Out for the day
Day Trips from Bursa: 3 Places Worth the Ride
The best day trips from Bursa are Hagia Sophia, Pergamon, and Cyzicus. They are 115 to 249 km away: out after breakfast, back in time for dinner.
1Religious Sites · Istanbul
Hagia Sophia
115 km away · about 1.5 hours each way
Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, is a mosque and a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. It was formerly a church (360–1453) and a museum (1935–2020). The last of three church buildings to be successively erected on the site by the Eastern Roman Empire, it was completed in AD 537, becoming the world's largest interior space and among the first to employ a fully pendentive dome. It is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture". From its dedication in 360 until 1453, Hagia Sophia served as the cathedral of Constantinople in the Byzantine liturgical tradition, except for the period 1204–1261 when the Latin Crusaders installed their own hierarchy. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it served as a mosque, having its minarets added soon after. The site became a museum in 1935, and was redesignated as a mosque in 2020.
2Historic & Cultural · İzmir
Pergamon
249 km away · about 3.5 hours each way
Pergamon or Pergamum, also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos, was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located 26 kilometres from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus and northwest of the modern city of Bergama, Turkey. During the Hellenistic period, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon in 281–133 BC under the Attalid dynasty, who transformed it into one of the major cultural centres of the Greek world.
3Historic & Cultural · Balıkesir
Cyzicus
129 km away · about 2 hours each way
Kizikos is an ancient city of Mysia, located today near the Erdek district of Balıkesir province, on the coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was located on the southern coastal side of today's Kapıdağ Peninsula, which was originally said to be an island in the Sea of Marmara and formerly connected to the mainland by artificial means, and was named Arctonnesus in the classical period.
Good to know
What is the best day trip from Bursa?
Hagia Sophia is the best-known: 115 km away · about 1.5 hours each way.
What is the closest day trip from Bursa?
Hagia Sophia: 115 km away · about 1.5 hours each way.
Do we need a tour for day trips from Bursa?
Not necessarily. Most of these places can be reached on our own by bus, train or car; a guided tour simply saves the planning.
Distances and times are road estimates from coordinates; actual travel time depends on traffic and the way we travel.