Photo: Girtab2828 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Giresun is the capital of hazelnuts, known for Giresun Island, one of the two Black Sea islands belonging to Türkiye and the island of the Amazon legend; the Aksu Festival, celebrated every 20 May; a Hellenistic castle; the 19th-century mansions of the hazelnut merchants in Zeytinlik; the Kümbet and Bektaş highland pastures; the travertine Kuzalan Blue Lake; and Şebinkarahisar Castle on its basalt rock. Giresun tombul hazelnuts and Görele ice cream are registered products.
Last updated:
11 places worth seeing in Giresun, from historic monuments to natural wonders, grouped by type. Open any of them on the map with a single click.
Photo: Beyoglou (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A castle on the top of the peninsula north of the city, probably built in the time of Pharnaces I, King of Pontus (2nd century BC); its central tower and southern walls still stand. The area around it is now Kale Park (Castle Park) and is the best viewpoint in the city.
View on map
Photo: Girtab2828 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A historic neighbourhood at the foot of the castle with mansions built in the mid-19th century by merchants selling hazelnuts to Europe, using materials brought from Europe; the houses are placed so as not to block one another's light or views.
View on map
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A castle with an inner and an outer fortress on the basalt rock (Hacıkayası) above the district centre; it is known to have been repaired in 1184 by the Mengujekid ruler Fahreddin Behramşah. Its rock-cut stairs and cisterns are impressive.
View on map
Photo: Elelicht (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source The Sen Jan (St John) castle on a rock jutting into the sea in the centre of Tirebolu; the town's ancient name is Tripolis. It contains Ottoman-period remains and a cannon.
View on map
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source The ruins of a stone church on a wooded slope in the village of Çakrak in Alucra.
View on mapA tomb and mosque in the centre of Giresun built in the name of Seyyid Vakkas, believed to have taken part in the conquest of the city; it is one of the spiritual places most visited by local people.
View on map
Photo: Hüsamettin Alpaslan (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A basilica in Zeytinlik built in the mid-18th century by the Greek Orthodox community; it was used as a prison between 1948 and 1967 and has been an archaeology and ethnography museum since 1988.
View on map
Photo: Girtab2828 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source An island of 40,000 m², about 1.6 km off the coast; together with Kefken Island it is one of the two islands in the Black Sea belonging to Türkiye. In ancient sources it appears as the island of Aretias, home of the Amazons and a temple of Ares; with its laurel trees and colonies of cormorants and gulls it is a natural protected site. In summer it is reached by boat.
View on map
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source An area at Dereli, 45 km from Giresun, declared a nature park in 2013; its five turquoise lakes with travertine steps formed by the Göksu Stream, the largest 30 metres across, recall Pamukkale. The nearby Kuzalan Waterfall is also part of the park.
View on map
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A highland pasture at Dereli, 52 km south of Giresun, at an altitude of 1,640 metres; together with the surrounding summer settlements (oba) it is known for camping, hiking and highland festivals. There are accommodation facilities.
View on map
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source At Dereli, at an altitude of 2,100 metres, one of the busiest highland pastures of the Eastern Black Sea; in summer it serves as the marketplace of the surrounding villages. It is said to have taken its name from the Çepni Turkmens, in honour of the memory of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli.
View on mapGiresun lies at the western end of the Eastern Black Sea, on and around a peninsula that juts into the sea. Its name in antiquity was Kerasus (Greek Kerasounta); it is believed to have been refounded as Pharnakeia in the time of Pharnaces I, King of Pontus. According to tradition, the Roman general Lucullus took the cherry from here to Europe in the 1st century BC, and the name of the fruit in many languages (cherry, cerise, kiraz) derives from the name of the city.
Giresun Castle on the top of the peninsula dates from the Hellenistic period; in the time of the Empire of Trebizond it became a border fortress against the Turks, and it passed to the Ottomans in 1461 when Mehmed the Conqueror took Trabzon. In the 19th century, as the city grew rich on the hazelnut trade, merchants had mansions built in the Zeytinlik neighbourhood at the foot of the castle with materials brought from Europe. Giresun became a province in 1923.
Today Giresun’s name is most closely associated with hazelnuts: Türkiye meets a large share of the world’s hazelnut production, and Giresun tombul hazelnuts are regarded as one of the highest-quality varieties; they were among the first products in Türkiye to receive geographical indication registration. Tea is also grown in the eastern districts of the province. Giresun Island, about 1.6 km off the coast, is, together with Kefken Island, one of the two Black Sea islands belonging to Türkiye. Şebinkarahisar and Alucra in the south, which lie behind the Black Sea mountains, are closer to Central Anatolia in climate and culture.
Giresun has a mild Black Sea climate with rain in every season. Averages for 1929–2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service:
| Month | Avg. high | Avg. low | Rainfall | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10.7 °C | 4.8 °C | 128 mm | 15 |
| February | 10.7 °C | 4.5 °C | 101 mm | 14 |
| March | 11.9 °C | 5.4 °C | 99 mm | 16 |
| April | 15.1 °C | 8.5 °C | 76 mm | 15 |
| May | 19.0 °C | 12.8 °C | 69 mm | 14 |
| June | 23.6 °C | 17.2 °C | 77 mm | 12 |
| July | 26.2 °C | 19.9 °C | 81 mm | 11 |
| August | 26.7 °C | 20.4 °C | 89 mm | 11 |
| September | 23.7 °C | 17.4 °C | 130 mm | 12 |
| October | 20.0 °C | 13.8 °C | 163 mm | 14 |
| November | 16.4 °C | 10.2 °C | 151 mm | 13 |
| December | 13.0 °C | 7.0 °C | 127 mm | 14 |
The best time to visit is June to September. The highland pastures can only be fully visited from June to September; the highland festivals at Kümbet and Bektaş are held in July–August. The Aksu Festival on 20 May and the hazelnut harvest in late August are the liveliest times in the city. Autumn is the rainiest season; the chance of rain is high in October. Winters are mild on the coast but very snowy on the highland pastures.
By air: Ordu-Giresun Airport lies between the Piraziz district of Giresun and the Gülyalı district of Ordu and was built on land reclaimed from the sea; opened in 2015, it is the first airport in Türkiye built on the sea. It is about 30–35 km from the centre of Giresun. Trabzon Airport is also about 130 km to the east.
By road: Giresun is on the Samsun–Ordu–Giresun–Trabzon coastal road: it is about 45 km from Ordu and about 130 km from Trabzon. Şebinkarahisar and Sivas are reached over the Eğribel Pass. There is no railway in the province.
Day 1 – The city centre: In the morning, look out over the Black Sea and the island from Kale Park, then visit the mansions of Zeytinlik and Giresun Museum. In the afternoon, in summer, take the boat across to Giresun Island; in the evening, a walk along the coastal road and hazelnut desserts.
Day 2 – Dereli and the highland pastures: The travertines of Kuzalan Waterfall and Blue Lake, then an overnight stay on Kümbet Plateau at 1,640 metres or Bektaş Plateau at 2,100 metres.
Day 3 – The eastern coast: From Keşap and Espiye to Tirebolu Castle; ice cream in Görele on the way back.
Alternative – Şebinkarahisar: A one-day route over the Eğribel Pass to Şebinkarahisar Castle and Alucra, leading into Central Anatolian scenery.
The foundation of Giresun cuisine is hazelnuts, maize, black cabbage and anchovies. The registered products are: Giresun tombul hazelnuts, Giresun sivri hazelnuts (pointed hazelnuts) and Giresun kalınkara hazelnuts (Giresun karası), Giresun hazelnut paste and Giresun fındık ezmeli kadayıf tatlısı (kadayıf with hazelnut paste), Giresun ısırganı (Giresun nettle), Görele ice cream, Çavuşlu bread, Piraziz apples, Şebinkarahisar black mulberries, Çamoluk sugar beans and Alucra kid kebab.
Local flavours include black cabbage rolls and soup, nettle soup, cornbread, anchovy pilaf, kuymak (mıhlama, a cheese and cornmeal dish), hazelnut baklava and Giresun pidesi. In the southern districts the cuisine moves closer to Central Anatolia: kid kebab in Alucra and mulberry molasses and fruit leather (pestil) in Şebinkarahisar stand out.
The Aksu Festival is a spring festival that falls on 7 May in the Rumi calendar and 20 May in the Gregorian calendar: people gather where the Aksu Stream flows into the sea, make wishes, circle Giresun Island by boat and throw pebbles into the sea. The horon and kemençe are indispensable in the coastal districts, and the drum and zurna on the highland pastures. The Tamzara weaving woven in the village of Tamzara in Şebinkarahisar is registered as a geographical indication.
Giresun province has 16 districts. Explore the places to visit, local dishes and transport in each one.
A kadayıf dessert made with hazelnut paste, registered as a geographical indication.
Ice cream registered as a geographical indication.
A kid-meat kebab registered as a geographical indication.
A bread specific to the town of Çavuşlu in Görele, registered as a geographical indication.
An indispensable local dish of Black Sea cuisine.
The main stops are Giresun Island, Giresun Castle and Kale Park, Zeytinlik, Giresun Museum, Kuzalan Nature Park and Blue Lake, the Kümbet and Bektaş highland pastures, Tirebolu Castle and Şebinkarahisar Castle.
In summer, when sea conditions allow, it is reached by boats leaving from Giresun harbour. The island is about 1.6 km from the coast.
It is celebrated every year on 20 May (7 May in the Rumi calendar); people make wishes and boats circle the island.
Hazelnuts (above all tombul hazelnuts), hazelnut paste, hazelnut desserts, Görele ice cream, black cabbage dishes and highland pastures.
According to tradition, the Roman general Lucullus took the cherry from ancient Kerasus (Giresun) to Europe, and the name of the fruit in many languages derives from this city.
June to September is the best time. The highland pastures are open in these months; the Aksu Festival on 20 May and the hazelnut harvest in late August are also of interest.
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.