The ancient name of the town of Avanos, which lies 18km to the northeast of Nevşehir, is a Vanessa. The main economic activity in the town is pottery, a craft dating back to the Hittite period. The red clay which is worked by local craftsmen comes from the residue in the Kızılırmak river.

On the banks of the Kızılırmak, near to Avanos, a marble sarcophagus was found in a Roman necropolis. It is particularly interesting as it is the first sarcophagus to have been found in the area. The sarcophagus was discoverd in 1971, but unfortunately someone had already opened the gaple roof lid and stolen the contents. After pathological and paleoanthropological tests on the the body and sarcophagus it has been established that the body belonged to a women, whose hair was dyed with henna.

The 13th century Sarihan caravanserai and the Ottoman Alaaddin mosque are interesting pieces of architecture in the area.