What's on in Bursa, Turkey through the year

Peak crowds — Uludağ at weekends, Ramadan

• Season

  Uludağ at weekends

  5 Jan – 28 Feb · usuallyDay-tripper crushCrowded

  Istanbul comes down for the day and the mountain road and the cable car back up at weekends through the deep-winter months. Go midweek and it is a different, emptier resort. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  25 Jan – 25 Mar · usually

  The courtyard of the Grand Mosque and the covered market are the place to be in the hour before sunset; the food stalls around Koza Han sell nothing until then. Source ↗

Still on: Uludağ ski season (15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Uludağ at weekends, Ramadan

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Uludağ at weekends (5 Jan – 28 Feb (usually)), Ramadan (25 Jan – 25 Mar (usually)), Uludağ ski season (15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Uludağ ski season

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ramadan (25 Jan – 25 Mar (usually)), Uludağ ski season (15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Uludağ walking season

  1 Jun – 30 Sep · usuallyTrail season

  Once the snow has gone the national park is a walking and picnicking mountain, several degrees cooler than the city below, with the cable car doing the climb for you. Source ↗

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Uludağ walking season (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Uludağ walking season (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Uludağ walking season (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Republic Day, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Chestnut harvest

  1 Oct – 30 Nov · usually

  The chestnut woods on the lower slopes of Uludağ are picked out and the confectioners in the old town start turning them into kestane şekeri. It is the thing people take home from Bursa.

• Holiday

  Republic Day

  27–30 OctNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  The 29th of October gives Turkey a long weekend, and Bursa is close enough to Istanbul to absorb a lot of it. Thermal hotels in Çekirge are the first thing to sell out. Source ↗

Busy — First-term mid-break in Turkey

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Chestnut harvest (1 Oct – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — Uludağ ski season, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Uludağ ski season

  15 Dec – 31 Mar · usuallyCrowdedBook early

  The lifts usually run from the middle of December to the end of March, with January and February the dependable months. It is Turkey's most convenient ski hill rather than its best.