Eskişehir is a university city of 900,000 people in central Anatolia, distinctive for its wide Porsuk Canal running through the centre - lined with colourful wooden houses, café terraces, and gondola rides in an arrangement that has earned comparisons to a Turkish Amsterdam. The city is also the world centre of meerschaum (lületaşı) production - the white mineral carved into pipes and ornamental objects that is found almost exclusively in the Eskişehir region.
The Odunpazarı district preserves the largest concentration of restored Ottoman timber-frame houses in Turkey, clustered around the Kurşunlu Mosque. The surrounding region has Phrygian archaeological sites - remnants of the Phrygian kingdom (900–600 BCE) that produced King Midas. We have mapped 8 top-rated Eskişehir tours below.
Top Eskişehir Tours at a Glance
| Tour | Duration | Approx. Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Odunpazarı and Porsuk Canal Walking Tour | 3 hrs | From $20 | First-timers, architecture |
| Meerschaum Carving Workshop | 2 hrs | From $35 | Craft, souvenirs |
| Porsuk Canal Gondola and Café Tour | 2 hrs | From $20 | Relaxation, city life |
| Phrygian Valley and Midas City Day Trip | Full day | From $50 | Archaeology |
| Eskişehir Museum Circuit Tour | 3 hrs | From $25 | History, art |
| Eskişehir Street Art and Graffiti Walk | 2 hrs | From $20 | Contemporary culture |
| Seyitgazi Monastery and Phrygian Ruins | Half day | From $30 | Byzantine heritage |
| Eskişehir Nightlife and Food Tour | 3 hrs | From $30 | Food, local life |
For First-Timers
Odunpazarı and Porsuk Canal Walking Tour
The 3-hour walking tour starts at Odunpazarı - the Ottoman quarter where 19th-century timber-frame houses in yellow, ochre, and terracotta have been meticulously restored. The district’s name means “Wood Market” (where timber merchants traded); today the hans house cafes and galleries. The walk continues to the Porsuk Canal promenade (canal boats running since 1955, gondola-style boats operating from multiple jetties), the Kurşunlu Mosque (1521, Mimar Sinan), and the Eskişehir Museum of Modern Glass Art.
Duration: 3 hours | Price: From approximately $20 | Includes: Guide
For Craft
Meerschaum Carving Workshop
Meerschaum (lületaşı - “sea foam stone”) is a hydrous magnesium silicate found almost exclusively in the Eskişehir region, specifically the Sepetçi mine. It is light, porous, and easy to carve when wet - which is why it became the primary material for pipe bowls that colour richly with use. The carving workshop visits a working meerschaum workshop where craftsmen demonstrate the turning and carving process, and participants try basic carving. The adjacent Meerschaum Museum displays historical pipes and figurines.
Duration: 2 hours | Price: From approximately $35 | Includes: Workshop visit, carving try, museum entry
For Archaeology
Phrygian Valley and Midas City Day Trip
The Phrygian Valley (Frig Vadisi), 60 km south of Eskişehir, preserves the most significant concentration of Phrygian monuments outside of Gordion: rock-cut facades (7th–6th century BCE), carved doorways, tombs, and the ruins of Midas City (Midas Şehri) - a rocky plateau with Phrygian inscriptions, a carved rock facade 17 metres high, and a sacred area. King Midas ruled from Gordion, but the Phrygian Valley cult sites are among the finest surviving Phrygian rock architecture.
Duration: Full day | Price: From approximately $50 | Includes: Transport, guide, entries
For Byzantine Heritage
Seyitgazi Monastery and Phrygian Ruins
The Seyitgazi Mevlevi monastery complex (30 km from Eskişehir) is built around the tomb of Battal Ghazi, a semi-legendary 8th-century Arab warrior, and the adjacent tomb of Seyitgazi - overlapping Ottoman, Byzantine, and Islamic sacred geography. The half-day tour combines the monastery with Phrygian rock tombs in the surrounding hills.
Duration: 3 hours | Price: From approximately $30 | Includes: Transport, guide
Practical Information
Getting to Eskişehir: By high-speed train (YHT) from Istanbul Pendik, approximately 1.5 hours - Eskişehir is on Turkey’s busiest HSR corridor. From Ankara by YHT, 1.5 hours. Both options make Eskişehir a natural half-day or full-day stopover en route between Istanbul and Ankara.
Student city atmosphere: Anadolu University has 100,000 students, making Eskişehir significantly younger and livelier than other Anatolian cities of comparable size. The canal area in the evening is busy year-round.
Meerschaum buying: Quality carved meerschaum pipes cost $30–150 in Eskişehir workshops, depending on complexity. The Kapalı Çarşı has stalls selling both tourist-grade and serious collector pieces.