Shopping in İzmir: Kemeraltı, Alsancak and the Main Malls

What to buy in İzmir: textiles, leather, jewellery and food gifts

The classic purchases here are the ones the bazaar is built around: spices, jewellery, leather goods and handcrafted items. Add textiles and, further into the food side of the market, Turkish delight and other edible gifts that travel better than they look. None of it requires a specialist dealer; you will find the same categories repeated across the lanes, so compare a few stalls before committing.

For fashion and accessories rather than produce, look to Alsancak, where the shops lean towards the latest in fashion and accessories rather than souvenirs. That gives you a workable split: food and crafts in the bazaar, clothing in the city's trendier neighbourhood.

Kemeraltı Bazaar: layout and what the stalls sell

Kemeraltı dates back to the 17th century and spreads through a dense web of lanes rather than a single aisle. Expect it to be crowded, and expect a mixture of goods aimed at visitors alongside everyday items locals actually buy; that mix is the point, but it means you walk it slowly rather than ticking off a list.

Travellers consistently describe it as a big place with a great variety of goods, from the tourist-facing stretches to daily household stock. Give it a half day at least, wear shoes you can walk in for hours, and treat the food and coffee stops inside the bazaar as part of the visit rather than an interruption.

How to haggle and pay in Kemeraltı and the street markets

Bargaining is expected in the bazaar and the street markets; it is part of the ritual, not an awkward negotiation. Most shops accept credit cards, but carry cash for smaller purchases and for street markets, where cards are less reliable.

The practical rule is to agree the price before anything is wrapped or cut, and to keep small notes handy so you are not hunting for change mid-bargain. Beyond Kemeraltı, the weekly bazaars in various neighbourhoods and the streets of Çankaya give a more local version of the same experience.

If markets are the main reason you came, it is worth checking which neighbourhood bazaar falls on your dates before you build a day around one. Our guide to Izmir Markets covers the local market scene in more detail.

Alsancak: boutiques, designer stores and café breaks

Alsancak is İzmir's trendy neighbourhood, and the shopping reflects it: fashionable boutiques and designer stores rather than market stalls. It is the place to browse for clothes and accessories in a less frantic setting than the bazaar, with the seafront and the Konak district within easy reach.

The neighbourhood is also home to charming cafés and restaurants, which makes it the natural place to break a shopping day rather than push through to the next stop. Plan Alsancak as a half-day of browsing with a long lunch, not a sprint.

Konak Pier: the Eiffel-designed waterfront building

Konak Pier at Atatürk Caddesi No:19 in Konak is a historic seaside building designed by Gustave Eiffel, now used as a shopping and dining complex. Inside you find boutiques, high-end restaurants and a cinema, so it works as an evening stop as much as a shopping one.

The draw is the setting as much as the shops: terraced restaurants, a bookshop with English titles, and outdoor café seating looking over the water. Come for a meal or a film and treat the browsing as a bonus.

Forum Bornova: the open-air mall

Forum Bornova at Kazımdirik, 372. Sk. No:75 is an open-air shopping centre with around 128 shops, well-known brands, a food court and family facilities. Because you walk between units outside, it feels different from a sealed covered mall: pleasant in good weather, less so in the heat of the day or rain.

It is a full afternoon rather than a quick stop, with restaurants, a cinema complex and an IKEA alongside. Groups with mixed agendas do well here, since non-shoppers can eat or watch a film while others work through the brands.

Other malls worth knowing: Point Bornova, MaviBahçe, İstinye Park and Agora

Point Bornova at 4174 Sokak No:4, Bağburnu Mevkii carries H&M, MediaMarkt and Mudo Concept among others, and has been open since 2015. MaviBahçe on Caher Dudayev Bulvarı in Karşıyaka opened the same year with clothing shops, a children's playground and a large cinema complex.

İstinye Park in Balçova is the upmarket option, opened in 2022 and stocked with luxury names, while Agora AVM on Mithatpaşa Caddesi in Balçova covers mid-range brands alongside restaurants and a supermarket. If you want brands in one block, these are your picks; a covered mall also makes a sensible fallback when the weather turns.

Shopping by area: Konak, Bornova, Karşıyaka and Balçova

Match the district to your day. Konak gives you Kemeraltı, Çankaya's streets and Konak Pier within walking distance of each other, which is the densest single stretch of shopping in the city; Bornova has Forum Bornova and Point Bornova.

Karşıyaka, across the water, has MaviBahçe and Hilltown Karşıyaka, the latter open from 10:00 to 22:00. Balçova groups Agora AVM, İstinye Park and Ege Park along the same avenue, so one trip covers several malls.

Getting between them is straightforward by public transport and taxi, and a map helps before you commit to a cross-city hop. Use our Izmir map to group stops by district rather than backtracking.

Cash, cards and timing your visit

Carry a mix: cards work in most shops, but cash matters in the bazaar and street markets. Keep the bargaining for the market and expect fixed prices in the malls.

Time the bazaar for the morning, when the lanes are cooler and less packed, and save the covered malls for the hottest part of the afternoon. Opening hours vary by shop and by mall, so confirm the day's times before making a special journey; the published hours for Hilltown Karşıyaka are the exception rather than the rule.

Bazaar or mall: which one gets your day?

Choose Kemeraltı if you want atmosphere, food gifts and a bargain, and accept the crowds as part of it; choose the malls at Bornova or Balçova if you want brands, air conditioning and fixed prices. Many visitors do both, splitting the day between Konak and one mall.

Before you go, check opening hours for the specific mall and shop, and keep cash for the bazaar. If you are weighing up the city against the rest of your itinerary, our honest answer on whether Izmir is worth visiting will help you decide how many days to give it.