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.....

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.....

When it opened in 2011 the Sapphire tower was the tallest building in Istanbul and among the tallest in Europe, and its observation deck near the top remains one of the highest public viewpoints in the city. Rising 261 metres in the Levent business district on the European side, the slender glass skyscraper was designed as a mixed development of luxury residences, a shopping mall and the viewing terrace, and was notable as the country's first ecological tower, wrapped in a double-skin facade tha.....

Set within the Nakkastepe Millet Bahcesi, a public garden on the Asian shore in the Uskudar district, the Istanbul zipline lets visitors fly out over a hillside with one of the finest views in the city as their backdrop. The park occupies some ninety thousand square metres of greenery high above the Bosphorus, laid out with picnic grounds, walking and running paths, a tennis court, ponds, children's play areas and an adventure ropes course, and the zipline is its biggest thrill. The steel cable.....

A decadent, kitsch-filled underground playground, Klein is one of Istanbul's most distinctive electronic-music venues. Within walking distance of Taksim Square, its theatrical interior of lavish, over-the-top decor and suspended dancers sets the stage for nights built around house and techno. Its line-ups pair respected local DJs with visiting international names, drawing a dedicated electronic-music crowd. The immersive design, heavy on spectacle and visual storytelling, gives it a character .....

Open since December 1993 on a hilltop overlooking the Bosphorus, Ulus 29 is one of the true classics of Istanbul's fine-dining and nightlife scene. Founded by the celebrated restaurateur Metin Fadillioglu, the venue sits within Ulus Park with views that take in both bridges and the Asian shore beyond. For three decades it has served modern interpretations of Turkish and world cuisine to a discerning local and international clientele, earning a reputation as one of the city's pioneering night-li.....