Marmaris packs its social life into the strip between the marina and the old town, and it comes in two very different flavors. The waterfront and yacht marina, Netsel, one of the largest and best-equipped in the eastern Mediterranean, is the genteel side: a long palm-lined promenade of moored gulets and superyachts, ice-cream parlors, cafes and the jetties where daily boat trips and Blue Cruise gulets set off. A few streets inland, Bar Street (Barlar Sokak) is the opposite, a narrow, neon-lit run of back-to-back bars and clubs that becomes one of the most raucous nightlife scenes on the Turkish coast after dark, pumping music into the early hours. In between sits the Grand Bazaar, a warren of covered shopping lanes selling leather, textiles, spices and Turkish delight, where bargaining is expected. It is loud, commercial and unashamedly touristy, but the marina promenade at dusk is genuinely lovely.
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