Porsuk River

The river running through the centre of the city, lined with cafes and a gondola service

The Porsuk threads through the city in a shallow, slow-flowing green ribbon, crossed by short pedestrian bridges and lined with parks, cafes, and trees. It is the central place to come for a beer or coffee in the evening, especially the stretch between Hamamyolu and the Adalar islands.

The municipality runs a small gondola-style boat service that ferries people along the central reach — touristy, cheap, and surprisingly pleasant on a warm evening. The riverside parks are also where students hang out after classes, so the soundtrack on a spring evening is often live music or buskers practising for the next festival.

things to do sight
A story
The riverboat service has been running since the 1990s on flat-bottomed boats modelled — only half-jokingly — on Venetian gondolas. Local gondolieri trained in Venice for a few summers in the early years to learn the technique. It is one of those quirks that makes Eskişehir feel different from the rest of Anatolia.