A Guide To 72 Hours in İstanbul

When Turkish poet Orhan Veli Kanık penned a love poem for his city, he wrote;

“I’m listening to İstanbul, with my eyes closed…”

— Orhan Veli Kanik

I start to understand this poem better with every passing year. This city has such a mysterious soul, it’s simply not enough to “see it”. You have to listen to its stories. I hope I can give you at least a taste of İstanbul in these 3 days. 
PS: This list will avoid the most touristy attractions, so don’t expect a Blue Mosque tour!

DAY 1

İstanbul is a huge city and unlike most European cities, it’s almost impossible to pinpoint a “city center”. Well, for this reason I’ll locate you in one of my favorite districts: Moda, Kadıköy. It is well-known for its youthfulness and love for animals, so I hope you like cats! This neighborhood is on the Asian side, thus I’d recommend flying to the Asian airport (SAW).

Cats are the unofficial rulers of this city. In İstanbul, every cafe is a cat cafe. Almost every street has their own cat, if not a few, that they feed regularly. We let them in our apartments when it gets cold. I believe cats are a crucial part of the İstanbul experience. 

Once you find your airbnb in the colorful and narrow streets, drop your belongings fast and start walking towards the Kadıköy pier, we have a lot to do! In the following three days you will be crossing between Asia and Europe every day. The city is quite well connected, you!ll only need the transportation card called İstanbulKart. 

Your day starts with catching the boat, aka “vapur”, to Karaköy from Kadıköy. These boats are every 20 minutes. There are many ways to cross to the other side (including a under-the-see metro!) but we will cross Bosphorus using the boat to see the beauty. If you are lucky, you can sit outside in the good weather. Grab a çay (tea) and simit (sesame bagel) and enjoy the ride. If you want, share your simit with the vapur natives, seagulls! Say hi to Maiden’s Tower that is located in the sea.

Welcome to the European side! This new district, Karaköy, is known for its hip spirit. If you are hungry, grab something at Pim, one of the new-generation cafes of this area. If you’re more into street-food, walk to Galata Bridge to grab a balık-ekmek (fish sandwich). You must eat baklava in this district as well, you cannot go wrong with Karaköy Güllüoğlu. 

Enough with the food tour, don’t miss out on Karaköy’s colorful streets. Grab a coffee in Karabatak, a local favorite. Walking around you might come eye to eye with a magnificent tower. His name is Galata and we will be seeing him next. 

For an authentic experience take “Tünel” from Karaköy to Şişhane. This is world's second-oldest underground urban rail line and it only has one stop. It carries you up the Galata hill to Taksim.

İstiklal Avenue can be the closest thing to İstanbul’s city center. Always full of tourists, the street never sleeps. When you’re walking down don’t forget to look around. I believe this street beautifully describes the cultural diversity of İstanbul. You will find a church, a synagogue and a mosque all on the same street. For the full experience, enjoy some Turkish wine, Öküzgözü is my recommendation on the terrace of Divan. 

Your night will end in another beautiful terrace. The Armenian-Turkish taverna Demeti has delicious food with the scenery of Bosphorus. The restaurant is located in Cihangir, one of the most artsy and alternative districts of İstanbul.   

DAY 2

Breakfast is one of the most important parts of Turkish culture. This morning, I will take you to lively Kuzguncuk. Here you can enjoy the big Turkish breakfast. Try menemen with tea. After you can walk towards Üsküdar pier. The streets are colorful and little shops and cafes have a lot to offer.

From Üsküdar take the boat to Beşiktaş. Beşiktaş is one of those spots of İstanbul that is always full! In the shops around here, you can find anything for good prices. Walk up to Akaretler. You might realize the European inspired architecture in this district. One of the best parts of İstanbul is observing all these different architecture styles in one big city. The day is busy, so take some time to relax with some coffee in Minoa Cafe in this district before we continue.

From Akaretler walk up the hill where you’ll find the closest metro. We are going to Pera! Known for its art and culture, this district is also famous for being a part of the mysterious life of Agatha Christie. Here you can visit the Pera Museum or İstanbul Modern. Both focus on contemporary Turkish art, which can give you a new perspective of the culture.

End the night in a taverna again. Both Rejans and Cumhuriyet Meyhanesi are old Turkish style tavernas where you can enjoy rakı with meze as well as some Turkish style music. Later in the night no one really sits but dances to the live music. It could be wise to reserve, especially in the weekends.

DAY 3

Time to discover the beautiful neighborhood you are in! Start the day with the big breakfast of Naga Putrika. Be sure to have some place for the famous ice cream of Ali Usta. Try the flavor “kaymak” which is simply milk flavor. Around Moda, you will find many interesting vintage shops and cafes. For a coffee sit at Böcek, or if you’re a fan of the Breaking Bad see Walter’s Coffee. 

After this relaxing morning we are on the move again. This time, we take the boat from Kadıköy to Eminönü. The district is called Fatih, named after the sultan who conquered İstanbul, and it is the old city. From the pier walk up following the trails of the tram towards Bağcılar. Around this district there are a lot of touristy restaurants, so you can act like a local and enjoy some good quality köfte, with a side of ayran, in the new generation steakshop Fileto in Sirkeci. 

After lunch walk around old İstanbul toward the Grand Bazaar. In my opinion, Grand Bazaar is one of those “must sees” of İstanbul. You can shop for some unique jewelry here. If you are able to find it in the labyrinth of the bazaar visit Astra. They have beautiful handmade earrings. After getting lost a few times in the bazaar, you can leave it from the Nuriosmaniye Gate. Here you can find Fes Cafe and enjoy some Turkish coffee. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to find someone to read your fortune.

For dinner, we must end this trip with some kebap. I am no kebap expert but I like some restaurants because of their good quality. You can go to Develi or Günaydın in Kalamış which will be not so far from your place. If you still have some energy grab a drink or two in Arkaoda and enjoy some modern nightlife of Moda.

You will probably leave the city feeling like you haven’t seen even ⅓ of İstanbul. Well, you are correct. İstanbul has a lot more to offer, beautiful Emirgan to Bağdat Avenue, but hopefully this is a small taste of this unparalleled, mysterious city.