To relax in a small city park, equipped with alleyways and benches for rest, arbours for picnics and children’s playgrounds, or to travel to a real wild nature kingdom located in a national reserve, to get some fresh air, drink clear cool water from a stream and listen to birdsong, not the quiet kind that you can barely hear in a city, but loud and melodic… Throughout history, people have always been faced with a choice, whether it's making an important decision, or picking a place to relax. That was the case in Turkey too, before they decided to create hiking routes and comfortable places for rest not in a small park, but in an entire state forest reserve in the vicinity of Edirne. That’s how Edirne City Forest, one of the most visited landmarks in the country, was created.

On the one hand, the vast territory of the reserve appears wild and practically untouched by mankind. There is a deep coniferous wood, and two running rivers: the Meric, one of the largest rivers in the Balkans, and the picturesque Tumcha with fast-flowing waters. Both of them bound spacious woods and give life to dozens of species of plants, an abundance of trees and exotic flowers. So what is so unique about this forest? What makes it different from other reserves?

Edirne City Forest isn’t just a wild nature kingdom but also a family getaway equipped with the benefits of civilisation. There are plenty of hiking routes accessible even for young children and persons with disabilities. There is a designated picnic zone at the river bank that has braziers and arbours. For young visitors, there are safe playgrounds in the very heart of a real forest. With the creation of the Edirne reserve with such a level of safety and comfort, Turkey residents and visitors no longer have to choose. The only choice they have to make is between a riverbank and a sunny forest meadow.