Side (pronounced "see-day") is a small beach and archaeology town on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, about 75km east of Antalya. It occupies a narrow peninsula barely 300 metres wide, with the sea visible from almost any point in the old town. That old town itself is extraordinary: the ruins of a Roman city were simply built over as the centuries passed, and today the narrow lanes are lined with two-storey stone houses growing directly out of ancient walls.
The two main attractions are the Roman Theatre — one of the best-preserved in Turkey, seating 15,000, with a full outer wall still standing — and the Temple of Apollo, whose five remaining columns stand on a headland above the sea at sunset in a way that stops people in their tracks. Between them is the Roman agora and an archaeological museum housed in the old Roman baths.
Side is simultaneously an authentic ancient site and a busy resort. The beaches on either side of the peninsula are good, and the town fills up with German and Turkish tourists in summer. Out of season it is quieter and considerably more pleasant.