Things to do in Bayburt
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Bayburt
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best window. All museums open, rafting water in May and June, warm days and cool nights.
Festival month and the province at its fullest. Book the museum stays first.
Yayla season. Glorious up high, hot at noon in town, diaspora families home.
The hinge. Village stays close for the season and the first snows dust Kop.
Hard highland winter. Snow for weeks, Kop road a weather proposition, village museums closed or minimal.
Thaw and mud, with museums reopening towards late April.
What's on
- Dede Korkut International Culture and Art Festival July, dates vary by year
Running since 1995, with events at the Masat tomb plateau and folk dance, concerts and wrestling in town.
Best things to do in Bayburt
Baksı Müzesi
A contemporary art museum on a bare hill above the Coruh valley, pairing modern Turkish art with ehram weaving and crafts.
Kenan Yavuz Etnografya Müzesi
A whole Anatolian village rebuilt as a museum of daily life, with mills, looms and houses saved from demolition.
Bayburt Kalesi
A vast Saltukid rebuilt fortress above the Coruh bend, worth the climb for the town and valley panorama alone.
Bayburt Saat Kulesi
The Republic era clock tower at the heart of Cumhuriyet Caddesi, the meeting point of the town evening stroll.
Ulu Cami
The town oldest great mosque, built under the Sultanate of Rum and still the calm heart of old Bayburt.
Bayburt Dede Korkut Müzesi
The in town museum for the Dede Korkut tradition, local archaeology and ehram weaving, done well in an hour.
Şehit Osman Türbesi
A small tomb on the hill facing the castle, giving the classic postcard angle over town and river. Entry may be closed.
Dede Korkut Kümbeti
The domed tomb tradition assigns to Dede Korkut in Masat village, ceremonial heart of the July festival.
Where to stay in Bayburt
City centre: Cumhuriyet Caddesi and Şeyhayran
first trip, all round base
Castle, mosques, museum and every restaurant within a ten minute walk, in a clean and quiet small town centre.
Kaleardı and the castle river side
photographers, scenic calm
Fortress above and river below, a few minutes from the centre with a thinner choice of places to eat.
Beşpınar village, Demirözü
the Kenan Yavuz museum, done slowly
One ten room han by the ethnography museum and the dam lake, total quiet, seasonal opening only.
Bayraktar village
the Baksi Museum, done slowly
Sleep inside the art project above the Coruh valley, seasonal like the museum and booked with it.
Think twice about
- Highway junction and otogar edge
Not unsafe, just noisy, characterless road junction buildings with a charmless walk into the centre. Use it for driving practicality, not atmosphere.
Best restaurants in Bayburt
Gönül sarayı cafe Restorant
The town favourite full service restaurant, the most polished room in Bayburt for a regional dinner.
Zafer Lokantası
The tradesmen lokanta open from 05:30, best odds in town for lor dolmasi, soups and ready dishes at low prices.
Baycanbaba Döner Sac Tava
The doner counter the town uses at volume, for doner, Iskender and sac tava at counter prices.
Eren Baba Pide Salonu
The town pide salon, generous flatbreads and lahmacun that please families and groups for very little money.
İmarettepe Sosyal Tesisleri
The municipal hilltop grill house with a sunset panorama over Bayburt and the castle. No alcohol, family format.
Baksı Müzesi
The Baksi Museum terrace restaurant, local dishes in modern form above the Coruh valley, in season only.
LORU HAN
The museum han kitchen, village breakfasts and home style Anatolian cooking at source in Bespinar.
Alâ Kahvaltı Yemek Tatlı
A specialist breakfast and dessert house open long hours, for the full Turkish breakfast spread and sweet counter.
Outdoor things to do in Bayburt
Çoruh River Rafting
The gentle Bayburt to Ispir head of a legendary rafting river, Class II water through remote gorges.
Çoruh Trout Fishing
Unpressured high country trout water holding native Coruh trout, fished under licence and seasonal rules.
Sırakayalar Şelalesi
A series of cascades in a green defile, the locals picnic waterfall, best on a weekday morning after snowmelt.
Aydıntepe Yeraltı Şehri
Rock cut galleries and halls under a modern town, some 850 metres open. Opening is intermittent, so phone ahead.
Kop Dağı Müdafaası Tarihi Milli Parkı
A 2409 metre pass with a First World War battlefield park, summit monument and the province winter tourism area.
Aslandağı Ormanı
The pine forest just outside town for walks and picnics, gateway to the yayla plateaus above the province.
Best hotels in Bayburt
LORU HAN
A ten room stone han beside the Kenan Yavuz museum, the finest stay in the province. Listed closed 1 November to 15 June.
Baksı Konukevi
The Baksi Museum own guest house above the Coruh valley, seasonal and tiny, booked with the museum visit.
Hotel Bayburt Konaklama
The province most modern full service hotel, with parking and English speaking staff, on the dull highway edge.
Büyük Bayburt Hotel
The solid central default, well kept rooms and included breakfast a short walk from castle and clock tower.
Bayberd Hotel
A small newer hotel on the castle side with restaurant and fitness centre, highly rated from a still tiny sample.
Otel Dede
The honest cheap central hotel, clean rooms and a tasty breakfast at working town prices.
Hacegan Hostel
The closest thing to a hostel in the province, simple and cheap. Verify by phone before arrival as reviews are thin.
Is Bayburt expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | TRY 1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | TRY 4,500 a person |
| Splurge | TRY 12,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Baksı Müzesi: a few days ahead
- Çoruh River Rafting: weeks ahead
- Aydıntepe Yeraltı Şehri: a few days ahead
- LORU HAN: weeks ahead
- Baksı Konukevi: weeks ahead
- Hacegan Hostel: a few days ahead
- LORU HAN: a few days ahead
- Book Loru Han and the Baksi guest house weeks ahead for summer and the July festival.
- Confirm museum seasons and opening days before travelling. Baksi is seasonal and closed Mondays.
- Phone ahead for Aydintepe Underground City and Sehit Osman Tomb, both documented as intermittently closed.
- Book Coruh expedition rafting months ahead for May and June high water departures.
Is Bayburt safe?
- Bayburt is a quiet, conservative and orderly small city with minimal petty crime.
- Carry your passport, avoid political gatherings and commentary, and never photograph military sites or checkpoints.
- Winter pavements ice over and mountain roads to the villages are unlit. Drive the villages by day.
- Emergency number 112.
Bayburt travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The castle interior is a magnificent shell and viewpoint, not a furnished fortress.
- The Coruh in town is channelled and plain. Its glory is downstream towards Ispir.
- Kop is not a verified ski resort. For a ski led trip, Palandoken at Erzurum is the honest recommendation.
- The one day dash that skips both village museums misses the whole point of Bayburt.
Getting around Bayburt: public transport and more
- No airport in Bayburt. Fly to Erzurum or Trabzon and drive or take a coach or minibus in.
- Walk the compact centre. The castle climb is the only serious gradient in town.
- You need a rental car or a hotel arranged driver for Baksi, Kenan Yavuz, Aydintepe, Masat and Kop.
- Provincial distances deceive. Forty kilometres at altitude is about an hour, and winter can double it.
Who Bayburt suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Bayburt your trip
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