Photo: CeeGee (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Eskişehir is a student city on the banks of the Porsuk River and Türkiye's first high-speed-train city, known for the Odunpazarı houses on UNESCO's Tentative List, the Odunpazarı Modern Museum designed by Kengo Kuma, the 17-metre Midas Monument in the Phrygian Valley, Pessinus, the centre of the Cybele cult, the Sivrihisar Grand Mosque, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023, and the land where Nasreddin Hoca was born. Meerschaum (lületaşı), çibörek and met helvası are registered products.
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15 places worth seeing in Eskişehir, from historic monuments to natural wonders, grouped by type. Open any of them on the map with a single click.
Photo: CeeGee (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source The historic quarter on the hills where the city first grew up; with its winding streets and colourful timber houses with bay windows, it preserves the Ottoman urban fabric and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since 2012. Many of the houses are now museums, workshops or cafés.
View on mapA Byzantine castle on a plateau at 1,010 metres, south-west of the city near the Porsuk River; it is counted among the first castles conquered by the Ottoman Beylik.
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Photo: Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A 17-metre Phrygian cult façade carved into the rock around 600 BC in the Yazılıkaya neighbourhood of the Han district; the name Midas appears in the Phrygian inscriptions. On the rock plateau behind it are altars, stairways and tunnels. It is the most impressive monument of the Phrygian Valley.
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Photo: Mark Landon (CC BY 4.0) · Source A Phrygian and Roman city in the village of Ballıhisar, south of Sivrihisar, and the most important place of worship of the mother goddess Cybele. The sacred black stone of the goddess, thought to be a meteorite, was taken to Rome in 204 BC. The foundations of the temple from the time of Augustus can be seen.
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Photo: KGKUCUK (CC BY 3.0) · Source The Seljuk tomb (kümbet) in the middle of Kümbet village in Seyitgazi, and the Phrygian rock tombs with lion reliefs around it; one of the important stops on the Phrygian Valley route.
View on mapUnderground galleries carved into the rock in the Han district, with rooms and corridors linked to water channels; the rooms have sarcophagus and rosette decoration. The first excavations took place in 1992–1993.
View on mapA mound north-east of the city, now surrounded by a neighbourhood, and the first settlement of Eskişehir. Excavations under way since 1989 have uncovered layers from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period.
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Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A complex of mosque, soup kitchen, caravanserai and madrasa built by Çoban Mustafa Paşa in 1525; its caravanserai is counted among the works of Mimar Sinan. Part of the complex is now the Meerschaum Museum and handicraft workshops.
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Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A Seljuk mosque built in 1232 and given its present form in 1274, with a roof carried by 67 timber columns; it is famous for its carved wooden capitals and painted decoration (kalem işi). In 2023 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the "Medieval Anatolian Hypostyle Mosques with Wooden Supports".
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Photo: Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A complex of tomb, mosque, madrasa and dervish lodge at Seyitgazi, on the slope of Üçler Tepesi, founded in the name of the legendary hero Seyyid Battal Gazi, believed to have fallen as a martyr in the Umayyad raids; it was expanded in the Seljuk and Ottoman periods.
View on mapA tomb in the Sarıköy (Yunus Emre) neighbourhood of Mihalıççık, traditionally regarded as the place where Yunus Emre lived and was buried; graves attributed to Yunus Emre are also found in other parts of Anatolia.
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Photo: Honacan (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A contemporary art museum designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma with stacked timber beams, inspired by Odunpazarı's past as a wood market; it opened on 7 September 2019 with the collection of Erol Tabanca, an architect and collector from Eskişehir.
View on mapA museum inside the Kurşunlu Complex displaying pipes, jewellery and figurines carved from meerschaum (lületaşı).
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Photo: Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source The banks of the Porsuk River, which divides the city centre in two, have been landscaped with bridges, walking paths and cafés; gondola and boat tours run on the river.
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Photo: Honacan (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source A park of 400,000 square metres with a fairy-tale castle, a pirate ship, a pond, a steam miniature train, a zoo and a science centre; it is the city's most popular stop, especially for families with children.
View on mapEskişehir lies in the north-west of Central Anatolia, on a broad plain divided in two by the Porsuk River. The origins of the city go back to ancient Dorylaion at Şarhöyük, north-east of today’s city, where layers from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period are being excavated. From the 12th century BC the region was the heart of the Phrygian civilisation: Yazılıkaya (Midas City) in the Han district and Pessinus near Sivrihisar were among the most important Phrygian cult centres.
Known as Sultanönü in the Seljuk period, the region was the scene of battles with the Crusader armies. Because of its closeness to Söğüt, it was one of the first areas conquered by the Ottoman Beylik: Karacahisar Castle is counted among the first castles taken by Osman Bey. From the Ottoman period, the Kurşunlu Complex (1525) and the bay-windowed houses of Odunpazarı survive. The Anatolian railway, which arrived in 1894, turned the city into a junction and an industrial centre. Three of the five great pitched battles of the War of Independence – the First and Second Battles of İnönü and the Battles of Kütahya–Eskişehir – were fought on Eskişehir’s soil.
Today Eskişehir has a large student population at Anadolu, Osmangazi and Eskişehir Technical universities, gondola and boat tours along the Porsuk, a tram network running since 2004 and a lively café and cultural scene. Türkiye’s first high-speed rail line opened between Ankara and Eskişehir in 2009. The world’s finest meerschaum (lületaşı) deposits are also here.
Eskişehir has a continental climate: winters are cold, summers hot and dry, and rainfall is low. Averages for 1991–2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service:
| Month | Avg. high | Avg. low | Rainfall | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.4 °C | −3.7 °C | 33 mm | 8 |
| February | 7.2 °C | −3.4 °C | 28 mm | 8 |
| March | 12.1 °C | −0.8 °C | 30 mm | 8 |
| April | 17.3 °C | 3.2 °C | 44 mm | 7 |
| May | 22.3 °C | 7.3 °C | 42 mm | 6 |
| June | 26.8 °C | 11.3 °C | 24 mm | 4 |
| July | 30.0 °C | 13.8 °C | 15 mm | 2 |
| August | 30.3 °C | 13.8 °C | 11 mm | 2 |
| September | 26.1 °C | 9.3 °C | 17 mm | 3 |
| October | 20.3 °C | 5.0 °C | 35 mm | 6 |
| November | 12.9 °C | 0.3 °C | 33 mm | 6 |
| December | 6.6 °C | −1.6 °C | 42 mm | 8 |
April to June and September to October are ideal for the city and the Phrygian Valley. Summer days are hot but the nights are cool; when walking in the unshaded areas of the Phrygian Valley, avoid the hours around midday. In winter the Porsuk riverside and Odunpazarı take on a different beauty under snow, though roads in the countryside may be icy.
By high-speed train: Eskişehir is at the centre of the YHT network: it takes about 1.5 hours from Ankara and about 2.5–3 hours from Istanbul (Pendik/Söğütlüçeşme); services to Konya and Karaman also pass through Eskişehir. The historic Eskişehir Station (1894) is in the city centre.
By air: Hasan Polatkan Airport belongs to Eskişehir Technical University and has limited scheduled services. In practice most passengers fly to Ankara Esenboğa or the Istanbul airports and continue by high-speed train.
By road: Eskişehir is at the junction of the roads to Ankara (about 235 km), Bursa (about 150 km), Kütahya (about 80 km) and Afyonkarahisar. Within the city there is an extensive tram (Estram) and bus network.
Day 1 – The city centre: In the morning, the Odunpazarı houses, the Kurşunlu Complex and the Meerschaum Museum; çibörek for lunch. In the afternoon, the Odunpazarı Modern Museum; in the early evening, a gondola or boat tour on the Porsuk and met helvası.
Day 2 – The Phrygian Valley: The Seyyid Battal Gazi Complex at Seyitgazi, then Kümbet and the rock steps of the Midas Monument and Midas City at Yazılıkaya. Han Underground City on the way back.
Day 3 – Sivrihisar: The Grand Mosque with its timber columns, the narrow streets of stone houses and Nasreddin Hoca’s village; in the afternoon, Pessinus at Ballıhisar.
Eskişehir cuisine has been shaped above all by Crimean Tatar immigrants. The symbol of the city is Eskişehir çiğböreği (çibörek), a thin-doughed, minced-meat pastry fried in hot oil. Another registered delicacy is Eskişehir met helvası: similar to pişmaniye but harder and more fibrous, this halva takes its name from the game of met played on long winter nights, in which the losing side would pull the halva. Eskişehir simidi is also registered.
Sivrihisar’s cuisine is rich in its own right: Sivrihisar höşmerim tatlısı (cheese and semolina dessert), Sivrihisar muska baklavası (triangular baklava), Sivrihisar kelem dolması (cabbage dolma), Sivrihisar arabaşı (chicken and bread soup), Sivrihisar dövme sucuğu (pounded sausage), Sivrihisar cebesi and Sivrihisar sarkası are registered products. Kızılinler bal kabağı (Kızılinler pumpkin) is also registered. From Crimean Tatar cuisine, haşhaşlı çörek (poppy-seed bread), kaşık böreği (tatar böreği) and kıbın are also common in the city.
Meerschaum (lületaşı; sepiolite, known by its German name Meerschaum, “sea foam”) is a white, light and porous mineral extracted from deposits north and east of Eskişehir. Because it is soft when extracted, it is easily carved; the world’s most valuable meerschaum pipe masters are in Eskişehir. The export of raw stone is prohibited, and it can be sold only as a worked product. Eskişehir lületaşı (meerschaum) has a registered geographical indication. You can watch the craftsmen at work in the Meerschaum Museum in Odunpazarı and in the Atlıhan Bazaar. Sivrihisar kilimi (kilim), Sivrihisar incili küpesi (pearl earrings) and Sorkun çömleği (pottery) are also registered handicrafts.
Eskişehir province has 15 districts. Explore the places to visit, local dishes and transport in each one.
A börek with a registered geographical indication, inherited from the Crimean Tatars, filled with minced meat and fried in hot oil.
A registered halva, similar to pişmaniye but harder and more fibrous.
A simit with a registered geographical indication.
A registered dessert made with cheese, semolina and syrup.
A baklava with a registered geographical indication, shaped like a triangle (muska).
A registered dolma wrapped in cabbage leaves.
The main stops are the Odunpazarı houses, the Odunpazarı Modern Museum, the Kurşunlu Complex, the Meerschaum Museum, the Porsuk riverside, Sazova Park, the Midas Monument in the Phrygian Valley, the Seyyid Battal Gazi Complex, the Sivrihisar Grand Mosque and Pessinus.
Çibörek, met helvası, meerschaum, Sivrihisar höşmerim dessert and muska baklavası. Eskişehir is also known as a student city and for its Porsuk riverside.
It is in the Yazılıkaya neighbourhood of the Han district of Eskişehir, about 80 km from the city centre.
Yes. In 2023 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the "Medieval Anatolian Hypostyle Mosques with Wooden Supports".
About 1.5 hours. This line opened in 2009 as Türkiye's first high-speed rail line.
April to June and September to October are the best times for the city and the Phrygian Valley.
The information in this guide has been compiled from and checked against the sources below (last checked: 7 October 2026). If you spot an error, please let us know.