Cool Istanbul: Beyoğlu, Karaköy & Balat

Tour stops

1. 1. Cihangir Cafe

   ☕ Cihangir is where Istanbul's writers, film people and cat-fanciers ended up, on the slope between Taksim and the water. The cafés here are for sitting in for hours, and nobody will hurry you. It is one of the few central neighbourhoods that still feels residential. The steep streets are the price of the view.

2. 2. Bebek

   🦢 Bebek sits on the European shore of the Bosphorus, well north of the tourist centre, and is where moneyed Istanbul takes its weekends. The waterfront promenade runs past cafés, a small mosque and a bay full of moored boats. The almond paste from Bebek Badem Ezmesi has been made here since 1904 and is the thing to take away. The ferry or a bus up the shore is the pleasant way to arrive.

3. 3. Balat Colorful Satirs

   🌈 Balat's painted houses are the reason people come, and the steep lanes above them are the reason to stay. This was the Greek and Jewish quarter of Ottoman Istanbul, and the churches, synagogues and mosques still stand within a few streets of each other. Much of the colour is recent, applied as the neighbourhood gentrified. The Byzantine walls behind it are not.

4. 4. Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi)

   🗼 Built by the Genoese in 1348 as the high point of their walled colony, and the tallest thing in the city for centuries. It has been a watchtower, a fire lookout and a prison since. The balcony gives the full circle: the Golden Horn, the old city, the Bosphorus and Asia beyond it. Queues are long from midday; go at opening or in the last hour.

5. 5. Dark Village Tattoo

   ✒️ A tattoo studio in Beyoğlu, in a district full of small independent shops of every kind. Istanbul has a serious tattoo scene, much of it clustered around these streets. Walk-ins are usually possible for small work; anything larger wants booking ahead. Even if you are not getting inked, the surrounding lanes are the interesting part.

6. 6. İski Kadikoy Moda

   🚶‍♀️ Moda, on the Asian side in Kadıköy, is where Istanbul goes to slow down. Bookshops, record shops, cafés with cats, and a seafront path that runs for a couple of kilometres. The ferry from Eminönü takes about twenty minutes and is the best-value boat ride in the city.

Frequently asked questions