Kütahya is a historic city in western Turkey famed worldwide for its exquisite ceramic and tile-making tradition that dates back to the 15th century. Perched on a plateau at roughly 960 m elevation, the city combines well-preserved Ottoman architecture, a dramatic hilltop castle, and a lively bazaar district with a quieter, authentically Turkish atmosphere that larger tourist centers have long since lost.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Aizanoi Ancient City (Çavdarhisar)
Aizanoi is a Roman-era city built around a well-preserved Temple of Zeus, one of the few in Anatolia to survive with its cella largely intact. The site also has a combined stadium-theatre complex, a Roman bridge still carrying local traffic over the Penkalas (Kocaçay) stream, and the Macellum, a circular market building known for the Price Edict of Diocletian inscribed on its walls. It rewards a slow walk rather than a quick photo stop, since the temple, theatre, and market are spread across the modern village of Çavdarhisar.
Highlights: Temple of Zeus — one of the best-preserved Zeus temples anywhere, with its podium and colonnade still standing · Stadium-Theatre complex — a theatre backing directly onto a stadium, an unusual shared-wall design · Roman bridge over the Kocaçay — an ancient bridge still in everyday use by the village · Macellum (round market building) — its inscribed price edict is one of the most complete surviving Roman price lists
Eskişehir — Ottoman Quarter and Odunpazarı
Odunpazarı is Eskişehir's old Ottoman quarter, a hillside neighbourhood of timber-framed houses with jettied upper floors, now restored and repainted in earth tones. It sits in contrast with the rest of Eskişehir, a modern university city built around canals, so the day trip is really two experiences: wandering the old wooden streets, then dropping into the contemporary Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM), whose stacked timber-clad form was designed to echo the houses around it.
Highlights: Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM) — a large contemporary art museum whose wooden-block architecture directly references the historic houses surrounding it · Kurşunlu Külliyesi — an Ottoman mosque complex with a courtyard and adjoining shops, a short walk from the old quarter · Odunpazarı's restored timber houses — narrow lanes of two- and three-storey wooden houses with overhanging upper floors, several now cafés or small shops
Afyonkarahisar — Thermal Spas and Castle
Afyonkarahisar is built around a black volcanic rock crowned by a Byzantine-Seljuk castle (Afyon Kalesi), with the modern spa district and its thermal hotels spread through the surrounding towns. The city itself has an old quarter of Ottoman houses around the Ulu Cami, a wooden-columned mosque, but most visitors split the day between the castle climb and a soak in one of the mineral-rich thermal pools the region is known for.
Highlights: Afyon Kalesi (castle) — a steep climb up rock-cut steps to a Byzantine-era fortress with views over the whole city · Ulu Cami — a Seljuk-era mosque with a forest of carved wooden columns supporting the roof · Thermal hotel pools around the city — mineral spring water fed directly into hotel pools, the reason many Turkish visitors come here specifically · Afyon archaeological museum — houses finds from regional sites including sarcophagi and early Bronze Age material
Simav Thermal Springs
Simav, in Kütahya's west, is a thermal spa town built around natural hot springs, with the Eynal and Naşa thermal areas outside the town centre being the main draw — clusters of hotels and public bath facilities fed by mineral-rich spring water. It's a low-key, functional spa destination rather than a sightseeing town, visited mainly for soaking rather than monuments.
Highlights: Eynal Thermal Springs — one of the main spring complexes near Simav with hotel-run thermal pools · Naşa Thermal Springs — a second thermal area outside town offering a similar hot-spring soak
Gediz Thermal Area and Murat Dağı Ski Resort
Gediz combines a thermal springs area with access to Murat Dağı, a ski resort on the mountain straddling the Kütahya-Uşak border. In winter the draw is the ski slopes and lifts; outside the snow season, the same mountain and the Gediz thermal facilities make for a quieter trip focused on the thermal pools and the cooler mountain air rather than skiing.
Highlights: Murat Dağı ski slopes and lifts — a mid-sized Turkish ski resort with runs suited to beginners and intermediates · Gediz thermal hotel pools — mineral spring pools in and around Gediz town, an alternative to the mountain in the off-season
Tavşanlı & Domaniç Highlands
Domaniç, in the highlands north of Tavşanlı, is historically significant as the burial place of Ertuğrul Gazi, father of Osman I and considered the founder of the line that established the Ottoman dynasty, and it holds a symbolic yearly commemoration tied to that history. The surrounding plateau is a cooler, forested upland used for grazing, and Tavşanlı itself is a modest district town on the route up. It's a trip for the historical and landscape interest of the highlands rather than for monuments in Tavşanlı town.
Highlights: Ertuğrul Gazi Tomb (Domaniç) — the tomb of Osman I's father, a site of Ottoman historical significance and an annual commemoration · Domaniç Yaylası (highland plateau) — forested upland grazing country above Tavşanlı, notably cooler than Kütahya in summer
Trips by distance
How far you can go in a day.
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Getting there
Transport options for day trips.
Multi-day tours from Kütahya
If you have longer than a day, these are organised multi-day trips that start here.
Browse multi-day tours from KütahyaWe may earn a commission from bookings made through this link.
Day trip tips
Make the most of your excursions.
Start early — most popular day-trip destinations get crowded by mid-morning.
Check return transport times before you leave — missing the last train or bus can be costly.
Carry water, snacks, and layers — weather and food options can be limited at smaller destinations.