Eskişehir Travel Guide - Weekend Routes

Welcome to Turkey's loveliest city! In this city, built almost from nothing, there's everything! We saw Eskişehir, considered a paradise for students, as a stopover before our trip to Van, and in 24 hours we said: on with the exploring.

First of all, thank you to Yılmaz Büyükerşen and his colleagues for giving us such a lovely city!

We chose Eskişehir as a stopover on the way to the Lake Van Express, and since we'd explored it inch by inch back in our university days, we wanted to blend all that information together and pass it on to you.

How Many Days for Eskişehir?

As you can tell from our title, Eskişehir is a wonderful weekend route of 1 night and 2 days. You can stay longer if you like. But these days nobody has lots of time. You need to do the ideal and then carry on.

How to Get to Eskişehir?

With today's growing railway network, Eskişehir has become a real railway hub. You can get there by high-speed train from Ankara or from Istanbul. There are 7 trips a day between Istanbul and Eskişehir and 12 in total between Ankara and Eskişehir. Train times change, but you can find the current services on the TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş. official website.

Istanbul - Eskişehir takes 2 hours 30 minutes; an adult ticket is 46₺ and a youth ticket 35.5₺. Ankara - Eskişehir takes 1 hour 30 minutes; an adult ticket is 20.5₺ and a youth ticket 16.5₺. Especially if you're going to Eskişehir for a 2-day route, the train looks like a very economical, time-saving option. That was our choice too.

Those thinking of coming from İzmir can look forward to a lovely 12-hour journey on the Blue Train. The Blue Train runs 1 trip a day in each direction. Coming from İzmir to Eskişehir, you take the 18.05 train from İzmir Basmane in the evening and are at Eskişehir Station at 05.35 the next morning; from Eskişehir, with the 22.16 train you're in İzmir at 09.36 the next day.

Those driving from Istanbul will have to cover 300 kilometres. That means a journey of about 3-3.5 hours awaits you. From Ankara it's 240 kilometres and a 2.5-hour journey. From İzmir it's 412 kilometres and a 5-hour journey.

When to Go to Eskişehir?

Both our trips to Eskişehir were in February; let us note here that the winter months are seriously cold. But the ideal seasons for an Eskişehir route are spring and autumn. Even though winters are very cold, we really loved exploring Eskişehir in winter.

Where to Stay in Eskişehir?

Since the number of visitors to Eskişehir grows every day, our choice was the Castillo Hotel, close to the city centre. The hotel where we stayed 1 night cost 200₺ for 2 nights including breakfast, and these days it's around 240₺. Our advice here is not to take the breakfast option at your hotel, but to fill up at one of Eskişehir's many lovely breakfast places. Eskişehir makes you happy when it comes to food too!

Eskişehir Food and Drink Tips

The first flavours that come to mind when you say Eskişehir are: Eskişehir çibörek, balaban kebab, met halva! Don't leave Eskişehir without eating these. Eskişehir, a student city, has a very lively nightlife. So our tips for those places start here too.

Çibörek - Papağan & Eskişehir Mutfağı Çibörek Evi

For breakfast, our tip is, instead of a classic breakfast somewhere, the çibörek that is one with Eskişehir: the first flavour you must taste! You can go to Papağan or to Eskişehir Mutfağı Çibörek Evi.

Although both börek places get plenty of criticism, they're still the most visited and keep their popularity today. In Eskişehir most places serve 5 çibörek in 1 portion, and a portion costs 20₺ (2018).

Balaban Kebab - Abdüsselam Balaban Kebap Salonu

We went to Abdüsselam, serving since 1945, on the recommendation of a friend from Eskişehir, and although it's a small shop it was one of the rare places that satisfied us on taste. Portions start from 17₺. Sadly it's closed on Sundays. If you're going at the weekend, be sure to add it to your Saturday route.

Burgers - Pino Burger

You'll find many branches of Pino Burger, which is closely linked with Eskişehir. Whichever branch you go to, tasty burgers await you. It's worth going because it's a flavour unique to Eskişehir rather than a classic burger chain. Burger menus start from 20₺.

Met Halva - Tanınmış Helva

A family business for many years, Tanınmış Helva continues to make its halva daily so as not to spoil the taste. Especially in summer, when Eskişehir is flooded with local and foreign tourists, the shop apparently closes from 15.00-16.00 because the halva runs out. Even though we went late in winter, we found the halva before it ran out! :) Met halva comes in varieties such as pistachio, plain, cocoa or walnut, and we definitely recommend getting it from Tanınmış Helva.

If you want to sit and have a drink at night in Eskişehir, Varuna Memphis Pub, Sensun Eskişehir Şarap Butiği and Cafe Del Mundo are some of the places we can recommend.

What Budget Do You Need for Eskişehir? Is Eskişehir Expensive?

Since Eskişehir is a typical student town, we can't say it's expensive, but if you say you like luxury, you're likely to find places with above-average prices anywhere. For a 1-night, 2-day Eskişehir trip we paid about 700₺. Of this, 140₺ was transport, 200₺ accommodation, and the rest food and drink, museum and hamam entry.

What Comes to Mind When You Think of Eskişehir

• Rarely matched in Turkey: Civilisation!
• Being a student town, cheapness,
• From when Turkey once rolled up its sleeves to make technology, the Devrim car
• Its hamams, visited early in the morning!
• We can't help writing this one: especially in winter, the Eskişehir frost
• Among the food: çibörek, balaban kebab, met halva
• Among the sights: Odunpazarı, Kentpark, the Porsuk River and more..

Places to Visit & Things to Do in Eskişehir

Eskişehir has plenty of places to visit and plenty of things to do. Let's start the Eskişehir tour..

Eskişehir Hamams

They say that if you haven't been to Eskişehir, you don't know what hamam culture is. They were really right. In Eskişehir, hamams are a world of their own. Old men and shopkeepers go to the hamam early in the morning, chat and joke there, and then open their shops and start work. What a lovely world, isn't it! 😬🛀🏼

Porsuk River

Giving almost a feeling of Venice, the Porsuk River, which runs through the middle of Eskişehir, is one of the first places that comes to mind when you say Eskişehir. You can wander around it and sip your tea in lively cafés, or take a short trip on boat or gondola tours. The gondola costs
15₺ per person, and the boat 5₺ per person.

Atlıhan Handicrafts Bazaar

In this bazaar, opened in 2005 by Odunpazarı Municipality, you can see everything to do with handcraft. In the bazaar, home to handmade workshops, you can also take part in a workshop.

Odunpazarı Houses

The Odunpazarı Houses have been taken under protection by UNESCO because the area holds all kinds of works from different periods of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey. The Alaaddin Mosque, the Kurşunlu Complex and especially the Odunpazarı Houses are some of these works. This area, which you can explore on foot, has gone down in history as Eskişehir's first settlement.

Eskişehir Wax Museum

Yılmaz Büyükerşen, the Mayor of Eskişehir, gave Eskişehir a wonderful museum in the style of Madame Tussauds. The museum, with wax figures of 160 people, opened in the 2000s. If you go to the Odunpazarı Houses area it's within walking distance; if you have time, we recommend stopping by.

Haller Youth Centre

Located in the Bağlar district, the Haller Youth Centre was once used as a fruit and vegetable market. Today it's a tourist centre where young people meet, with colourful cafés.

Kentpark

One of the assets Eskişehir Municipality has given the city, Kentpark has written its name into history as Turkey's first artificial beach. A park where you can have a wonderful time with family or friends, it's perfect for relaxing.

Tülomsaş Museum - The Devrim Car

If you want to visit the Devrim car, the starting point of a sad story whose film I watched recently, head to the Tülomsaş Museum. The Devrim car is Turkey's first and only domestic & national car, and for us it's a milestone in Turkish industrial history. Don't have big expectations when you go; only the car is on display.

Sazova Science, Art and Culture Park

One of our favourite places in Eskişehir, Sazova Park makes us fall in love with it, especially with its Fairytale Castle. In the park, a little outside the city, besides the Fairytale Castle there are places like the Pirate Ship, the Sabancı Space House and the Japanese Garden, with lots to interest little ones in particular.