Sultanahmet
Serving tasty pides and kebaps since 1985, the original Karadeniz (Black Sea)–style pide joint in this enclave is a hit with local shopkeepers. You can claim a table in the utilitarian interior (women usually sit upstairs) or on the lane. No alcohol.
Make sure that you don't get this place confused with those nearby, which have cheekily used versions of its name but are nowhere near as good. This one is on the street corner.
0.24 MILES
Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.
0.52 MILES
Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…
2.45 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…
0.78 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…
0.17 MILES
This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…
0.24 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…
0.39 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)…
1.64 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…
0.13 MILES
Near the northern end of the Hippodrome, this little gazebo with beautiful stonework was presented to the sultan and his people as a token of friendship…
2. Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts
0.14 MILES
This Ottoman palace was built in 1524 for İbrahim Paşa, childhood friend, brother-in-law and grand vizier of Süleyman the Magnificent. It now houses a…
0.14 MILES
This was kilometre zero during the Byzantine Empire: the starting point of the Via Egnatia, the great road linking Constantinople with the Adriatic coast,…
0.15 MILES
The Byzantine emperors loved nothing more than an afternoon at the chariot races, and this rectangular arena alongside Sultanahmet Park was their venue of…
0.17 MILES
This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…
0.17 MILES
When an unremarkable 1950s municipal building on this site was demolished in 2010, the construction crew made an exciting subterranean discovery: a…
0.17 MILES
The türbe (tomb) of Sultan Ahmet I, the Blue Mosque’s great patron, is on the north side of the mosque facing Sultanahmet Park. Ahmet, who had ascended to…
0.18 MILES
In the centre of the Hippodrome, this immaculately preserved pink granite obelisk was carved in Egypt during the reign of Thutmose III (r 1549–1503 BC)…