Behind the longest sandy beach in the world lie the ruins of a city over 3000 years old. Patara Ancient City is one of the most important cities of Lycia. Patara beach is one of the beaches where Mediterranean turtles Caretta-Caretta have laid their eggs and hatched for millions of years (they also spawn on the beach of Dalyan Iztuzu, which can be considered close to here). The area where the ancient city is located had a port in ancient times, but the port became unusable as alluvium filled the port. For this reason, the city is far from the sea coast. You can visit the ancient city with a museum card. Walking in hot weather can be a bit difficult as the area is large. Carry equipment with you to protect yourself from the sun. You can also see historical artifacts among the trees behind the theater. There are hundreds of historical artifacts in a fairly large area. If you want to stay here for a long time and see everything, you should prefer to visit in spring or autumn instead of going in the heat of summer. After visiting the ancient city, you can continue to the beach and enjoy the sea. There are also ancient ruins of the cities of Xanthos and Letoon near here. you should see them too. When you continue towards the sea from the ruins of Letoon, you come to the point where the blowing river meets the sea. This is a great spot where you can take very interesting photos. One of the most magnificent ruins in Patara is the Roman Triumphal Arch. Triumphal Arch, M.S. It was built at the end of the 1st century. Among the ruins that can be seen towards the hill are the Byzantine basilica and sanctuaries. The theater is on the slope of the hill. There is a large cistern and a mausoleum on the hill where the theater leans. The lighthouse built by the Roman emperor Nero is also located here. This lighthouse is considered one of the oldest lighthouses in history. Since the lighthouse was destroyed, only its remains are present. As a result of the restoration, the lighthouse will be able to be visited again. You can visit this ancient city until 20:30 in the evening in summer. Visiting hours vary according to the season. The visit period ends at 17:30 during the winter months.

Great place for a visit if you like historical stones. Council hall restoration is great and can give you nice example of the ancient Likian life.

Utterly fantastic archeological site. It is absolutely massive and you could easily spend a whole day here. Little staff/security and they allow you to get right up close to everything. The place is in incredible condition, you can almost picture yourself in ancient times. I implore everyone to make this a priority visit, you will not be disappointed. It is also walking distance to the most incredible beach in the world.

You will find some interesting ruins, columns, and two amphitheaters in good condition, all more than 2000 years old. Also you can climb up a hill and see the beautiful Patara beach from there. There is an entrance fee, but after that you can park for free and visit both the ancient site and the beach. There is not much shadow, so come prepared.

The ruins are nice, there are better ones out there to visit. The beach is impressive, I would like to have been able use the beach but our timing was not the best. Visited in March 3btraveler

Very beautiful place with money invested to maintain such prestigious historical venues. Was 140tl for two including beach access, ruins and car parking. Thoroughly enjoyable day out to witness some history before transitioning to some relaxing beach time with a clear ocean and sandy shores.

Patara is not to be missed, it’s a must see along with other local historical sites. It does cost money to enter but we purchased a Turkish Museum Pass and we’re easily able to use this to enter. They have multiple restored areas, including a long city street, as well as areas that appeared to be theaters or areas where gladiator fights would have happened. It’s apparent they are also renovating other areas and you can also see remote ruins buried deep in a swamp. There are a few signs that describe areas but it is indeed lacking additional information about all the spaces you enter. So, you may want to do a bit of reading before entering but it’s still worth the visit. There is also a paved parking lot, drink vendor, bathrooms, and lighted walking paths.

Extra beautiful 🥰

Turkish: Patara, Greek: Πάταρα, was an ancient and flourishing maritime and commercial city, and for a period the capital of Lycia. The site is located on the Turkish coast near to the village of Gelemiş, in Antalya Province.The theatre was rebuilt in 147 AD after an earthquake. its diameter is 265 feet, and held about 6000 spectators.

A nice archaeological site to visit. This site, part of an ancient civilization, has been excavated and preserved by archaeologists and is in an impressive condition. It is an absolute necessity to go for all sight-seers. My visit dates back to 2018.

Only 400m from Patara Beach, so both the beach and the ancient city can be your full day excursion. We enjoyed the beach until late and visited the ancient city afterwards. This was a good idea as it allowed to enjoy the sunset and the heat more was moderate. Entrance to city is allowed until 8PM.

As a lover of ruins, I was in heaven. Ended up wandering around for three hours. There's a lot of substantial remains to visit besides the obvious theatre, all spread over a wide area. The information boards provide good background info. Entry fee is very reasonable at 40tl.

This place is interesting if you are a history fan. I am not, still found it fun. The ancient city was quite big, but not much has left. The ancient theatre, columns, ancient bath and a few more buildings. The lighthouse was on reconstruction. Beware of snakes near the gulf.

Amazing place! A lot of ancient buildings and places to visit. What my wife and I was most fascinated was the theatre and the ancient ark. The ark is situated on the right side of the road, near the entrance to the city. There is a model of an ancient ship next to the main forum. The whole tour of the city of Patara takes about two hours (if you enjoy taking photos, sit and relax amongst the ancient history).

A wonderful place to visit. The history is so interesting, the landscape beautiful and the archaeological work done totally admirable. Well worth a visit especially if you're a history fiend!

The ruins of this old port are nice and definitely worth a visit. We went off season and during the week, so there was basically nobody which was very nice. After the 3 main attractions there a numerous ruins spread all over the area, so if you have time you can just wander around and imagine how the place used to be 2000 years ago. Approved by @tamocross - follow me on Instagram for more pictures! 😁

Impressive and definitely worth to spend quality time here. Make sure to go either early morning or late afternoon during summer. Cafe should have reasonable prices and extensive gift options and the toilets should have soap (cannot believe we still talk about this).

The two star I am leaving is not for the city itself. The ancient city deserves 10 stars. The two stars I am leaving is for the local government and ministry that is operating this place. There are no signs or what so ever to explain what a particular part of the city was. There is trash all over the place and I am almost entirely certain that it’s the Turkish people’s doing because I observed how they treat the place just and why they come to the place ( Instagram shots ). Part of the city literally had a mud pool and I just can’t bring myself to believe that the people who are responsible of taking care of this gem let things go this far. How do you even sleep at night?

Nicely preserved buildings and some conservative reconstruction.

Nice Roman area settlement in support of seatrade to this part of the empire. The estuary harbor has long since been silted up by the impressive encroaching sand dunes. Entrance to the site as well as adjoining beach is through a single gate on the road leading to the complex. The entrance price covers both the Roman site as well as parking and access for the beach. Site is nicely laid out with some well restored buildings. The crane next to the lighthouse under restoration is a bit of an eyesore, hopefully this will quickly disappear once finished.

The entrance fee is a bit high (30tl) but once you get inside you'll understand why. They are using this money in order to iluminate the entire place, so that it can also be visited at night (now it closes at 9pm). The entrance also covers the beach.

Both the ruins and the beach were worth the excursion from Kalkan. Beautiful and fascinating. We checked out the ruins first then went to the beach for lunch and a stroll. It made for a lovely day!

The best one after Ephesus i think. Wide are with so much building. First known parliament on the earth is here. A replica ship there which was sailing through canals. Must visit. Amazing amphitheater.

With Ikamet the ticket cost was about 60 TL, but without it about 750 TL. Despite the lack of a document, I advise you to visit at full cost, since such places are quite unique. If you are traveling in high season, be prepared that the water will not be so blue. Take sunglasses with you, without them it was hard, everything reflects the light with almost no loss of brightness.

Contains a parliament and a theatre from Romans. Lycians were there before them.

It was lovely to see the small part of History how Lucian people use live , how they built the incredible building which are still available to see after how many centuries. Even they had a justice building ⚖️ with Jury in that times.I think even the Appolon was born between this Palm 🌴 which you can see in the pictures. Rellly recommend that place for visit before to go to the beach 🏖️⛱️ side. It's a bit walking but definitely worth.

Due to the restoration works we were not able to visit the rest of the track and we were not able to see the lighthouse. Besides that the ancient buildings are well maintained and worth a visit.

Nice walkway and beautiful ruins.

A most excellently recovered and restored ancient city site. You really get a feel for what the place was. Stop by the center first adjacent to the parking lot for a model view of the area. Then make your way to to the theaters and harbor avenue. Depending on your interest it’s good for an hour or a day of exploring.

A smooth, sandy 23 mile beach. The beach is big enough to reduce crowds, and has changing areas, water closets, and a good but simple self service cafe. The menu was simple and good, with prompt hot food delivered. The price for lounges and umbrellas were reasonable. The beach itself is shallow, with a very gradual sinking into the sea, rare on this sharp rocky coast. Perhaps my favorite Turkish beach to date.