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Bursa
City in Bursa province in western Turkey

Bursa

Bursa is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province.

Plan a trip to Bursa→From Pendik, Istanbul

It is the fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region after Istanbul. According to 2025 end of year estimate, the province has a population of 3,263,011 while Bursa city has a population of around 2.5 million. Bursa is one of the centers of Turkey's automotive production, becoming an industrial center of the country. The city provides various places of interest.

Get in

Getting to Bursa

International visitors usually arrive via one of the Istanbul airports. Sabiha Gökçen (SAW IATA) the Asia-side airport has many European and domestic flights. Burulaş Bus runs hourly to Bursa Otogar taking 90 min, single 70 TL. You're looking for the yellow bus outside Arrivals. Istanbul Airport (IST IATA) is Europe-side.

  1. 01
    Yenişehir Airport

    Anadolu Jet fly to Bursa from the eastern cities of Trabzon, Diyarbakır, Erzurum and Muş, but in 2021 / 22 many flights are suspended.

  2. 02
    Bursa

    From Istanbul follow E80 / O5 east, which sweeps round in an arc over Osmangazi Bridge then southwest.

  3. 03
    Bursa Otobüs Terminali is

    It's a large modern place that feels like an airport, with ticket kiosks and cafes.

See

Worth seeing

Most museums are branches of Bursa Müze and are free, but closed Monday.

  1. 01
    Grand Mosque

    This was built by Sultan Beyazid and completed in 1399.

  2. 02
    Orhan Mosque
  3. 03
    Irgandı Bridge
  4. 04
    Green Mosque

    This mosque was built 1419 to 1424 at the behest of Sultan Mehmed I Çelebi, who re-united the Ottomans after their fratricidal wars.

  5. 05
    Emir Sultan Mosque was built

    Emir Sultan (Şemseddin Mehmed Ali el-Hüseyin el Buhari) was a scholar and advisor to Sultan Bayezid I and his mausoleum is here.

Do

Things to do

Hamams: The hamam/thermal baths are a staple of Turkish culture, and some of the best and most storied ones in the entire country can be found in Bursa. The fault line that runs beneath the city is a source of geothermal mineral springs, which emerge in the western district of Çekirge. Most flow at 80°C and are heavily charged with sulphur and iron.

Eat

Where to eat

Bursa is widely considered the birthplace of döner kebap, a vertically-rotated column of stacked lamb meat cut into thin, juicy slices that is about as iconic as pizza or sushi worldwide. By far the best-known local specialty is the İskender kebap, an indulgent dish featuring cuts of finely roasted döner meat and rich tomato sauce on a bed of broth-soaked pita bread, topped with yogurt and sizzling butter.

  1. 01
    İskender Tarihi Ahşap Dükkan

    This is the original of what's become a chain: İskender Efendi invented his style of kebab in Bursa in the 19th century.

  2. 02
    Kebapçı İskender
  3. 03
    Çiçek Izgara

    A grill restaurant beloved by locals and best known for its meatballs, has been around forever.

  4. 04
    Ulu Hünkar Köşkü

    26 (just north and opposite the imperial gate).

  5. 05
    Kitap Evi

    Burçüstü Sk 21, Kavaklı (up the steps south of the imperial gate).

How locals move

Getting around Bursa the local way

  • Get inIts flight connections are global, but you'll have to travel into city centre to find a bus or ferry onward.
  • Get inIn any case, given the distance of the airport, and its poor connections with the city, it might be easier to fly to either of Istanbul's airports then take the bus or ferry onward.
  • Get inNo point using this route for Istanbul as the ferry or direct bus is quicker.
  • Get inYou could save some distance but no time by taking the ferry from Pendik to Yalova.
  • Get inA very popular option among locals and tourists alike is to take the ferry across the Marmara Sea from various locations in Istanbul to Mudanya and Güzelyalı, not far from the city of Bursa.
  • Get inİDO ferries sail five times a day from Istanbul: they start from Kabataş and pick up from Kadıköy then Yenikapı - this is just south of Sultanahmet and likely to be the most convenient for international travellers.
  • Get inBUDO ferries sail five times a day from Istanbul Eminonu pier and take just under two hours to Mudanya (similar fares to İDO).
  • Get inSee Yalova for another ferry route from Istanbul.

From Wikivoyage: Bursa, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.