Side
An ancient city with a working resort town built through the middle of it. Your group is not competing with other tours here; it is competing with shops, traffic and a beach.
- Location
- Manavgat, Antalya
- Type
- Ancient city
- Typical visit
- 2 h
- Walking time
- 1 h 10 min
- Coordinates
- 36.7692, 31.3935
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Side sits on a small peninsula and the modern town sits on top of it. The theatre, the agoras and the Temple of Apollo are all still there, and so are the shops, the restaurants and the beach.
That mix is what makes Side unusual and it is also what makes it hard. On most sites the walls set the boundary of the visit; here there is no boundary, and the group is inside a town the whole time.
The distances are small and the distractions are not
From the theatre to the Temple of Apollo at the tip is about 550 m along the main street. The state agora is 253 m east of the theatre, and the museum is 118 m from it.
So the walking is nothing. What eats the time is that every 50 m of that route has something in it competing for the group's attention, and once people stop to look at a shop window the group is no longer a group.
The temple is a sunset stop or it is nothing special
The Temple of Apollo is a re-erected corner of five columns on a low platform by the sea. In flat midday light it is a small ruin and the group will say so.
An hour before sunset it is one of the best-known views on the Mediterranean coast, and everybody knows it -- so does every other guide. If you want the group to have it, arrive before the crowd rather than with it, and say what you have to say on the way rather than at the columns.
Practical notes
- Theatre to the temple is about 550 m along the main street.
- The state agora is 253 m from the theatre; the museum 118 m.
- As listed by the Ministry on 6 October 2026, the theatre is closed to visitors for restoration.
- The peninsula is pedestrianised, so vehicles stop at the entrance.
- The temple is a sunset stop; in flat light it disappoints.
- Side is not UNESCO-inscribed.
Walking order
The order we use, with the time each stop takes at a normal group pace.
Temple of Apollo
The re-erected columns at the tip of the peninsula.
The theatre
The large theatre beside the museum, on the main street. As listed by the Ministry on 6 October 2026, it is closed to visitors for restoration.
The state agora
The administrative square on the east side of the peninsula.
3 stops · 1 h 10 min
36.7692, 31.3935
Coordinates are for orientation, not for navigation.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes for guides
What a guide needs to know before standing in front of a group here. Written from our own field work; where we have not verified something, it is not listed.
- CrowdsYour competition here is shopfronts, not other tours. A group that stops once to look in a window has to be collected again, so name the next stopping point before you move.
- Being heardAn open street in a working town: traffic, music from restaurants and other people's conversation. This is street noise, not site acoustics, and it does not drop at any point on the route.
- TimingArrive at the temple before the sunset crowd rather than in it, and narrate on the way there. At the columns nobody is listening.
- RouteTheatre, state agora, then the temple at the tip. The walking is short; it is the stopping that costs time.
- TipThe museum is 118 m from the theatre and it is indoors. On a hot afternoon it is the only place on the peninsula where the group can regroup out of the sun.
Photographs
Photo: Prodronemovie (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Mehmety11maz (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Common questions
- How long does a group need at Side?
- About two hours. The distances are short -- 550 m from the theatre to the temple -- but the town constantly interrupts the walk.
- What makes Side harder to guide than other ancient cities?
- There is no boundary between the site and the town. The group walks past shops, restaurants and traffic the whole time, so the competition for attention is continuous rather than occasional.
- When should a group see the Temple of Apollo?
- Late afternoon. In flat midday light it is a small re-erected corner of five columns; an hour before sunset it is one of the best-known views on the coast. Arrive ahead of the crowd, not with it.
- Is Side a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
- No, Side is not on the World Heritage List.
Related articles
Sources
Facts on this page come from the sources below. Photographs are credited individually.
- Wikidata Q152405wikidata.org
- OpenStreetMap, Side (durak koordinatlari)openstreetmap.org
- T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı, Side Örenyeri (İngilizce sayfa: tiyatro restorasyon nedeniyle kapalı; durum 6 Ekim 2026'da kontrol edildi)muze.gov.tr
- Turkish Museums, Antalya Side Örenyeri (tiyatro 29 Kasım 2024'ten beri restorasyon nedeniyle kapalı)turkishmuseums.com
