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What to do on a weeekend or a night out in Istanbul?

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SULTANAHMET_NIGHTYou are a foreigner (a business person) visiting Istanbul on a business trip.. You have the weekend off before (or after) a meeting and would like to make the best out of it.. But, Istanbul is such a giant and complicated city you need to have advice what to do, where to go etc..

Well here we are to guide you – besides many other sources on the net, certainly ..

First, it would be best to have a quick look at below links to have brief information about the giant metropole before you decide to make a plan as everybody could have different areas of interest. See below links with videos of Istanbul as well;

ISTANBUL HISTORICALISTANBUL SIGHTS, DINING, SHOPPING

GOING TO TO THE BEACH: In the summertime, although surrounded by sea on three sides Istanbul does not offer as many opportunities of going to the beach, as it used to many years ago.. The reason simply being excessive settlement and thus pollution of the water.. Still however there are two alternatives you can try:

You can either go to KILYOS (beautiful sand) by the Black Sea about and 30-45 minutes drive from the center of Istanbul (possibly longer at weekends)

or else you can take the boat to the Princess Islands right in the Marmara Sea in which case you would enjoy very spectacular scenery as well (on the way and on the islands)

BOAT TRIP ALONG THE BOSPHORUS: An alternative to spend nice time would be to go on a boat trip along the Bosphorus, the strait dividing Istanbul into 2, European and Asian sides.

SIGHTSEEING: The city has so many historical and touristic places to visit to include museums such as HAGIA SOPHIA, KARIYE, ARCHAEOLOGY MUSEUM, TOPKAPI and DOLMABAHÇE palaces, BYZANTIUM UNDERGROUND CISTERN and touristic sites such as GALATA TOWER, MAIDEN’S TOWER, RUMELIHISARI FORTRESS, PIYER LOTI CAFE, SIGHTS by THE BOSPHORUS etc..

SHOPPING: Istanbul owns probably the oldest shopping center of the world; the GRAND BAZAAR (called Kapalıçarşı – covered, market) where you would be able to see thousands of shop with all sorts of souvenirs or valuable jewellery, oriental carpets, leather goods and more.. You could also have a nice cup of Turkish coffee or dishes from the Turkish cuisine in cafes and restaurants therein.

Other alternatives would ve SPICE MARKET at Eminönü, FISH BAZAAR (Balık Pazarı) at Beyoğlu and KADIKÖY MARKET on the Asian side.. It goes without saying Istanbul has some ultra shopping malls such as AKMERKEZ at Etiler, KANYON at Levent, ISTINYEPARK at Istinye and many more.. We should not forget VIAPORT which is the largest of all and within 5 minutes reach distance of SABIHA GOKÇEN AIRPORT on the Asian side.

ENTERTAINMENT / NIGHT OUT: Istanbul is one of the most outstanding cities in the world with unparallelled energy, vitality and an unbelievable variety of entertainment and social opportunities. The nightlife in this city has recently gained recognition as one of the liveliest in Europe. You can enjoy a night out at Beyoğlu with a plenty of clubs to spend time in or an optional night tour to discover the cream of nightlife in some most prominent restaurants.

Centers of Attraction on a night out:

Ortakoy at the Bosphorus (European side), the Istiklal Street from Taksim to Tünel where you will find many students(European side), Aksaray with the more Turkish style nightlife and red-light district (European side) and Kadikoy with its various choice of bars and little restaurants (Asian side)

A useful tip would be, not to go into bars that do not display a price list outside their premises . Exactly like with many other major cities in the world you might not be able to assume the price of anything served inside. Therefore if the place is not displaying a price list you might be overcharged for a drink inside. In case you wanted to protest the bill, you would most likely get into trouble.

You will find below information about most prominent bars and night clubs to visit on a night out/weekend  in Istanbul. It would be recommended to visit their websites or ring them to avoid any unpleasant surprises before you decide to do so.

Some popular night clubs: REINA, SUPPERCLUB / CRYSTAL LOUNGE, CLUB CRYSTAL, SAMDAN, MORI & MOJITO, SORTIE, SECRET, ANJELIQUE, BABYLON, MOJO CLUB, ROXY, SOHO SUPPER CLUB, BESINCI KAT-BILSAK, CLUB 29, KEMANCI, LINE MUSIC CLUB, YENI MELEK GOSTERI MERKEZI
Jazz clubs: JAZZ CAFE ISTANBUL, Q Jazz in the Park, Istanbul Jazz Center, NARDIS JAZZ CLUB
Some bars: VOGUE, 212 Restaurant & Bar, 360, ANDON BAR, NUTERAS/NU PERA, BEBEK BAR, THE JAMES JOYCE, V.S.O.P BAR, ROCK HOUSE, CAMELOT
Taverns (Meyhane): CUMHURIYET, GALATEA, IMROZ, YA & RE’ N (Yaren)

For Istiklal Street Cafe and Bars, further details and adresses SEE LINK

 

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