📍 Istanbul tourist map

Ayasofya

Sultanahmet · desde 537

The dome that broke history: basilica, mosque, museum and mosque again in 1500 years.

Tip: Get there at 8:30 sharp via the tourist entrance: you'll skip an hour of queuing.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: UNESCO

Topkapı Sarayı

Sultanahmet · palacio otomano

Four courtyards where 400 years of sultans lived, schemed and stashed the imperial treasure.

Tip: The Harem ticket is sold separately and worth every lira: grab it with the general one.

🚇 Gülhane — T1 tram

Featured in: UNESCO

Sultanahmet Camii

Sultanahmet · Mezquita Azul

Twenty thousand İznik tiles and six minarets: walk in barefoot and stare upward for a good while.

Tip: Closed to tourists during the five daily prayers: check times and bring a scarf.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: UNESCO

Yerebatan Sarnıcı

Sultanahmet · Cisterna Basílica

336 Byzantine columns underwater, lit up into the most photogenic spot in the old town.

Tip: Go in the afternoon: by day the line wraps the block and it looks no better inside.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: Viral TikTok

Süleymaniye Camii

Fatih · Sinan, 1557

Sinan's masterpiece and the best free terrace over the Golden Horn. No lines, no drama.

Tip: Head to the north courtyard 40 minutes before sunset: that's where the Bosphorus postcard is.

🚇 Vezneciler — M2

Featured in: Viral IG

Galata Kulesi

Galata · torre genovesa 1348

The tower in every Istanbul photo, with the 360-degree view up top that justifies it.

Tip: Buy online and take the first slot of the day: by noon it's a packed elevator.

🚇 Şişhane — M2 / Karaköy T1

Featured in: Google Top

Dolmabahçe Sarayı

Beşiktaş · 1856

The palace where the Ottomans went European: 285 rooms, Bohemian crystal and gold everywhere.

Tip: Closed Mondays. The visit is guided with no photos inside, so enjoy it with your eyes.

🚇 Kabataş — T1 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Google Top

Kariye Camii

Edirnekapı · Chora

The best Byzantine mosaics on the planet, in a neighborhood almost nobody reaches. Worth the trip.

Tip: Pair it with lunch at Asitane, literally next door.

🚇 Ayvansaray — T5 tram

Featured in: UNESCO

Rüstem Paşa Camii

Eminönü · azulejos İznik

A tiny mosque hidden above the bazaar, covered in tiles: the prettiest per square meter.

Tip: The entrance is a narrow staircase between spice stalls: look for it on the northeast corner.

🚇 Eminönü — T1 / vapur

Featured in: Secreto local

Kız Kulesi

Salacak · Torre de Leandro

The little tower in the middle of the Bosphorus, reopened with a café on top. Ten minutes by boat from Üsküdar.

Tip: The boat leaves Salacak every half hour; the last one heads back early.

🚇 Üsküdar — M5 / vapur

Featured in: Trending IG

Beylerbeyi Sarayı

Beylerbeyi · orilla asiática

A summer palace right on the water, with half the crowds of Dolmabahçe and the same gold.

🚇 Üsküdar — M5 + bus 15

Featured in: Google Top

Ortaköy Camii

Ortaköy · bajo el puente

A baroque mosque floating between the Bosphorus and the bridge: the photo everyone has and nobody tires of.

Tip: After the photo, grab a fully loaded kumpir at the stalls on the little square.

🚇 Beşiktaş — vapur / bus 22

Featured in: Trending IG

Balat

Fatih · casas de colores

Painted houses, umbrella-covered stairs and 200 cats: the neighborhood TikTok made mandatory.

Tip: The colorful houses are on Kiremit Caddesi; the side streets are better and queue-free.

🚇 Balat — T5 tram

Featured in: Viral TikTok

Fener Rum Lisesi

Fener · el castillo rojo

The red-brick Greek school ruling the Golden Horn since 1881. You can't go in, but it's imposing.

🚇 Fener — T5 tram

Featured in: Histórico 1881

Pierre Loti Tepesi

Eyüpsultan · teleférico TF2

Ride the cable car up and sip çay watching the sunset over the whole Golden Horn. Cheap and epic.

Tip: The cable car takes İstanbulkart. Arrive an hour before sunset to snag a table.

🚇 Eyüpsultan — T5 + TF2 cable car

Featured in: Viral TikTok

Çamlıca Kulesi

Üsküdar · la torre más alta

A 369-meter tower on the highest hill: the whole Bosphorus and both continents in one look.

🚇 Kısıklı — M5

Featured in: Nuevo 2021

Emirgan Korusu

Sarıyer · parque de tulipanes

In April it explodes with tulips, in autumn it's pure gold. A picnic with Bosphorus views, free.

🚇 Emirgan — vapur / bus 22

Featured in: Local favorito

Bebek

Beşiktaş · orilla chic

The neighborhood where Istanbul's moneyed crowd does breakfast by the water. Perfect waterfront walk.

🚇 Bebek — vapur / bus 22

Featured in: Local favorito

Kadıköy Çarşı

Kadıköy · lado asiático

The liveliest market in town: fish, pickles, meyhanes and zero selfie-stick tourists.

Tip: Cross by vapur from Eminönü: a 25-minute cruise for the price of a bus ride.

🚇 Kadıköy — M4 / vapur

Featured in: Local favorito

Moda Sahili

Kadıköy · costanera

Sunset on the rocks with a beer and toast, among students and happy dogs.

🚇 Kadıköy — M4 / T3 nostalgic tram

Featured in: Local favorito

Büyükada

Adalar · Islas Príncipe

A car-free island 90 minutes by ferry: wooden mansions, bikes and fish right by the sea.

Tip: Catch the first ferry and hop off with a bike rented at the port.

🚇 Büyükada — vapur from Kabataş

Featured in: Escapada clásica

İstanbul Modern

Karaköy · Renzo Piano

Contemporary art museum in a new Renzo Piano building, with a mirrored terrace over the Bosphorus.

Tip: The top-floor terrace is free with your ticket and it's the best viewpoint in Karaköy.

🚇 Tophane — T1 tram

Featured in: Renzo Piano 2023

İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri

Gülhane · desde 1891

Alexander's sarcophagus and the Treaty of Kadesh: one of the world's most serious archaeology museums.

🚇 Gülhane — T1 tram

Featured in: Histórico 1891

Pera Müzesi

Tepebaşı · Beyoğlu

A small, perfect museum: Ottoman orientalism, tiles and always well-curated temporary shows.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Curaduría top

SALT Galata

Karaköy · ex Banco Otomano

A free cultural center in an 1892 bank building, with the prettiest library in the city.

Tip: Go up to the top floor: that's where Neolokal is, plus a view they don't charge for.

🚇 Karaköy — T1 / Tünel F2

Featured in: Secreto local

Çemberlitaş Hamamı

Çemberlitaş · Sinan, 1584

A Sinan hamam running since 1584: marble, foam and a kese scrub-down that leaves you brand new.

Tip: Book the package with kese and köpük; tip the tellak separately, in cash.

🚇 Çemberlitaş — T1 tram

Featured in: Histórico 1584

Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamamı

Tophane · restaurado

Another Sinan, restored to museum standards with separate hours by gender. The most polished of all.

🚇 Tophane — T1 tram

Featured in: Histórico 1580

Zeyrek Çinili Hamam

Zeyrek · reabierto 2023

A 16th-century hamam that reopened with its own tile museum after 13 years of restoration.

🚇 Vezneciler — M2

Featured in: Nuevo 2023

Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamamı

Sultanahmet · 1556

The hamam Roxelana had built between Ayasofya and the Blue Mosque. Pricey, but pure marble.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: Histórico 1556

Vapur Eminönü–Kadıköy

Eminönü · ferry con gaviotas

The cheapest cruise on earth: simit in hand, seagulls trying to steal it and the skyline gliding by.

Tip: Sit at the back right heading to Kadıköy and buy your simit before boarding.

🚇 Eminönü — T1 / vapur

Featured in: Viral TikTok

Rumeli Hisarı

Sarıyer · fortaleza 1452

The fortress Mehmet II raised in four months to strangle Constantinople. Brutal views.

🚇 Hisarüstü — M6 + bus 22

Featured in: Histórico 1452

Sultanahmet Meydanı

Sultanahmet · ex hipódromo

Where Byzantine chariots once raced now stands a 3500-year-old Egyptian obelisk. All free.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: UNESCO

TURK Fatih Tutak

Bomonti · Şişli

Two stars and a Green Star: Anatolia deconstructed by Turkey's most ambitious chef.

Tip: Book three months ahead; the tasting menu is the only option.

🚇 Osmanbey — M2

Featured in: Michelin 2★ 2026

Neolokal

SALT Galata · Karaköy

Maksut Aşkar rescues endangered Anatolian recipes, Golden Horn view included.

Tip: Ask for a table by the window and go at sunset: the view is part of the menu.

🚇 Karaköy — T1 / Tünel F2

Featured in: Michelin 1★ 2026

Mikla

The Marmara Pera · Tepebaşı

Mehmet Gürs' rooftop mixing Anatolia with Scandinavia, plus the best terrace view in Beyoğlu.

Tip: Can't make dinner? Head up to the terrace bar anyway for a drink at sunset.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Michelin 1★ 2026

Nicole

Tomtom · Beyoğlu

Chef-driven cooking in a Tomtom stone house: tiny, precise, with a serious Turkish wine list.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Michelin 1★ 2026

Araka

Yeniköy · Sarıyer

Vegetables from their own garden, seasonal cooking and a green patio far from the center. Worth the cab.

🚇 Yeniköy — vapur / bus 22

Featured in: Michelin 1★ 2026

Arkestra

Etiler · Beşiktaş

Technical, playful cooking in Etiler: the most fun starred bistro in the city.

🚇 Etiler — M6

Featured in: Michelin 1★ 2026

Sankai by Nagaya

Akaretler · Beşiktaş

Impeccable Japanese kaiseki in Istanbul: an eight-seat counter, fish of the day and total silence.

🚇 Kabataş — T1 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Michelin 1★ 2026

Araf İstanbul

Kadıköy · fuego abierto

The new star of 2026: a tiny counter facing the fire, on the Asian side and zero pretense.

Tip: Bookings are direct by phone only and tables are few: reach out weeks ahead.

🚇 Kozyatağı — M4

Featured in: Michelin 1★ 2026

Karaköy Lokantası

Karaköy · azulejos verdes

A turquoise-tiled meyhane: mezze, rakı and waiters who recommend better than any guide.

Tip: Book for dinner; at lunch it runs as a lokanta and costs half.

🚇 Karaköy — T1 / Tünel F2

Featured in: Eater 38

Yeni Lokanta

Kumbaracı Yokuşu · Beyoğlu

Civan Er cooks the Turkish food you want to eat every day, in upgraded form. Book now.

Tip: Order the pastırma with warm hummus and let the Turkish wine list lead the way.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Eater 38

Çiya Sofrası

Kadıköy · sudeste anatolio

Musa Dağdeviren rescued dishes even Turkey stopped cooking. Point at the tray and you're set.

Tip: Go at lunchtime when everything is freshly made and try three or four small plates.

🚇 Kadıköy — M4 / vapur

Featured in: Bib Gourmand

Asmalı Cavit

Asmalımescit · meyhane 1970

A textbook meyhane: packed tables, rakı, classic mezze and the clatter of forks until late.

Tip: Order arnavut ciğeri and lakerda. Book ahead — there are only four tables.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Bib Gourmand

Hayvore

Beyoğlu · cocina del Mar Negro

Everything Trabzon eats, right in Beyoğlu: hamsi, muhlama and kuymak that takes no prisoners.

Tip: The muhlama with corn bread is mandatory; order it even if you've already ordered everything.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Bib Gourmand

Kantin

Nişantaşı · Şişli

Şemsa Denizsel cooks market food with Nordic discipline. A chalkboard menu that changes daily.

🚇 Osmanbey — M2

Featured in: Bib Gourmand

Zübeyir Ocakbaşı

Beyoğlu · Bekar Sokak

Charcoal grill in plain view: you order and watch your adana being made. The ocakbaşı everyone cites.

Tip: Sit at the counter facing the fire and order the kaburga with çoban salatası.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Michelin 2026

Deraliye

Sultanahmet · cocina de palacio

Recipes rescued from the Topkapı kitchens: Mehmet II's kebab and imperial desserts, no gimmicks.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: Michelin 2026

Asitane

Edirnekapı · junto a Kariye

They research Ottoman archives and cook 15th-century dishes. Garden patio and zero tourist traps.

Tip: Pair it with the Kariye mosaics, 50 meters away.

🚇 Ayvansaray — T5 tram

Featured in: Cocina histórica

Develi Samatya

Samatya · desde 1912

The mother house of Gaziantep kebab in Istanbul: over a century tending the same fire.

🚇 Yenikapı — M1A/M2 / Marmaray

Featured in: Histórico 1912

Beyti

Florya · desde 1945

The place that invented the beyti kebap and fed half the world. A meat hangar with history.

🚇 Florya — Marmaray

Featured in: Eater 38

Adana Ocakbaşı

Kurtuluş · parrilla de barrio

A no-frills neighborhood ocakbaşı where the adana comes out perfect and the şalgam ice cold.

🚇 Osmanbey — M2

Featured in: Local favorito

Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi

Sultanahmet · Selim Usta 1920

Köfte, piyaz beans and nothing else. A hundred years making a single dish like the gods.

Tip: It's the one at Divanyolu 12A. The others with similar names are imitations.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: Histórico 1920

Pandeli

Mısır Çarşısı · desde 1901

A blue-tiled dining room above the Spice Bazaar that fed everyone from Atatürk to Audrey.

Tip: Lunch only. Order the eggplant börek in paper and a table by the window.

🚇 Eminönü — T1 / vapur

Featured in: Histórico 1901

Balıkçı Sabahattin

Cankurtaran · Sultanahmet

A fish house with tables in a wooden home: cold mezze, grilled fish and unhurried rakı.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: Clásico imperdible

Giritli

Cankurtaran · cocina cretense

Set menu with 20 Cretan mezze, fish and unlimited rakı in a hidden garden. All included.

Tip: It's a fixed price with drinks: sit in the garden and order nothing, they bring it all.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: Eater 38

Kıyı Restaurant

Tarabya · Sarıyer

A Bosphorus-side fish institution since 1964, where the same families still come to lunch.

🚇 Tarabya — bus 22 / vapur

Featured in: Eater 38

Alaf

Arnavutköy · fuego y humo

Everything cooked over embers in an Arnavutköy house: ash-grilled octopus and smoked vegetables.

🚇 Arnavutköy — bus 22 / 25E

Featured in: Eater 38

Bi Nevi Deli

Etiler · plant based

Istanbul's best vegan spot, and not as a consolation prize: gluten-free, dairy-free and full of flavor.

🚇 Etiler — M6

Featured in: Eater 38

Tatbak

Nişantaşı · lahmacun 1960

The thin, crispy lahmacun Nişantaşı locals have been eating standing up for 60 years.

Tip: Order it with lemon and parsley, roll it up and eat it hot at the counter.

🚇 Osmanbey — M2

Featured in: Eater 38

Mürver

Novotel Bosphorus · Karaköy

A rooftop of fire and fish with the Bosphorus as backdrop: the prettiest terrace in Karaköy.

🚇 Karaköy — T1 / Tünel F2

Featured in: Eater 38

Mabou

Asmalımescit · Beyoğlu

A tiny Beyoğlu bistro with a short menu, great produce and the vibe of a neighbor who cooks well.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Eater 38

Tarihi Karaköy Balık Lokantası

Karaköy · Griffin, desde 1923

A counter fish joint: point at the fish, they fry it, and you eat it at a formica table.

🚇 Karaköy — T1 / Tünel F2

Featured in: Eater 38

Dürümzade

Beyoğlu · Kamer Hatun

The dürüm Bourdain turned into legend: buttery toasted lavash with adana inside. Three minutes.

Tip: Best after the bars. Order it with acılı ezme and don't ask for cutlery.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Viral TikTok

Şehzade Cağ Kebap

Hocapaşa · Sirkeci

Erzurum lamb spinning horizontally over the fire. Eaten skewer by skewer until you say enough.

Tip: You pay per skewer. Start with three and add more later — they come out in two minutes.

🚇 Sirkeci — T1 / Marmaray

Featured in: Clásico imperdible

Kanaat Lokantası

Üsküdar · desde 1933

A 90-year-old counter lokanta on the Asian side: homestyle Turkish food, cheap and honest.

Tip: Finish with the fırın sütlaç, the best baked rice pudding in the city.

🚇 Üsküdar — M5 / Marmaray / vapur

Featured in: Histórico 1933

Van Kahvaltı Evi

Cihangir · desayuno kurdo

Breakfast from Turkey's east: a table buried in cheeses, honeys, kaymak and eggs with menemen.

Tip: Go at least two of you and order the serpme: finishing it alone is impossible.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Clásico imperdible

Bebek Kahvaltı Evi

Bebek · frente al Bósforo

A long, lazy breakfast by the water in the poshest neighborhood. A textbook Istanbul Sunday.

🚇 Bebek — vapur / bus 22

Featured in: Local favorito

Tarihi Eminönü Balık Ekmek

Eminönü · barcos del muelle

A freshly fried mackerel sandwich from a rocking boat. The city's most iconic street food.

Tip: Lemon and salt, zero sauce. Eat it on the little stools facing the bridge.

🚇 Eminönü — T1 / vapur

Featured in: Viral TikTok

Kızılkayalar

Taksim · ıslak burger

The wet burger soaked in tomato sauce that only makes sense at 4 a.m. And it truly does.

Tip: Open 24 hours. One is enough, and don't order it sober — it doesn't work the same.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Viral TikTok

Bambi Cafe

Taksim · Sıraselviler 24h

Toasties and dürüm at any hour facing the exit of the Sıraselviler bars. Never closes.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Clásico nocturno

Şampiyon Kokoreç

Beyoğlu · Balık Pazarı

Properly spicy kokoreç in the Beyoğlu fish market: the traveling stomach's trial by fire.

Tip: Order a half bread to start. If you like it, you'll be back for the whole one.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Clásico imperdible

Fıccın

Beyoğlu · cocina circasiana

Homestyle Circassian food across four shops on the same block. The mantı here are something else.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Local favorito

Antiochia

Asmalımescit · Antakya

Antakya cooking with spices that wake you up: warm hummus, muhammara and lamb kebab.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Michelin 2026

Hamdi Restaurant

Eminönü · terraza 1970

Urfa kebab on a terrace overlooking the Golden Horn and the New Mosque. Touristy but delivers.

Tip: Ask for a top-floor table when booking, or they'll seat you downstairs with no view.

🚇 Eminönü — T1 / vapur

Featured in: Clásico imperdible

Namlı Gurme

Karaköy · charcutería

A huge deli where you build your breakfast by pointing at cheeses and pastırma. Perfect before the ferry.

🚇 Karaköy — T1 / Tünel F2

Featured in: Local favorito

Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası

Kadıköy · desde 1919

A century-old Kadıköy lokanta with a stew counter: walk in, point, walk out happy with change to spare.

🚇 Kadıköy — M4 / vapur

Featured in: Bib Gourmand 2026

Kadı Nimet Balıkçılık

Kadıköy · pescado de mercado

Right in the Kadıköy market: pick your fish off the ice and they cook it on the spot, rakı alongside.

🚇 Kadıköy — M4 / vapur

Featured in: Local favorito

Datlı Maya

Cihangir · horno de leña

A three-story wood-fired bakery where Dilara makes pide, lahmacun and börek from another planet. Tiny.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Secreto local

Lades Menemen

Beyoğlu · desde 1969

The menemen that fixes any hangover, made in copper pans since 1969. No fuss.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Histórico 1969

Sur Ocakbaşı

Balat · Vodina Caddesi

A Siirt grill in Balat: perde pilav, büryan and a sidewalk with tables and neighbors shouting.

🚇 Balat — T5 tram

Featured in: Local favorito

Kronotrop

Cihangir · desde 2012

The ones who started the third wave in Turkey. In-house roast and a flat white that never misses.

Tip: Order a V60 filter of the month's origin; the espresso is spotless too.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Pionero specialty

Petra Roasting Co.

Gayrettepe · solo single origin

Zero blends, zero flavored beans: they roast on a Probat and the filter is worth crossing the city for.

🚇 Gayrettepe — M2 / M11

Featured in: Tostador #1

Coffee Department

Karaköy · Kemankeş

A narrow Karaköy bar with obsessive baristas and beans that rotate every two weeks.

🚇 Karaköy — T1 / Tünel F2

Featured in: Specialty top

Walter's Coffee Roastery

Moda · Kadıköy

The Breaking Bad-themed café that went global — and the coffee is genuinely great.

🚇 Kadıköy — M4 / T3 nostalgic tram

Featured in: Viral IG

Federal Coffee

Tepebaşı · Beyoğlu

An Australian-style café with brunch and wifi: the place where everyone opens their laptop.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Specialty top

Montag Coffee Roasters

Asmalımescit · Beyoğlu

Small, neat and home to Beyoğlu's best cold brew. Two tables and a counter, nothing more.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Specialty top

Norm Coffee

Cihangir · minimal

Clean design, rotating beans and sourdough toasts. Very Cihangir, in the best sense.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Trending IG

Cup of Joy

Bebek · desde 2013

Alongside Kronotrop, the ones who brought specialty coffee here. Perfect before walking Bebek.

🚇 Bebek — vapur / bus 22

Featured in: Pionero specialty

MOC Ministry of Coffee

Kadıköy · lado asiático

Kadıköy's go-to specialty spot: well-made filter and people working at every table.

🚇 Kadıköy — M4 / vapur

Featured in: Specialty top

Mandabatmaz

Beyoğlu · türk kahvesi

Turkish coffee so thick a buffalo wouldn't sink, says the name. Four stools and that's it.

Tip: Order it orta, with half a spoon of sugar, and let the grounds settle before sipping.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Clásico imperdible

Fazıl Bey'in Türk Kahvesi

Kadıköy · desde 1923

A hundred years grinding Turkish coffee next to the market. Drink it standing, buy it ground to go.

🚇 Kadıköy — M4 / vapur

Featured in: Histórico 1923

Şark Kahvesi

Kapalıçarşı · dentro del bazar

The old-school café at the heart of the Grand Bazaar: marble, smoke and carpet dealers haggling.

🚇 Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı — T1

Featured in: Histórico

Pierre Loti Kahvesi

Eyüpsultan · en la colina

Çay in a tulip glass overlooking the entire Golden Horn from above. The cheapest sunset there is.

Tip: Walk down through the Ottoman cemetery after sunset: it takes ten minutes.

🚇 Eyüpsultan — T5 + TF2 cable car

Featured in: Viral TikTok

Vefa Bozacısı

Vefa · desde 1876

Cinnamon-dusted fermented boza since 1876, in the same shop, with Atatürk's glass on display.

Tip: It's drunk with leblebi tozu on top. It's odd and you have to try it once in your life.

🚇 Vezneciler — M2

Featured in: Histórico 1876

Hafız Mustafa 1864

Sirkeci · pastelería imperial

Baklava, lokum and sütlaç in display cases that look like jewelry shops. Touristy, yes, but delicious.

Tip: Get the cold sütlaç and a small fıstıklı baklava: no need for the whole tray.

🚇 Sirkeci — T1 / Marmaray

Featured in: Histórico 1864

Karaköy Güllüoğlu

Karaköy · baklava desde 1949

The pistachio baklava all others are measured against. Order by weight at the register and eat standing.

Tip: Pay first at the register, then collect. Ask for 250 g of fıstıklı, fresh out of the oven.

🚇 Karaköy — T1 / Tünel F2

Featured in: Clásico imperdible

Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir

Bahçekapı · lokum desde 1777

The confectioner that invented modern lokum. Two hundred and fifty years selling the same sweet.

🚇 Eminönü — T1 / vapur

Featured in: Histórico 1777

Beyoğlu Çikolatası

Kuloğlu · Beyoğlu

An artisan chocolate shop whose thick hot chocolate is a winter hug. Zero pretension.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Local favorito

Çiğdem Pastanesi

Sultanahmet · desde 1961

The neighborhood pastry shop in the heart of the old town: profiteroles, çay and local prices.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: Local favorito

Bebek Badem Ezmesi

Bebek · mazapán desde 1904

Almond marzipan made only here since 1904. Buy it by weight, finish it in the taxi.

🚇 Bebek — vapur / bus 22

Featured in: Histórico 1904

Kapalıçarşı

Beyazıt · Gran Bazar 1461

Four thousand shops and 61 covered streets: the world's oldest shopping mall is still going strong.

Tip: Haggle starting at half the price and close the deal guilt-free. Closed Sundays.

🚇 Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı — T1

Featured in: Histórico 1461

Mısır Çarşısı

Eminönü · Bazar de Especias

Spices, apple tea, lokum and dried fruit in mountains of color since 1664. Pure aroma.

Tip: The streets behind sell the same for half the price: cross over to Tahmis Sokak.

🚇 Eminönü — T1 / vapur

Featured in: Histórico 1664

Arasta Çarşısı

Sultanahmet · junto a la Azul

A small, calm bazaar behind the Blue Mosque: carpets and ceramics without the hard sell.

🚇 Sultanahmet — T1 tram

Featured in: Secreto local

Sahaflar Çarşısı

Beyazıt · mercado de libros

A courtyard of secondhand booksellers by the Grand Bazaar. Ottoman prints, old maps and total calm.

🚇 Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı — T1

Featured in: Histórico

Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi

Eminönü · café desde 1871

That line on the corner is people buying ground Turkish coffee. The most honest souvenir there is.

Tip: Get a kilo ground fine for cezve; it survives the trip and lasts for months.

🚇 Eminönü — T1 / vapur

Featured in: Histórico 1871

Armaggan

Nuruosmaniye · diseño turco

Contemporary Turkish craft across five floors: museum-grade textiles, jewelry and ceramics.

🚇 Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı — T1

Featured in: Diseño local

İstiklal Caddesi

Beyoğlu · peatonal 1,4 km

The country's busiest pedestrian street, with a red tram, old bookstores and hidden arcades.

Tip: Duck into the side passages like Çiçek Pasajı and Hazzopulo: that's where the good stuff is.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Icono urbano

Paşabahçe

İstiklal · cristal desde 1935

Çay glasses, ceramics and Turkish glassware at local prices. The gift that actually gets used back home.

🚇 Şişhane — M2

Featured in: Histórico 1935

Çukurcuma

Beyoğlu · anticuarios

Downhill streets packed with antique shops, vinyl and Ottoman furniture. Orhan Pamuk's neighborhood.

Tip: Pair it with the Museum of Innocence, on the same block.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Viral IG

Hiç Contemporary Crafts

Çukurcuma · artesanía

Ceramics, textiles and objects from Anatolian artisans, selected one by one. Tiny and precious.

🚇 Taksim — M2 / F1 funicular

Featured in: Diseño local

Serdar-ı Ekrem Caddesi

Galata · boutiques

Galata's block of independent designers, in the shadow of the tower. Zero chain stores.

🚇 Şişhane — M2 / Karaköy T1

Featured in: Trending IG

Abdi İpekçi Caddesi

Nişantaşı · lujo

Istanbul's luxury block: international shop windows and cafés where nobody checks the price.

🚇 Osmanbey — M2

Featured in: Shopping premium

Vakko

Nişantaşı · moda turca 1934

Turkey's fashion house par excellence: printed silk scarves that have been a classic since 1934.

🚇 Osmanbey — M2

Featured in: Histórico 1934

Beymen

Nişantaşı · concept store

A big multibrand store with the best of Turkish design mixed with international labels.

🚇 Osmanbey — M2

Featured in: Shopping premium

Zorlu Center

Zincirlikuyu · mall + teatro

A huge mall with a theater, cinema and food hall. The perfect refuge on heavy rain days.

🚇 Gayrettepe — M2 / M11

Featured in: Shopping premium

İstinye Park

Sarıyer · el mall grande

The prettiest mall in the city, with a gourmet market and open-air courtyard. Great if you have time to spare.

🚇 Levent — M2 + bus 42T

Featured in: Shopping premium

Akmerkez

Etiler · desde 1993

The classic Etiler mall, well stocked and without the chaos of the new ones. Good outlet prices.

🚇 Etiler — M6

Featured in: Shopping local

Bomontiada

Bomonti · ex cervecería

An 1890 brewery reborn as a courtyard of bars, shops and live music. Very Berlin.

🚇 Osmanbey — M2

Featured in: Trending IG

Bağdat Caddesi

Kadıköy · la avenida asiática

Six kilometers of shop windows and cafés on the Asian side, where the people who live here shop.

🚇 Bostancı — M4 / Marmaray

Featured in: Local favorito

Muhlis Günbattı

Kapalıçarşı · textiles

Kilims, suzanis and Central Asian silks inside the Grand Bazaar. Those in the know buy here.

🚇 Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı — T1

Featured in: Secreto local