The beating heart of Beşiktaş, this bustling backstreet area packed with shops, restaurants, bars, cafes – and the neighbourhood’s youthful crowd – is known simply as ‘çarşı’ (market). Its hubs are the fish market, covered by a distinctive steel canopy and lined at the back by meyhane (tavern) restaurants, and the small square centred around a statue of a black eagle, the symbol of the Beşiktaş football club and a rallying point on match nights.
Beşiktaş Çarşı
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.79 MILES
Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.
2.45 MILES
Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…
3.57 MILES
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…
2.88 MILES
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…
2.82 MILES
This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…
3.03 MILES
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…
2.98 MILES
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)…
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1.76 MILES
There's plenty to see at this impressive museum, but its major draw is undoubtedly the 2nd-floor exhibition of paintings featuring Turkish Orientalist…
Nearby attractions
0.13 MILES
In the square opposite the İstanbul Naval Museum is this Sinan-designed tomb of the admiral of Süleyman the Magnificent's fleet, Barbaros Heyrettin Paşa …
0.14 MILES
Established over a century ago to celebrate and commemorate Turkish naval history, this museum's architecturally noteworthy copper-clad exhibition hall…
0.16 MILES
Occupying the warehouse-like Dolmabahçe Palace kitchens, this museum exhibits items used in the royal palaces and pavilions during the late Ottoman Empire…
4. National Palaces Painting Museum
0.29 MILES
The Veliaht Dairesi (Apartments of the Crown Prince) in Dolmabahçe Palace are now home to the palace's collection of paintings. Highlights include the…
0.44 MILES
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…
0.51 MILES
Not satisfied with the architectural exertions of his predecessor at Dolmabahçe Palace, Sultan Abdül Aziz (r 1861–76) built his own grand residence at…
0.64 MILES
On a sunny weekend afternoon, you’ll find this slender green oasis in central İstanbul full of picnicking families, canoodling couples and slackline…
0.67 MILES
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…