Where to stay in İzmir

İzmir, known in Greek and historically known as Smyrna, is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara, and the largest metropolitan area on the Aegean Sea. It is on the Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province.

There are lots of little coves and harbours along Turkey's Aegean coast, but ancient Smyrna stood at the head of a broad inlet sheltered from winter storms, with a fertile hinterland and good inland trade routes. It suffered earthquakes and warfare, but didn't silt up and could accommodate large vessels. Thus it outgrew other ports and is now the modern bustling city of Izmir. This Smyrna was 5 km north of the present centre, in what is now the suburb of Bayraklı, and founded about 3000 BC by the Trojans.

Getting in

As of 2024 there are no ferries to Izmir beyond local services round the bay; no blame attaches to Scylla or Charybdis. See Çeşme for the ferry from Chios.

Getting around

You can explore Izmir's inner city by walking. ESHOT is the city transport combine. Its bus routes span this region, all the way for instance to Bergama. İzmirim Kart is the contactless smart card used for all modes of public transport, available from multiple locations including the airport, ferry piers, and railway and metro stations. Each use is valid for 90 min, including one interchange on tram, train and metro but not buses. In 2024 a city centre bus journey costs 8.78 TL then a first transfer is 3.50 TL.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.