After sunset, Antalya glows with a new appeal: the night museum experience in Turkey continues to flourish
In the heart of Turkey, the popular tourist destination of Antalya has been transformed by the Night Museum initiative, offering a unique and atmospheric way for visitors to experience its rich historical sites. This innovative project, part of the "Legacy for the Future" programme, has had a significant positive impact on tourism and visits to cultural and archaeological sites.
The Night Museum concept, applied to sites such as Side, Aspendos, Patara, Alanya Castle, and various museums, has extended visiting hours into the cooler evening hours, attracting more tourists and extending the daily visiting time. The initiative involves illuminating ancient sites and museums, creating a magical atmosphere that has been widely praised by visitors.
Filiz Akın, a tourist who visited the ancient city of Side, expressed her delight with the lighting design, stating that it created a magical atmosphere for the site. This sentiment is echoed in the overwhelmingly positive feedback from tourists who prefer to visit archaeological sites after sunset, resulting in a notable increase in evening activity.
The Night Museum initiative has also brought economic benefits for local businesses, with evening visitor traffic boosting activity in surrounding areas. This shift from a primarily sun-and-sand destination to one with a vibrant, year-round cultural tourism scene is supported by ongoing archaeological work and infrastructure improvements, such as the Antalya-Alanya Highway.
Candemir Zoroglu, Antalya's provincial director of culture and tourism, emphasised the importance of cultural tourism in supporting sustainable, year-round tourism. He noted that the initiative is not only important for tourism growth but also for protecting cultural heritage and supporting regional economic development.
Under the leadership of Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, 27 museums and archaeological sites across Turkey have adopted the night museum concept. As a result, museum and archaeological site visits rose from 1.1 million to 1.3 million during a comparable six-month period in 2025, marking a 17% increase.
Antalya has welcomed over 9 million foreign tourists this year, solidifying its status as a significant hub for cultural tourism. With the Night Museum initiative running until October 1, 2025, and attracting continued positive responses, it seems that the city's cultural tourism scene will continue to thrive.
[1] Antalya's Night Museum Initiative Boosts Tourism, [URL] [2] Antalya's Night Museum Initiative: A Cultural and Economic Success, [URL] [3] Antalya's Night Museum Initiative: A Shift Towards Sustainable Tourism, [URL]
- The 'Night Museum' initiative in Antalya, Turkey, has been praised for extending visiting hours and attracting more tourists to historical sites such as Side, Aspendos, Patara, Alanya Castle, and various museums.
- Visitors like Filiz Akın appreciate the magical atmosphere created by the illumination of ancient sites and museums under the 'Night Museum' concept, which has been positively received by tourists who prefer visiting archaeological sites after sunset.
- Local businesses have benefited economically from this initiative, as increased evening visitor traffic boosts activity in surrounding areas, contributing to a shift from a sun-and-sand destination to a vibrant, year-round cultural tourism scene.
- The success of the 'Night Museum' initiative, led by Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, has been shown by a 17% increase in museum and archaeological site visits across 27 locations in Turkey, solidifying Antalya's status as a significant hub for cultural tourism.
