Bodrum, the Saint-Tropez of the Turkish coast

If the name of Halicarnassus has left an indelible mark on history, it is not so much for the city's rather limited influence, or even for being the birthplace of the historian Herodotus, but rather for one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that it housed. When the much-loved King Mausoleus kicked the bucket in around 354 BC, his wife had a funerary edifice of prodigious dimensions, 45 metres high, built.

This tomb, so out of the ordinary, had to have a name of its own, and was christened Mausoleum! A word that will live on through the centuries...

After Halicarnassus was burnt down by Alexander the Great himself, the city gradually sank into oblivion. The Mausoleum was even destroyed by an earthquake, its stones used as a ready-made quarry...

It wasn't until the fifteenth century that what is now Bodrum was put back on the map, with the construction of St Peter's Castle for the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, then based in Rhodes: it remains the most significant vestige of the town today.

The fortress still guards the entrance to the port of Bodrum, whose former shipyards have largely given way to a trendy and festive marina: a haven for artists and intellectuals in the 1940s, Bodrum has since established itself as the most chic resort on the Turkish Riviera. Its well-kept style, white Aegean-style houses and nightlife are certainly not to blame!

Bodrum's bustling harbour is always the place to be. Lined up along the quays, you can admire the gulets, the gleaming wooden schooners that have been a speciality of the Bodrum shipyards for centuries!

In the centre of the port, Saint Peter's Castle (Bodrum is said to have been named after the castle Petreum, which means Peter in Latin!) rises up from its imposing fortified silhouette: it houses the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, which is quite unique in its genre, with its galleries of amphorae and shipwrecks found at the bottom of the sea... It's also a must to wander around the castle walls and take in some fine views of Bodrum and its bay.

Around the castle, the old town charms with its neat décor, because there are rules in Bodrum: white paint and exposed stone are de rigueur, and bougainvillea bloom. It's always pleasant to explore in the tranquillity of a warm afternoon, and even more so in the early evening, when the alleys and terraces fill up and the shops light up their windows.

You could almost walk past the ruins of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus without noticing them! But there's not much left of it... and the focus soon shifts back to the seafront, where most of Bodrum's nightlife is concentrated: trendy restaurants, waterside bars, rowdy clubs - there's plenty to keep you going all night, in the company of well-born Turkish youth and a host of Anglo-Saxon tourists.

To recover from all this, head for the beach. Bodrum's main beach, Gumbet, is very well developed and corresponds to the hotel district. It's worth getting away from the resort and exploring the Mugla region and some of its pretty villages/seaside resorts, such as Gümüslük, Yalikavak, Göltürkbükü and Torba.

Another option: boat trips, Bodrum's great speciality. Day trips around the islands of the bay and their crystal-clear coves, to Datça on the other side of the bay for a few days' cruising on a schooner, or to the neighbouring Greek islands of Kos, Rhodes, Symi and more.