Opened in 1973 as the first bridge to span the Bosphorus, the 15 July Martyrs Bridge connects the European and Asian shores of Istanbul and stands as a symbol of the city that famously straddles two continents. Stretching more than a kilometre between Ortakoy on the European side and Beylerbeyi on the Asian, the elegant suspension bridge was designed by British engineers and built in just over three years, its completion timed to the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic. .....

From a glass-walled penthouse high above Istiklal Caddesi, 360 Istanbul offers one of the most spectacular vantage points in the entire city. Set on the top floor of the 19th-century Misir Apartment in the heart of Beyoglu, its wraparound terraces serve up sweeping panoramas of the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara. By day and early evening it functions as a stylish fine-dining restaurant, serving a fusion of Turkish and international cuisine to a smart, cosmopolitan crowd drawn.....

Since opening its doors in 1999, Babylon has stood at the very forefront of Istanbul's live-music culture. The venue made its name in the Asmalimescit district, where its stage hosted contemporary and progressive sounds and transformed the city's musical landscape, before relocating in 2015 to a purpose-built home within the historic Bomontiada complex in Sisli. That move placed it inside a beautifully restored 19th-century brewery, a red-brick cultural hub now filled with restaurants, gallerie.....

Thousands of toys, nostalgic film-scene dioramas and a traditional Turkish shadow-puppet section fill the Balat Toy Museum, a family-friendly museum in the historic Balat neighbourhood of Istanbul, on the European shore of the Golden Horn. Opened in 2021 in the colourful, atmospheric quarter known for its old houses and steep cobbled lanes, the museum gathers a large collection of toys from the past and present, displayed alongside scenes that recreate moments from beloved films and stories, gi.....

Rows of ancient columns rising from dark, still water beneath the streets of old Istanbul make the Basilica Cistern one of the most atmospheric and surprising sights in the city. The largest of the many underground cisterns built beneath the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, it was constructed in the sixth century AD under the emperor Justinian to store water for the great palace and the surrounding buildings, fed by aqueducts from the forests to the north. The vast subterranean chamber is su.....

A high-energy club in the heart of Beyoglu, BEAT is one of the venues keeping central Istanbul's nightlife buzzing into the small hours. Set on Yesilcam Sokak just off Istiklal Caddesi, it sits squarely within the dense cluster of bars and clubs that make the district the city's after-dark playground. Its programming centres on club nights, DJ sets and themed parties pitched at a young, international crowd. The compact, music-driven room keeps the focus on the dance floor and the energy of the.....

The largest forest near Istanbul, the Belgrade Forest is a vast expanse of mixed deciduous woodland spreading across the hills north of the city, a green lung and a much-loved escape from the noise and crowds of the metropolis. Covering several thousand hectares mainly in the Sariyer and Eyupsultan districts on the European side, it takes its name from a village settled by Serbs deported from Belgrade after the Ottoman conquest of that city in 1521. For centuries the forest played a vital role i.....

With more than sixteen years on the Taksim scene, Club IQ has become one of the area's most enduring nightspots. Set on Bahceli Hamam Sokak in the heart of Beyoglu, it has built its name on a high-energy dance atmosphere and a track record of hosting international performers. Over the years its stage has welcomed globally known pop acts, from Inna to Alexandra Stan. The music leans toward commercial dance, pop and club hits aimed at a lively, mixed crowd. Open late into the early morning, it .....

Few monuments in Istanbul have stood as long or witnessed as much as the Column of Constantine, a battered porphyry pillar that has marked the heart of the city for some seventeen centuries. It was raised by the emperor Constantine the Great to mark the dedication of his new capital, Constantinople, in the early fourth century, and once stood at the centre of a grand oval forum, crowned by a statue of the emperor in the guise of the sun god. The drums of deep red Egyptian stone, bound together w.....

The Dolmabahce Palace marks the moment when the Ottoman sultans abandoned the medieval seclusion of Topkapi for the grandeur of a European-style royal residence on the shore of the Bosphorus. Built in the mid-nineteenth century for Sultan Abdulmecid I and completed in 1856, it stretches for nearly six hundred metres along the water in the Besiktas district, its white marble facade and ornamental gates presenting one of the most opulent waterfronts in the city. Inside, the palace is a lavish ble.....