Places to visit in Ayvalık
If you are indecisive about where to visit in Ayvalık, our content is just for you.
Ayvalık offers many places worth seeing with its nature and history. With its breathtakingly beautiful islands, historical villages, narrow streets that make you want to get lost, world-famous beaches, natural parks, and many historical buildings, museums, and exhibitions, Ayvalık is more of a cultural city than a holiday destination.
Ayvalık, neighboring Lesbos also offers transportation opportunities by ferry in the region.
1- Ayvalık Exhibition of Anatolian Civilisations
With the joint work of the Municipality of Ayvalık and Association of Panagia Phaneromeni, 619 unique artifacts from the collection of Ayşe Mina Esen curated by Necdet Bezmen, from the Chalcolithic Age to the Byzantine Period bearing the traces of Anatolian civilizations, meet you at the Ayvalık Exhibition of Anatolian Civilizations.
The collection includes terracotta, bronze, stone, iron, silver, bone, glass, and marble artifacts.
Beak-spouted pitchers, Tankards, Oil-lamps, Cylindrical Seals, Tablets, Spindle-whorls, Idols, Yortan-ware, Megarian Bowls, Byzantine Crosses, Urartian Belts, Nike, and Zeus Statues are among the prominent pieces.
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2- Panagia Phaneromeni Ayazma (Ayvalık Ayazması)
The holy spring of Panagia Phaneromeni is located in the center of Ayvalık. Ayazma is a place for sacred and curative water springs. Panagia meaning “Most Holy” is a name given to Mary in Orthodoxy, and Phaneromeni means “revealed.”
It was opened to the public in 2018 with the project of reviving and restoring the worn-out Ayazma building.
According to the Orthodox belief, holy water can cure many diseases, and the prayers of those who drink it are accepted. Sacred springs are structures that served as healing centers in the past. In 1852, a statue of the Virgin Mary and the holy water spring was found in excavations where the structure is located today. A small sacred spring was built in 1867 on the place where it was thought to have a similar structure before, but that building only lasted for a short time. The building, which has survived to the present day, was built in 1890.
3- Rahmi Koç Museum (Taxiarchis Church, Cunda)
Rahmi Koç Museum is one of the most important places to visit in Ayvalık. The museum building, Taxiarchis Church, was built in 1873. The church, abandoned after the great earthquake in 1944, was purchased by Rahmi Koç and restored.
After the restoration, the building was opened to the public and became a museum in 2014. While visiting the museum where Rahmi Koç collections are exhibited, you will feel the ancient atmosphere of the church and see the magnificence of the exhibited collection.
4- Taxiarchis Church, Ayvalık
Ayvalık Taxiarchis, the first church in Ayvalık, was built as a small church in the 15th century. The church is decorated with marble icons of the life of Jesus Christ, saint icons, reliefs, and gold foil decorations. It was readjusted in 1893 in a neo-classical style, and its interior decoration is eclectic.
The building was abandoned after being used as a “Tekel Warehouse” for a long time since 1927. It was restored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2012, and in 2013 “Taxiarchis Memorial Museum” was opened for the public as a unit affiliated with the Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Museum Directorate.
5- Sevim and Necdet Kent Library
The next stop on the list of places to visit in Ayvalık is Sevim and Necdet Kent Library. The building was destroyed during the population exchange, restored in 2007, and transformed into the Municipal Library, Sevim and Necdet Kent Library. The library, which consists of books donated by former statesman and diplomat Necdet Kent, has an extensive collection.
Along with this precious library, the café, with its fantastic views, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
6- Sabahattin Ali Museum
The house in Edremit, where Sabahattin Ali lived about 100 years ago, was opened to visitors in 2020 as Sabahattin Ali Memorial House with the restoration work of the Edremit Municipality.
The author’s house is in the street that bears his name in the Hekimzade district.
At Sabahattin Ali Museum, you can see a wide range of the famous author’s personal belongings, clothes, and books while learning a lot about his life story.
7- The Moonlight Monastery
Located at the far end of the Pateriça Peninsula on Cunda Island in Ayvalık, the Agion Oros priests built the monastery in the 18th century.
The monastery, estimated to have been built upon an earlier structure, is one of the most important sites of Ayvalık, with its seafront location among olive trees. The structure became private property after the population exchange and the Republic Period. It was sold to Suzan Sabancı Dinçer in 2003. After the restoration works, it became a museum in 2011.
The museum is open only one day a week, and sometimes it can be challenging to reach, so it’s a good idea to plan before you visit.
8- The Devil’s Feast (Şeytan Sofrası)
Another great destination on the list of places to visit in Ayvalık is the Devil’s Feast. Both monotheistic and pagan religions suggest that the devil was cast out of heaven here.
Apart from the myths surrounding the area, the place is a hilltop created by a lava pond left behind by a dormant volcano. The footprint shape surrounded by iron bars is an excellent stop for tourists who want to explore the beauty of the geography.
The Devil’s Feast offers a clear and beautiful panoramic view of Ayvalık. The observation hill is full of people who want to watch the sunset, where many points can be seen from the Ayvalık center to Cunda, Ayvalık Islands, and Lesbos Island.
9- Historical Windmills
The famous representatives of Aegean coast villages are windmills. While the mills in Bodrum and Çeşme are more known, the historical mills in Cunda Island, Ayvalık, are also gaining popularity.
There are three historical windmills on Cunda Island. One of them was restored by a private company and turned into a restaurant and a wine house. The second mill is next to the Sevim and Necdet Kent Library, founded by Rahmi Koç.
Restored mills have become one of the most famous landmarks on the island. The third mill remains inactive. However, it is one of the most visited and photographed mills, retaining its historical structure and offering a magnificent view. That’s why you should add the historical windmills to your list of places to visit in Ayvalık.
10- Cennet Tepesi
One of the most famous viewing hills in Ayvalık is the Devil’s Feast, but there is another. The hill, Cennet Tepesi (Heaven Hill), lets you see Ayvalık from one end to the other with a panoramic view.
11- Sarımsaklı Beach
Sarımsaklı Beach, in Sarımsaklı, a district of Küçükköy, is one of the most popular beaches for those who visit Ayvalık. With its soft yellow sand and clear, non-rocky sea, it is so beautiful that those who see it never want to leave.
Since hotels in Ayvalık are primarily located in Sarımsaklı, you can arrange your stay on this beautiful beach.
Its numerous restaurants, cafés, and shops behind the seashore allow you to meet many of your needs.
12- Badavut Beach
Located right next to Sarımsaklı, Badavut is one of the most popular beaches of Ayvalık due to its calmness at the foot of the Devil’s Feast.
The cascading cliffs in front of the beach are a favorite of nature lovers. Although some parts of the sea are rocky compared to Sarımsaklı Beach, you can still have fun here as it is a public beach.
13- Altınova Seaside
Altınova district, 18 km from Ayvalık, is a favorite of the locals, with its beach. Altınova is one of the summer destinations where vacationers usually own property and tends to populate during the season. Altınova Beach is a local favorite rather than tourists. The sea is calm and clean. It’s saltier and colder than Sarımsaklı, but it can change seasonally.
Many businesses and cafés are on the beach, thus long queues for them. The entrance to the beach is free; you can throw a towel on your shoulder and go to the beach as you like. If you need sunbeds and umbrellas, you can rent them from local businesses for a fee.
14- Altınkum Beach
Located next to Paşa Cove, Altınkum Beach (Golden Sand Beach) looks like a lake with its calm and still surface. It takes its name from its golden sand.
A place where you can enjoy the sea in the silence of nature surrounded by greenery. Access to the beach is also effortless. You can go there from Sarımsaklı or Ayvalık by car or minibus.
15- Maden Island
Maden Island is like a cove with its clear waters, a hidden paradise located at the western end of Cunda Island. You can walk to Maden Island from the westernmost part of Cunda Island.
This road from Cunda to Maden Island is called the Ayışığı Yolu (Moonlight Road). The knee-deep water gets a little deeper towards the end. It is a very suitable place for families with children.
Maden Island can be preferred because of its calm and peaceful nature. However, reaching the island from the land takes some work. You must pass through the dirt and bumpy roads of Cunda Island. The underside of your car must be slightly higher because of the bad condition of the road. But when you cross the road and reach your destination, you forget the road anyway.
16- Ortunç Cove
Last but not least on our list is Ortunç Cove. Located in Cunda is one of the most beautiful bays of Ayvalık. With its clear deep blue waters, Ortunç is an excellent alternative for those who want a calm sea pleasure. You can reach Ortunç by car or boat. Compared to other beaches in Ayvalık, the sea is calmer.
There is a hotel in the bay area, but access is limited to guests only. The woodland and public areas on the sides of the private area are perfect for relaxation.
