Istanbul

Pierre Loti Café

Istanbul

Many visitors head to this hilltop cafe after visiting the Eyüp Sultan Mosque. Named for the famous French novelist who is said to have come here for…

İstanbul Modern

Beyoğlu

This lavishly funded and innovative museum has an extensive collection of Turkish art and also stages a constantly changing and uniformly excellent…

Basilica Cistern

Sultanahmet

This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…

SALT Beyoğlu

Beyoğlu

With a brief to explore critical and timely issues in visual and material culture, the İstiklal branch of the SALT cultural centre is one of the city's…

Topkapı Palace

Sultanahmet

Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…

Grand Bazaar

Istanbul

The colourful and chaotic Grand Bazaar is the heart of İstanbul's Old City and has been so for centuries. Starting as a small vaulted bedesten (warehouse)…

Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

Sultanahmet

Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.

Dolmabahçe Palace

The Bosphorus Suburbs

These days it’s fashionable for architects and critics influenced by the less-is-more aesthetic of Bauhaus masters to sneer at buildings such as…

Beşiktaş Çarşı

The Bosphorus Suburbs

The beating heart of Beşiktaş, this bustling backstreet area packed with shops, restaurants, bars, cafes – and the neighbourhood’s youthful crowd – is…

Pera Museum

Beyoğlu

There's plenty to see at this impressive museum, but its major draw is undoubtedly the 2nd-floor exhibition of paintings featuring Turkish Orientalist…

Barış Manço House

Kadıköy

One of the pioneering musicians who mixed rock sounds with traditional Turkish folk music to establish the Anatolian rock genre in the 1960s and 1970s,…

İstiklal Caddesi

Beyoğlu

Once called the Grand Rue de Pera but renamed İstiklal (Independence) in the early years of the Republic, Beyoğlu's premier boulevard is a perfect…

Süleymaniye Mosque

Istanbul

The Süleymaniye crowns one of İstanbul's seven hills and dominates the Golden Horn, providing a landmark for the entire city. Though it's not the largest…

Kadıköy Produce Market

Kadıköy

An aromatic, colourful and alluring showcase of the best fresh produce in the city, the Kadıköy Pazarı is foodie central for locals and is becoming an…

Meshur Dondurmacı Ali Usta

Kadıköy

Weekend and summer-night saunters down Moda Caddesi wouldn't be the same without a cone of the dondurma (ice cream) produced by the five brothers who…

Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat

Beyoğlu

Towering over Galatasaray Sq, this sleek cultural centre affiliated with a major Turkish bank stages art exhibitions, hosts classical-music concerts, and…

Spice Bazaar

Istanbul

Vividly coloured spices are displayed alongside jewel-like lokum (Turkish delight) at this Ottoman-era marketplace, providing eye candy for the thousands…

İstanbul Archaeology Museums

Sultanahmet

The city's foremost archaeological museum is housed in three buildings close to Topkapı Palace. There are many highlights, but the sarcophagi from the…

Gülhane Park

Sultanahmet

Gülhane Park was once part of the grounds of Topkapı Palace, accessible only to the royal court. These days crowds of locals come here to picnic under the…

Rüstem Paşa Mosque

Istanbul

Nestled in the middle of the busy Tahtakale shopping district, this diminutive mosque is a gem. Dating from 1560, it was designed by Sinan for Rüstem Paşa…

Palace Collections Museum

The Bosphorus Suburbs

Occupying the warehouse-like Dolmabahçe Palace kitchens, this museum exhibits items used in the royal palaces and pavilions during the late Ottoman Empire…

Kariye Mosque

Istanbul

İstanbul has more than its fair share of Byzantine monuments, but few are as drop-dead gorgeous as this mosaic- and fresco-laden church. Nestled in the…

Blue Mosque

Sultanahmet

İstanbul's most photogenic building was the grand project of Sultan Ahmet I (r 1603–17), whose tomb is located on the north side of the site facing…

Sphendone

Sultanahmet

The only remaining built section of the Hippodrome hints at how monumental the arena was. The level of galleries that once topped this section was damaged…

SALT Beyoğlu

Beyoğlu

With a brief to explore critical and timely issues in visual and material culture, the İstiklal branch of the SALT cultural centre is one of the city's…

Yıldız Park

The Bosphorus Suburbs

This large and leafy retreat is alive with birds, picnicking families and young couples strolling hand in hand. The best time to visit is in April, when…

Wednesday Market

Istanbul

This busy weekly market sells food, clothing and household goods. It's held in the streets behind and to the north of Fatih Mosque.

Topkapı Palace

Sultanahmet

Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…

Grand Bazaar

Istanbul

The colourful and chaotic Grand Bazaar is the heart of İstanbul's Old City and has been so for centuries. Starting as a small vaulted bedesten (warehouse)…

Aqueduct of Valens

Istanbul

Rising majestically over the traffic on busy Atatürk Bulvarı, this limestone aqueduct is one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Commissioned by…

Maçka Park

Nişantaşi, Bomonti & Harbiye

On a sunny weekend afternoon, you’ll find this slender green oasis in central İstanbul full of picnicking families, canoodling couples and slackline…

Hippodrome

Sultanahmet

The Byzantine emperors loved nothing more than an afternoon at the chariot races, and this rectangular arena alongside Sultanahmet Park was their venue of…

Turkish Hamam Culture Museum

Istanbul

Constructed by order of the mother of Selim I and one of the wives of Beyazıt II, this now-decommissioned early-16th-century hamam is one of the largest…

SALT Galata

Beyoğlu

The descriptor 'cultural centre' is used a lot in İstanbul, but is often a misnomer. Here at SALT Galata it really does apply. Housed in a magnificent…

Pera Museum

Beyoğlu

There's plenty to see at this impressive museum, but its major draw is undoubtedly the 2nd-floor exhibition of paintings featuring Turkish Orientalist…

İstanbul Arastırmaları Enstitüsü

Beyoğlu

Associated with the nearby Pera Museum, this institution incorporates a publicly accessible research library focusing on the cultural and social history…

İstiklal Caddesi

Beyoğlu

Once called the Grand Rue de Pera but renamed İstiklal (Independence) in the early years of the Republic, Beyoğlu's premier boulevard is a perfect…

Beyazıt State Library

Istanbul

Occupying the former imaret (soup kitchen) and kervansaray (caravanserai) of the Beyazıt Mosque's külliye, this library has recently been the subject of a…

Süleymaniye Mosque

Istanbul

The Süleymaniye crowns one of İstanbul's seven hills and dominates the Golden Horn, providing a landmark for the entire city. Though it's not the largest…

Kadıköy Produce Market

Kadıköy

An aromatic, colourful and alluring showcase of the best fresh produce in the city, the Kadıköy Pazarı is foodie central for locals and is becoming an…

Gülhane Park

Sultanahmet

Gülhane Park was once part of the grounds of Topkapı Palace, accessible only to the royal court. These days crowds of locals come here to picnic under the…

Feriköy Organic Market

Istanbul

Established in 2006 as Turkey’s first ‘100% ecological bazaar’, this bustling Saturday market is still going strong, with hundreds of colourful stalls…

Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat

Beyoğlu

Towering over Galatasaray Sq, this sleek cultural centre affiliated with a major Turkish bank stages art exhibitions, hosts classical-music concerts, and…

Spice Bazaar

Istanbul

Vividly coloured spices are displayed alongside jewel-like lokum (Turkish delight) at this Ottoman-era marketplace, providing eye candy for the thousands…

Church of St Stephen of the Bulgars

Istanbul

Known as the 'Iron Church', this distinctive Gothic Revival–style building on the Golden Horn has an extremely beautiful interior, with its gilded iron…

Koç University Research Centre for Anatolian Civilizations

Beyoğlu

With a wealth of scholarly knowledge and archival photos to draw on, the exhibitions regularly staged on the ground floor of this university-affiliated…

Hünkâr Kasrı

Istanbul

Built over a grand archway attached to the New Mosque, this small kasrı (pavilion) or mahfili (loge) dates from the same period and functioned as a…

Depo

Beyoğlu

Occupying a former tobacco warehouse, this alternative space is operated by Anadolu Kültür (www.anadolukultur.org), a not-for-profit organisation that…

Eyüp Sultan Mosque

Istanbul

This important complex marks the supposed burial place of Ebu Eyüp el-Ensari, a friend of the Prophet who fell in battle outside the walls of…

Rüstem Paşa Mosque

Istanbul

Nestled in the middle of the busy Tahtakale shopping district, this diminutive mosque is a gem. Dating from 1560, it was designed by Sinan for Rüstem Paşa…

Aşiyan Museum

The Bosphorus Suburbs

It’s quite a hike up to this small house-museum, named after the Turkish word for ‘bird’s nest’, but the stunning Bosphorus views may well inspire you to…

Women's Bazaar

Istanbul

Though it's a wonderful spot to observe local life, the vibrant Women's Bazaar isn't for the faint-hearted. Freshly slaughtered sheep carcasses swing in…

Akbank Art Centre

Beyoğlu

Turkey's big banks and philanthropic trusts vie to be seen as the greatest sponsor of the arts. İstiklal is a showcase for their generosity, and with this…