The renowned travel guide Lonely Planet suggests visiting Urla, the lovely neighbourhood in İzmir located along Türkiye’s Aegean coast, in its «Best in Travel 2024» list. This Michelin-rated gastronomic oasis, known for its vineyards and farm-to-table restaurants, offers cobblestone streets, stone houses with bay windows, and luxurious and comfortable boutique hotels. Visiting this beautiful town gives its guests the chance to discover nature, history, culture, and gastronomy all together. Here are 5 reasons to explore this picturesque Aegean town…
Dine in Michelin-rated restaurants
Living the good life in Urla includes savouring the area’s delectable olive oils, luscious Aegean flavours, and delicious Urla wines. In recent years, innovative chefs have established restaurants that showcase the glorious bounty of these fertile lands, creating a regional farm-to-table miracle with sustainable production methods. This success drew the attention of Michelin inspectors, earning Urla a total of six Michelin Guide stars for 2024. In addition to the traditional star-winning establishments, this tiny district is home to three restaurants with Green Star and Sommelier awards.
Sample Urla Wines
Urla’s mild climate is ideal for viticulture. In ancient times, the wines produced in the area were put in amphorae and sent to the Western Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. Urla is still an attractive wine destination with a continuously developing viticulture. For this reason, Urla hosts the annual Vintage Festival, which is held at the end of August. Along the Urla vineyard route, you’ll discover delicious wines from grape varieties such as Urla Karası, Foça Karası and Gaydura; these varieties are unique to the region and have started to be produced again in local boutique wineries.
Discover the Olive Routes
Urla is located in Türkiye’s most fertile geography, and the olives grown in the region have brought abundance and richness to our tables for thousands of years. Home to centuries-old olive trees, the area is part of a region known for its olive production and culture since antiquity. In fact, the world’s oldest olive oil workshop can be found in Klazomenai, an ancient settlement of Urla. You can participate in olive oil tastings, explore Urla’s olive routes, and learn even more about the story of olives in Anatolia at the Köstem Olive Oil Museum in the district centre.
Enjoy the sunny and warm Aegean winter
Urla has beautiful bays and crystal blue waters. Glamorous and timeless, Urla is also a favourite winter getaway thanks to a sunny, warm Aegean climate that inspires leisurely strolls along picturesque streets or through beautiful green landscapes. Exploring the town’s lovely squares or taking a break at an outdoor café shaded by centuries-old plane trees are both favourite activities in the area. In addition, visitors can shop for handmade products in village markets.
Travel through the history of civilisations
Urla, a breathtakingly beautiful coastal town, stands out for its historical richness. Just an hour’s drive from Urla is the ancient city of Ephesus, housing the Temple of Artemis, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the impressive Library of Celsus. Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been inhabited for approximately nine thousand years, spanning prehistoric, Hellenistic, Roman, Eastern Roman, Turkish Principalities, and Ottoman periods. The area around Ephesus is also worth visiting, as it is home to unique artefacts from the Early Christian period. The region’s important holy shrines include the House of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of John, and the Cave of the Seven Sleepers.
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