Best Time to Visit Bursa: Spring Redbuds, Summer Uludağ and Winter Skiing

Because Bursa combines a low-altitude Mediterranean-Marmara valley (150m elevation) with a towering 2,543-metre alpine peak directly overhead, it is a true four-season destination. While skiers flock here from January to March, the finest overall windows for walking the UNESCO khans, Cumalıkızık village, Lake Uluabat and Iznik under sunny skies are April to mid-June and September to mid-November.

Spring (April, May and early June) is the most poetic season in "Green Bursa". Snow still caps the high ridges of Mount Uludağ while down in the valley temperatures sit at a comfortable 20°C to 26°C. In April and May, magenta Judas trees (erguvan), white magnolias and tulips bloom inside the royal gardens of Muradiye, peach orchards blossom across the Bursa plain, and mountain snowmelt sends clear water rushing down the central cobblestone gutters of Cumalıkızık.

Summer (mid-June, July and August) brings warm, sunny days in the city (averaging 30°C to 33°C) and the longest daylight hours. Whenever the afternoon valley feels warm, you have two effortless natural air-conditioners within 30 minutes: ride the 9-kilometre Teleferik cable car up to Sarıalan (1,635m) where pine-forest temperatures sit at a crisp 19°C, or take a wooden boat out among the blooming white lotus water lilies on Lake Uluabat at Gölyazı (water lilies bloom from late May through August). Late August and September also bring the harvest of Bursa's famous sweet black figs (Bursa siyah inciri) and peaches.

Autumn (September, October and November) sees the beech, oak and chestnut forests on the slopes of Uludağ turn brilliant gold, copper and crimson, making the 25-minute glass gondola ride on the Teleferik one of the most sweeping autumn foliage experiences in Turkey, while evenings become ideal for soaking in Çekirge's 45°C thermal baths.

Winter (December to March) brings cold, cosy days in town (5°C to 10°C) for steaming plates of İskender kebab and deep powder snow up on Uludağ's ski runs. Check what to wear in Bursa before packing.