This city has been on my bucket list for a very long time and in 2016 we finally arranged to go and visit this gigantic metropolis on the Bosporus. I was so excited to spend three days in the fabulous city of Istanbul. From Berlin there are not many destinations where you can fly directly, so we chose Lufthansa and flew via Munich to Istanbul. We arrived at Atatürk Airport and decided to take the underground into the city. We took the M1 and M2 metro line to get to Taksim Square. From there we walked down the famous shopping mile Istiklal Avenue to get to our stylish hotel called Room Mate Kerem which is centrally located just off Istiklal Avenue next to the British Consulate. Great place to stay, stylish and modern, clean and spacious, nice staff and breakfast. My only recommendation would be to ask for a room towards the rear of the hotel as it can get quite noisy throughout the night and in the mornings. Below are some of our experiences during our trip, which we hope you find interesting. We loved this city and would definitely go back. But next time maybe not in March as it was still quite cold and this city must be even more amazing in warmer temperatures!!
Istanbul
More from the Istanbul Region
The Bosporus
a:15 Temmuz Şehitler Köprüsü
r:Istanbul
To get our bearings and some first impressions, we started to walk the city. We didn't expect it to be this hilly but the roads down to the waterfront are quite steep. We walked down to the Istanbul Modern Museum and strolled along the Bosporus to enjoy the views. That was what I had wanted to see for so long. We strolled past the Pier's where the ferries are departing to go to other parts of the city and continued to walk past Dolmabahçe Palace and Çirgan Palace to stop off at the Kempinski Hotel by the waterfront for some coffee. Especially in the summer, this must be the place to be for the perfect photo spot of the Bosporus. Another must-do experience when in Istanbul is taking a ferry around the harbour. You can either take the sightseeing tour or use any of the regular ferry shuttles that connect the European and Asian parts of the city. We decided to use the ferry to go over to the Asian part (Anatolian Side) and took some great photos on the way and loved the amazing view! Great experience!
Istanbul - The classic sights
a:Atmeydanı Caddesi
r:Istanbul
For us, it is all about classic sightseeing. From the part of town we stayed in, we took the tram from Tophane station which took us over the Galata Bridge to Sultanahmet station. And there they were, right in front of us, the two major sights of Istanbul - the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia! Amazing to look at even from the outside. As it was Friday we couldn't go into the Mosque before 1.30 PM due to prayer time. Even without the inside view, it was pretty amazing and we felt very special to be there. We walked all around these impressive buildings and then on to Topkapi Palace to soak in the atmosphere. Once we had a good look around we moved further and had a little Çaj tea break outside the Grand Bazaar, which is a great place to people watch. And the Grand Bazaar is a must-visit when in Istanbul. Perfect for shopping typical porcelain, leather goods, linen, and jewellery of any kind. We loved sightseeing in Istanbul, so much history!!
Food and drinks and great views in Istanbul
a:Yeni Çarşı Caddesi
r:Istanbul
We ate really well during our time in Istanbul and the choice of restaurants and bars is huge. I would like to mention two of the ones we tried. My favourite was probably a little place in Bogazkesen Avenue called "Limonlu Bahçe". From the street, you only saw a sign for the restaurant, so just follow the direction into the building, some stairs up and down and you will eventually get to this garden which is like a little heaven in the city with indoor and outdoor space. Great food selection, Turkish wines, and homemade lemonades to die for. During our sightseeing tour, we made a pit stop at one of the many rooftop bars in the city. This one I am recommending was called "Raika", which is part of The Marmara Hotel on Taksim square. It was too cold to be outside but the views were great sitting inside too. Fabolous place to stop for a drink and for views of the city. There you realize how vast this city really is...
