Beyond the Obvious

Hamamyolu and the hot-water baths

A long pedestrian park strip over the city's hot springs, with old neighbourhood hamams on either side — the centre's everyday evening walk.

Free-ish1–3 hoursan evening walk any time; a hamam on a cold afternoon

Not yet checked by the Smileys team — prices and hours may have moved.

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Why do it?

Eskişehir sits on shallow hot water, which comes up only a few tens of metres below the street in the old Sıcaksular — 'hot waters' — area, and people have bathed in it since Roman and Byzantine times. Hamamyolu Caddesi, once called Yunak Caddesi, runs through the middle of it: today a long, traffic-free park strip with water channels, cafés and benches. Along it and in the streets around are the city's traditional bathhouses, a handful of which still draw on the thermal water, alongside the cobblers and shoe-shiners the street has always had.

The Smileys Take

Treat Hamamyolu as the walk you do without thinking about it — it's how locals cross the centre, and on a summer evening it is full of families and couples. The hamam is the interesting part: on a winter afternoon, a hot-water bath in an old neighbourhood hamam is a very Eskişehir thing to do and costs far less than a hotel spa. Men's and women's sections, hours and prices vary from bath to bath, and not every hamam on the street uses thermal water, so ask at the door before you pay. Bring flip-flops and your own towel to be safe.