When to Come

Hester Callow · 29 June 2026

There are two good seasons here and one that will make you regret the whole enterprise.

Spring

April and May are the best of it. The plain is green, the hills are worth walking, the city is comfortable at midday and the evenings are long.

This is also when the province looks least like the flat brown expanse that summer visitors describe, which is a version of the place that does it no justice at all.

Autumn

October into November is the other window, cooler and quieter, with the kebab houses at their best and no crowding anywhere.

Rain becomes more likely as you move into winter, but it is a mild wet rather than a cold one and it does not spoil much.

Summer, If You Must

July and August are extremely hot and humid. It is entirely possible to enjoy the city then, but only by adopting the local timetable completely: out early, indoors at midday, out again after dark.

Anyone planning to spend the middle of an August day walking round a castle has misunderstood the assignment.

How Long

Three days covers the city properly. Five lets you take the castle and the viaduct at a civilised pace with a morning spare for the bazaar.

Beyond a week you are into the coast at Karataş or the mountains north, both of which are worth it and neither of which is Adana.