Bursa travel guide
First Ottoman capital, silk bazaars and İskender kebab. Most people stay 1–2 nights. Best months: Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct.
Highlights
- Green Mosque
- Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami)
- Uludağ cable car
- Cumalıkızık
Things to do in Bursa
- Uludağ cable car (Teleferik) · 3 h · about ₹1,600 per person. One of the longest cable cars in the world (~9 km to Sarıalan); it stops in strong wind. Uludağ is a ski area Dec–Mar.
- Green Mosque & Green Tomb (Yeşil Camii) · 1 h · free. Free; early Ottoman tilework. Mosque dress code applies.
- Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) · 0.75 h · free
- Koza Han silk market & covered bazaar · 1.5 h · free. Silk scarves and towels; tea in the courtyard. Bursa's candied chestnuts (kestane şekeri) are sold nearby.
- İskender kebab lunch in its home town · 1 h · about ₹1,200 per person. Sliced döner on pide with tomato sauce, yoghurt and butter poured at the table; the founding family's restaurants are around Heykel.
- Cumalıkızık Ottoman village & village breakfast · 3 h · about ₹900 per person. ~30 min east of the centre by city bus or taxi; weekends are crowded with local visitors.
- Çekirge thermal baths · 2 h · about ₹1,800 per person. Bursa has used its hot springs since Roman times; historic baths have separate men's and women's sections.
Where to stay in Bursa
- Heykel / Ulu Cami area (budget, ₹2,500–₹5,000 a night): Walk to the mosques, Koza Han and the İskender restaurants.
- Çekirge thermal hotels (mid, ₹5,000–₹10,000 a night): Many hotels pipe in hot-spring water to their own baths.
- Uludağ ski hotels (premium, ₹10,000–₹25,000 a night): Mountain hotels at the top of the cable car road; busiest Dec–Mar for skiing.
What to eat
- İskender kebab: Heykel kebab houses
- Kestane şekeri (candied chestnuts) & pideli köfte: Koza Han area shops
Getting there
- Fast ferry Istanbul (Yenikapı)–Mudanya ~1.5h + bus
- Bus from Istanbul ~2.5–3h via the Osmangazi Bridge
Good to know
- Uludağ is a ski resort in winter and the cable car closes in high wind.
Türkiye itineraries with Bursa
- Marmara loop: Istanbul, Bursa & Gallipoli · 7 days · 7 days, Istanbul → Bursa → Çanakkale (Gallipoli & Troy) · from ₹56,725 per person, base estimate before flights. Istanbul, then the first Ottoman capital and the Dardanelles by ferry and road, with Troy on the way back.
- Food trip: Istanbul, Bursa & Izmir · 8 days · 8 days, Istanbul → Bursa → Izmir · from ₹63,400 per person, base estimate before flights. Istanbul markets and meyhanes, İskender in its home town and Izmir's bakeries, with the main sights in between.