Where to eat, drink and go out in Istanbul: 20 picks for study-abroad students, with student-vetted picks marked and prices in dollars.
Market · Beyazıt
One of the oldest covered markets in the world: thousands of shops of lamps, carpets, leather and sweets.
Best for: browsing, haggling, souvenirs
Best time: morning or midday
Heads up: Haggle (start low), and watch your bag in the crowds.
Market · Eminönü
The Egyptian Bazaar: spices, Turkish delight, dried fruit and tea, piled high.
Best for: edible souvenirs, tasting lokum
Best time: morning
Restaurant · Eminönü, by the Galata Bridge
Grilled fish in bread, cooked on bobbing boats at the waterfront and eaten on little stools.
Best for: a cheap, very Istanbul lunch
Best time: lunch
Restaurant · Sultanahmet
A century-old meatball canteen with a short menu: köfte, bean salad, and that is about it.
Best for: a cheap lunch between sights
Best time: lunch
Dessert · Karaköy
The baklava bakery most guides rank first, selling by the slice or the kilo.
Best for: baklava, a sweet stop
Best time: any time
Market · Kadıköy (Asian side)
Lanes of fishmongers, pickle shops, delis and cheap eateries on the Asian side.
Best for: a food wander, a cheap lunch
Best time: lunch
Restaurant · Kadıköy
A celebrated restaurant serving regional Anatolian home cooking you rarely find elsewhere.
Best for: trying dishes beyond kebab
Best time: lunch or dinner
Restaurant · Beyoğlu
A lane of meyhanes (taverns) where long dinners of meze and rakı turn into the night.
Best for: a group dinner before bars
Best time: dinner
Sight · Sultanahmet
The 1,500-year-old domed church turned mosque at the heart of the old city. Visitors see it from the upper gallery.
Best for: the must-see of Istanbul, history
Price: $ — roughly $29 for foreign visitors
Best time: early morning
Heads up: Dress code applies (see SAFETY FACTS). Queues build fast; go early.
Sight · Sultanahmet
The six-minaret mosque facing Hagia Sophia, its inside covered in blue Iznik tiles.
Best for: a free visit to a working mosque
Price: free
Best time: morning, outside prayer times
Heads up: Closed to visitors during prayers; dress code applies.
Museum · Sultanahmet
The Ottoman sultans' palace: courtyards, treasury, and terraces over the Bosphorus. The Harem is a separate ticket.
Best for: history, views
Best time: morning
Sight · Sultanahmet
A vast, dim underground Byzantine water reservoir held up by hundreds of columns.
Best for: something unusual, escaping heat or rain
Best time: any time (good in the heat)
Heads up: Queues can be long; it is cooler and cheaper to go early.
Sight · Fatih (above Eminönü)
A quieter, grand Ottoman mosque on a hill, with a garden terrace looking over the Golden Horn.
Best for: a calm mosque visit, free views
Price: free
Best time: late afternoon
Heads up: Dress code applies.
Viewpoint · Galata (Beyoğlu)
A medieval stone tower with a 360-degree balcony over the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus.
Best for: the panorama, sunset
Best time: late afternoon
Heads up: Paid entry and long queues; the streets around it are free and also photogenic.
Walk · Beyoğlu (Taksim to Galata)
A long pedestrian street with a red heritage tram, shops, side-street bars and street music.
Best for: an evening walk, finding bars nearby
Best time: evening
Heads up: Very crowded; pickpockets and the bar scam (see SAFETY FACTS).
Activity · Eminönü or Karaköy to Kadıköy
The ordinary commuter ferry between Europe and Asia: 20 minutes of skyline, gulls, and tea served on board.
Best for: the cheapest Bosphorus cruise there is
Price: $ — about the price of a metro ride with an Istanbulkart
Best time: sunset
Walk · Moda (Kadıköy)
A seaside park where young locals sit on the grass and rocks with drinks as the sun goes down over the old city.
Best for: sunset with locals, a cheap evening
Best time: sunset
Area · Golden Horn (Fatih)
Old neighbourhoods of steep streets and brightly painted houses, now full of cafés.
Best for: photos, wandering, coffee
Best time: morning
Museum · Beşiktaş
The 19th-century European-style palace of the late sultans, all chandeliers and gold, on the Bosphorus.
Best for: a contrast to Topkapı
Best time: morning
Area · Kadıköy
Kadıköy's bar street: cheaper beers, rock and indie bars, and a young local crowd.
Best for: a cheaper night out
Best time: after 10 PM