Peninsula Weekends
Alaçatı's stone streets
Windmills, bougainvillea and old Greek stone houses — the prettiest town on the peninsula.
Not yet checked by the Smileys team — prices and hours may have moved.
Why do it?
Alaçatı is a former Greek town of stone houses and shuttered windows that has become the Aegean's most photographed village — cobbled lanes under bougainvillea, windmills on the hill, cafés and boutiques in every doorway, and some of Türkiye's best windsurfing in the bay nearby. It's the peninsula at its most charming, and it's close enough to do on a whim.
The Smileys Take
Honesty first: in high summer it's packed and priced like it knows it. The Alaçatı we love is a weekday in spring or autumn, when the lanes are quiet and the light on the stone is unreal — the spring herb festival is a great excuse if your timing works. Eat a kumru, the Çeşme area's famous grilled sandwich, and wander without a route. Go to Çeşme town and the coast while you're out there.
Explore nearby
Do it with people
Nothing is scheduled around this in Izmir yet. When a host plans it, it shows here — the calendar and hangouts are the places to look meanwhile.
More like this
There's always more Izmir.