The Most Popular and Lively Streets in Istanbul

The best way to feel a city is to walk its busiest streets, and Istanbul has plenty of them. Some are grand historic squares full of monuments, others are pedestrian avenues lined with cafes, shops and the smell of roasting chestnuts. This is my honest shortlist of the most popular and lively streets and squares in Istanbul, with what to actually do on each one, where to eat, and the little timing tricks that make a visit better. Pick a couple, give yourself a whole afternoon, and let the crowds carry you.

The most popular squares of Istanbul

Sultanahmet Square in Fatih

If you only see one square, make it this one. Sultanahmet Square sits on the footprint of the old Byzantine Hippodrome, the 4th-century chariot-racing arena, and it is ringed by the heaviest hitters of the old city: the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts.

The square itself is an open-air museum and free to walk. Three monuments anchor it. The Egyptian obelisk, carved for Pharaoh Thutmose III around 1450 BC and shipped here by Emperor Theodosius in 390 AD, is roughly 3,500 years old and still razor-crisp. A few steps along you have the bronze Serpentine Column, originally cast to mark a Greek victory over the Persians in the 5th century BC, and at the north end the photogenic German Fountain, gifted by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1900. Come early, before the tour buses, and you can take it all in without the crush. It is the natural starting point for the historic peninsula, and most 10 top-rated hotels in Sultanahmet sit a short walk away.

Taksim Square in Beyoglu

Taksim is the symbolic heart of modern Istanbul, the square everyone gathers in for celebrations and the place all the buses and the metro funnel toward. The Republic Monument stands in the middle, Gezi Park sits just off it, and the domed Aya Triada (Hagia Triada) Greek Orthodox church watches over the eastern corner.

Honestly, Taksim is more of a hub than a destination. You pass through it rather than linger. But it is the gateway to Istiklal Avenue, so you will almost certainly find yourself crossing it. For the full story on the monument and what to do nearby, the Taksim Square history and what to do guide goes deeper.

Besiktas Square

Besiktas is younger, scrappier and packed with energy, especially around the ferry terminal and the fish market. The square is lined with cafes, cheap-and-cheerful eateries and stores, and the football crowd gives it a buzz on match days that you will not forget.

Walk down to the water and you reach the Naval Museum, one of the largest maritime museums in the country, reopened in 2013 with a huge three-storey hall of imperial caïques. Right beside it stands the bronze monument and tomb of Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha, the great Ottoman admiral. Grab a tea, find a bench on the Besiktas waterfront, and watch the ferries and tankers slide past on the Bosphorus. For more on the area, see my things to do and see in Besiktas guide.

Ortakoy Square

Ortakoy is the prettiest of the lot, a former fishing village squeezed between the water and the first Bosphorus bridge. The 19th-century Ortakoy Mosque, all white Baroque curves right at the water’s edge, frames the bridge perfectly and is one of the most photographed views in Istanbul.

The square comes alive on weekends with a craft market, buskers and a wall of food stalls. Two things you have to try: a loaded kumpir (a giant baked potato mashed with butter and kasar cheese, then piled with whatever toppings you point at) and a fresh waffle dripping with chocolate and fruit. The Damat Ibrahim Pasha Fountain and the 18th-century Esma Sultan Mansion are both worth a look. My advice: arrive late morning at the weekend for the market, but know that by mid-afternoon it gets shoulder-to-shoulder. For the full rundown, read about the Ortakoy Mosque, its history and how to visit.

Beyazit Square

Beyazit Square is the big, open civic space on the historic peninsula, a place that has hosted political rallies and cultural events for generations. It sits right at the gate of the Grand Bazaar, so it works best as the start or end of a shopping mission.

Set aside a couple of hours for the bazaar itself, with its 4,000-odd shops selling textiles, spices, lamps, jewellery and hand-thrown pottery. Around the square you also have the Beyazit Mosque, the elegant Nuruosmaniye Mosque, the Sahaflar second-hand book market, the grand main gate of Istanbul University and the old Beyazit Tower that once served as the city’s fire lookout. It is one of the most visited corners of the old city for good reason.

The most popular streets of Istanbul

Istiklal Street in Beyoglu

Istiklal Avenue is probably the most famous street in the whole country, a 1.4-kilometre pedestrian boulevard running from Taksim Square down to Tunel. It is a non-stop river of people from morning until very late, with the red nostalgic tram clanging through the middle of the crowd, which has become a symbol of the street in its own right.

You can walk the whole thing in twenty minutes or lose half a day to it. Along the way: Madame Tussauds, the lovely St. Anthony of Padua Church, the Pera Museum and dozens of historic arcades and passages worth ducking into. For evening, peel off into Asmalimescit, the wine-and-meze quarter just below Tunel, where the tables spill into the lanes. The whole avenue deserves its own read, so see my Istiklal Avenue guide on things to see before you go.

Bagdat Street between Bostanci and Goztepe

Cross to the Asian side and Bagdat Street is where well-heeled Istanbul shops, eats and people-watches. The avenue stretches a long way, but the genuinely lively stretch runs roughly from Bostanci to Goztepe, a wide tree-lined run of flagship stores, smart cafes and good restaurants.

This is luxury territory: think Louis Vuitton, the Turkish house Vakko and a long list of international names, broken up by independent boutiques. It famously landed on lists of the world’s top shopping streets a few years back, and on a warm evening the pavements and outdoor tables stay busy well past midnight. If you want to see how locals on the Asian side actually live, this is the place. Pair it with a stroll through nearby Kadikoy for the full Asian-side day.

Abdi Ipekci Street in Nisantasi

If Bagdat is the Asian side’s catwalk, Abdi Ipekci is the European side’s, and it is the closest thing Istanbul has to Avenue Montaigne or Via Monte Napoleone. The street runs from Macka up into Nisantasi and it is short, polished and unapologetically expensive.

It is named after the journalist Abdi Ipekci, who was assassinated here in 1979. Today it is wall-to-wall flagship stores: Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Hermes, Cartier and the homegrown Vakko, broken up by sleek cafes, cocktail bars and a few private clubs. Even if you are only window-shopping, it is a lovely, well-dressed street to walk, and Macka Park is right there for a green breather. Several of the city’s best rooftop bars and restaurants sit up here too, so it is an easy spot to stay into the evening.

Bahariye Street in Kadikoy

Bahariye is the soul of Kadikoy, a traffic-free pedestrian street that always feels alive. The little red nostalgic tram (the T3 ring line, fare around 27 TL on your Istanbulkart at the time of writing) rattles right down the middle of it, past colourful old buildings, which gives the whole street a storybook feel.

It is lined with bookshops, record stores, charming cafes, pubs, bars and quality boutiques, with a younger and more bohemian crowd than the European side. The standout building is the Sureyya Opera House, a gorgeous 1927 art-deco theatre that finally became a proper opera and ballet venue after a 2007 restoration. Catch a performance if the timing works, then drift into the surrounding backstreets for some of the best casual eating in the city. My pick of the top restaurants in Kadikoy will sort out dinner.

How to plan a day around these streets

You cannot do all nine in one go, and you should not try. The smart move is to split by side of the water. Spend a morning around Sultanahmet and Beyazit on the historic peninsula, then ride the tram and ferry over to Taksim for Istiklal in the late afternoon and evening. Save a separate day for the Asian side, where Bagdat Street and Bahariye in Kadikoy pair naturally, and tack Ortakoy and Besiktas onto a Bosphorus-shore afternoon when the light is best.

Weekends bring the markets and the buzz but also the heaviest crowds, especially in Ortakoy and on Istiklal. Weekday mornings are calmer if you prefer room to breathe. Wear comfortable shoes, carry a loaded Istanbulkart for the trams and ferries, and let yourself wander off the main drag, because the best little cafes and shops are almost always one street back.