal Atatürk Monument

METU Atatürk Monument

Mithat Pasha Statue

Atatürk and the Youth Monument

Sarı Kız by Selim Turan

Atatürk Monument

Nursultan Nazarbayev Monument, Ankara

15 July Martyrs' Monument

Monument of Gendarmerie General Command

Uğur Mumcu's House

Can Yücel

İhsan Doğramacı Statue

Places of worship

Kocatepe Mosque

Temple of Augustus in Ankara

Aslanhane Mosque

Hacı Bayram Mosque

Maltepe Mosque

Melike Hatun Mosque

St. Teresa Catholic Church, Ankara

Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque

Ankara Synagogue

Sultan Alaeddin Mosque

Karacabey Mosque

Beştepe People's Mosque