Beyoğlu
İstanbul's most famous bar, and deservedly so. If you can score one of the bar stools on the terrace you'll be happy indeed – the view is truly extraordinary. It morphs into a club after midnight on Friday and Saturday, when a cover charge of ₺60 applies (this includes one drink). The food is overpriced and underwhelming – don't bother with dinner.
Note that from noon to 6pm you can take the elevator to the 8th floor but from 6pm you'll need to go to the 6th floor and walk up the stairs.
1.71 MILES
Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.
1.47 MILES
Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…
1.97 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…
1.33 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…
1.69 MILES
This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…
1.9 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…
1.58 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)…
0.09 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…
0.04 MILES
Towering over Galatasaray Sq, this sleek cultural centre affiliated with a major Turkish bank stages art exhibitions, hosts classical-music concerts, and…
2. Koç University Research Centre for Anatolian Civilizations
0.06 MILES
With a wealth of scholarly knowledge and archival photos to draw on, the exhibitions regularly staged on the ground floor of this university-affiliated…
0.06 MILES
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…
4. İstanbul Arastırmaları Enstitüsü
0.08 MILES
Associated with the nearby Pera Museum, this institution incorporates a publicly accessible research library focusing on the cultural and social history…
0.09 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…
0.09 MILES
This attractive 19th-century arcade off the Fish Market is full of shops that once sold antiques but now seem to stock little except tourist tat.
0.1 MILES
Located opposite the grandiose entrance to the 1868 Galatasaray Lycée, one of the city's most prestigious educational institutions, this much-loved…
0.11 MILES
Back when promenading down the Grand Rue de Pera (now İstiklal Caddesi) was the height of fashion, the Cité de Pera building was İstanbul's most glamorous…