The smart Bosphorus shore north of the centre — Dolmabahçe Palace, the waterfront village of Ortaköy under its mosque and bridge, and the piers for a Bosphorus cruise. Leafier and more upscale, with the strait on your doorstep; the loveliest place to wake up to the water.
A look around
What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.
€70–140
typical per night in Turkey
The sensible middle
Typical prices for Istanbul — neither steal nor splurge.
Where it sits
The circle is Beşiktaş & Ortaköy and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.
How far is everything?
From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.
- İstiklal Caddesi9 min taxi3.0 km
- Galata Tower11 min taxi3.8 km
- Topkapı Palace14 min taxi4.6 km
- The Spice Bazaar14 min taxi4.7 km
- Hagia Sophia15 min taxi5.0 km
- The Basilica Cistern15 min taxi5.1 km
- The Grand Bazaar16 min taxi5.3 km
- The Blue Mosque16 min taxi5.4 km
On your doorstep
What you’re living next to if you stay here.
- 3.A Bosphorus cruise — Sail the strait that divides Europe from Asia — Ottoman palaces, wooden waterside mansions, fortresses and the great suspension bridges gliding past on either shore. The definitive Istanbul experience; take the cheap public ferry rather than a tour boat and let the city drift by.
- 10.Dolmabahçe Palace — The lavish 19th-century European-style palace on the Bosphorus shore, where the late Ottoman sultans decamped from Topkapı — crystal staircases, the world's largest Bohemian chandelier, and the room where Atatürk died. Opulent to the point of excess; go for the sheer glittering spectacle.
- 13.Ortaköy & kumpir — A pretty Bosphorus village square beneath a dainty waterside mosque and the great suspension bridge — cafés, a weekend craft market, and stalls of kumpir, the loaded baked potato that's the local street-food obsession. A lovely, low-key afternoon on the strait.
When are you staying?
Booking.com & Airbnb open searched to Beşiktaş & Ortaköy; flights via Google Flights.