Bodrum

Famed for its kebabs and other meat dishes, Denizhan also serves up very good appetizers, including lahmacun (Turkish-style whisper-thin flatbread topped with spices and minced meat) and vegetable dishes. Previously located in outlying Konacık, the restaurant now has a prime location on the Bodrum waterfront. The wine list is extensive.

This tiny, colorful eatery serving up Greek and Turkish fare is an increasingly rare find in ever more chichi Bodrum—a homey place that’s both low-key and affordable. Choose from meze like smoked fish or eggplant with tahini sauce, followed by fresh fish, or opt for heartier favorites like köfte and mantı.

For almost half a century, this popular presence near the marina has been serving the freshest seafood in town, in no-frills indoor and outdoor surroundings that are always packed during the season, often with locals. House specialties include fish soup and octopus with pilaf, and their fried calamari has been voted one of the best versions in Turkey.

Down a quiet, pretty alley just a two-minute stroll from the waterfront, this restaurant is an authentic new star on the Bodrum seafood scene, and its white, candlelit tables quickly fill with hungry locals. Accompany a heaping plate of fried local calamari (probably the most generous in town) with a tasting plate of up to four vegetable meze with toasted bread, and, if you're still hungry, order grilled fish and (more) rakı.

The owners have transformed the palm- and mulberry tree–filled courtyard of their 200-year-old family home into a romantic haven, where candlelit peacefulness and exquisite Mediterranean cuisine provide one of the most lovely dining experiences in Bodrum, if a pricey one. À la carte and tasting menus are available (including a three-hour gourmet option).

Turkish grilled meatballs and "home-style" cuisine, served at just a few tables in a no-frills setting, have been a hit for more than half a century and are especially popular at lunch. Accompany any dish you order with homemade plain yogurt. Alcohol is not served.

This long-standing, family-run fish house overlooks the harbor and is especially noted for a wide selection of Cretan dishes and seafood appetizers that include delectable shrimp cooked in butter, garlic, and seaweed. A local institution with courteous waitstaff, Körfez also serves some meat dishes, as well as brunch.

Köfte (Turkish-style meatballs), in all their sizzling variety, are the specialty at this casual and charming blue-and-white eatery in the heart of the waterfront promenade. Reasonable prices (by Bodrum standards) for reliable home-style cooking make it a favorite with Turkish and tourist families alike . If you're not in a meatball mood, they have good (and generously portioned) local vegetable meze and desserts. Breakfast is also served, as is alcohol.

This always-hopping waterfront bistro draws a local and tourist crowd with its broad Turkish-international menu of pastas, salads, bar snacks, and grilled meats. The steaks, burgers, and calamari are particularly popular. Some good local wines are available, along with a full bar menu.

There's no view, but the large and cheery summer terrace is 30 yards from the waterfront, and Italian-inspired pizzas, pastas, salads, and calzones are served alongside traditional Turkish chicken and beef dishes, and breakfast until 2 pm. Local families and tourists sit back at wooden tables groaning under enormous calzones—try the Sünger, which oozes calamari, shrimp, garlic, tomatoes, and cheese. Alcohol is served, and not at a ludicrous markup.

Construction of the magnificent, 5,000-seat ancient theater began during the 4th century BC reign of King Mausolus, back when Bodrum was known as Halicarnassus of Caria. The Hellenistic theater was used and updated through the Roman era, and remains one of the ancient city's best-preserved monuments; it is still used for concerts and other performances. The view of Bodrum and the Aegean sea is breathtaking from this high, hillside vantage point, though the outlook is marred by the loud, busy highway that runs alongside the theater.

Bitez Dondurması's creamy concoctions full of fresh fruit have proved so popular that the ice cream shop now has branches all over the Bodrum Peninsula, and as far away as Istanbul. The waterfront branch in Bodrum's town center is a convenient spot to grab a scoop or two as you stroll along the promenade.

Built in the early 15th century by the Knights Hospitaller (Knights of St. John), the Petronion, better known as Bodrum Castle or the Castle of St. Peter, rises between Bodrum's twin harbors like an illustration from a fairy tale. With German knight-architect Heinrich Schlegelholt at the helm, the knightly builders plundered the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus for green volcanic stone, marble columns, and reliefs to create this showpiece of late-medieval architecture, whose walls are studded with 249 coats of arms, including the crests of the Plantagenets and d'Aubussons. The castle's towers and gardens are visible from many parts of town, and the name "Bodrum" itself likely derives from the word Petronion. Some of the castle's towers are named after the homelands of the knights who built them: France, Germany, Italy, and England (the English Tower, embellished with a relief of a lion, is known as the Lion Tower, and contains a replica of a medieval hall).

The castle now houses the fascinating Museum of Underwater Archaeology, where displays include the world's oldest excavated shipwreck (Uluburun), the tomb of the so-called "Carian Princess," and the sunken cargoes of many ancient and medieval ships that sank off the treacherous Aegean coast.

Across the curve of the harbor from the castle, this place bills itself as "probably the most amazing nightclub in the world." It is probably the best known in Bodrum, but is, in fact, rather like discos more commonly found in western Mediterranean resorts, complete with a huge dance floor, fog machines, laser lights, and theme nights. Reservations are recommended, drinks can be pricey, and in summer there is an admission charge.

With top-notch food and music, Küba is always crowded, especially on weekends.

Live blues, funk, jazz, and Latin acts frequently take the stage in this two-story waterfront bar, which has less of a meat-market reputation than some of the other Barlar Sokağı establishments. There are also '80s nights and salsa nights.

Surrounded by a forest of sailboat masts, this is the first place both Bodrum locals and Turkish tourists will recommend for a night out. The good live music (jazz, classical, etc.) is as diverse as the age groups that come to listen. The dining area on the second floor has a long bar with a terrific view of the marina; the club restaurant is open to children as well, with a menu that ranges from cheap Turkish dishes like menemen (eggs scrambled with minced tomatoes, peppers, and spices) to seafood dishes with three-figure prices.

Little remains of the extravagant white-marble tomb of Mausolus of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World—and the source of the word mausoleum. During the 4th century, Bodrum (then called Halicarnassus) was governed by King Mausolos. Upon his death in 353 BC, Queen Artemisia, his wife and sister, ordered the construction of the great white-marble tomb. At almost 150 feet in height, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus must have been quite a sight—a towering rectangular base topped by Ionic columns and friezes of spectacular relief sculpture, surmounted by a pyramidal roof, and crowned with a massive statue of Mausolus and Artemisia, riding a chariot into eternity. The Mausoleum stood for over a millennium, but the 15th-century Knights of St. John plundered its stones to build the Petronion, while 19th-century Brits carted many of the surviving sculptures off to the British Museum. Admission price is relatively high for what little you'll see, but it does offer a rare opportunity to reflect on how a Wonder of the World has been reduced to fallen masonry and broken columns. The site also contains a bare but interesting earlier underground burial chamber.

A Bodrum institution, the small and quaint "Blue Bar" occupies century-old premises and features live Turkish music—some of Turkey's most prominent rock stars have appeared here.

This two-story open-air space has elegantly decorated lounges in which to drink and socialize, and DJs spin dance, house, pop, R&B, and especially Latin and salsa music for the late-night dancing crowd—mostly in their thirties and up. In the wee hours, a boat ferries tireless partiers from the Marina Yacht Club (under the same management) to this still-lively club.

Set on a spectacular perch high above Bodrum, the little-visited ruins of the ancient city of Pedasa date back some 2,500 years, to when members of the Leleges civilization built a temple to the goddess Athena there. The site, parts of which are still under excavation, has an acropolis and a necropolis in addition to the temple—and the sweeping views. If you don’t have your own transportation, you can take a dolmuş to the town of Konacık (about 3 km [2 miles] from Bodrum center) and hike the steep but satisfying 3-km (2-mile) path up from there. Though overdeveloped and unlovely, Konacık is worth a stop en route for lunch at the popular lunchtime lokanta, Kısmet.

Bodrum's handmade leather sandals are renowned, and this family-run workshop has been turning them out, in both basic and decorative styles, since 1967. Lightweight and made from specially worked leather, they're very comfortable for the Mediterranean summer, and aesthetically pleasing as well.

Stop by this incredibly popular bakery on Bodrum's main pedestrian shopping street for classic puddings, cheesecakes, pastries, and luxurious fruit-and-cream parfaits. The wide range of savory pastries make good on-the-go snacks, too. There's also an outlet on Neyzen Tevfik Caddisa across from the marina.