Ever since my first visit to Istanbul decades ago, I’ve been smitten with its magical skyline of domes and minarets, the romance of its ferries gliding the Bosporus. In 2007 I bought an apartment there, and over the years I’ve seen so much change and gentrification that every time I return from New York, I pray that my favorite old-school teahouse or meyhane tavern has been spared the developers’ sledgehammers. But Istanbul (ex-Constantinople, ex-Byzantium), former capital of three empires, is renowned for reinventing itself. And the latest stage of urban regeneration—the completion of projects ongoing for years—has coincided with a vigorous postpandemic tourism reboot that has turned it into the world’s most visited city, with more than 20 million international tourist arrivals in 2023.
Topping the list of Istanbul’s new mega-developments was the Galataport project, completed in 2021. Transforming a disused dock warehouse area along the lower European shore of the Bosporus, it boasts the world’s first underground cruise ship terminal (designed by local firm Autoban), and a mixed-use development stretching north from the mouth of the Golden Horn for almost a mile. Its much-hyped statistics include 52,000 square miles of 240 glitzy retail, dining, and cultural venues—and a price tag of $1.7 billion. What’s priceless? The wide waterfront promenade revealing heart-stopping vistas across to the Asian shore and the Historic Peninsula of Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia that have been obscured by ugly dock structures for some 200 years. Plus a new plaza behind the Renzo Piano–designed Istanbul Modern museum showcasing a 1848 Ottoman clock tower and the ornate neo-baroque Nusretyie Mosque just beyond, both freshly restored.
The year 2025 should bring the spectacular metamorphosis of the old Ottoman naval shipyards along the Golden Horn estuary into Tersane Istanbul, a new 60-acre development mixing waterside residences, hotels—five-star Rixos is already open—two marinas, and retail and cultural spaces including three bravura museums (global architects Grimshaw are involved), and historic imperial Ottoman gardens.
So on my latest trip to Istanbul in summer of 2024 as the city buzzed with new openings, I took a break from nostalgic old bookshops and historic bazaars. My aim: to bring you the latest in where to stay, eat, drink, and play in Istanbul, a kinetic megalopolis that straddles Europe and Asia, culturally and geographically.
Istanbul’s food alone is worth booking a trip around.
Photo by FOTMA/Shutterstock
Restaurants to plan a trip around
One delightful development on Istanbul’s restaurant scene has been the rise of female chefs. The current queen of traditional Anatolian flavors is chef Sinem Ozler of Seraf Vadi restaurant, which launched in 2023 in the northern district of Vadi by the perfectionist Kurdish restaurateur Dogan Yildirim. In a fancy space that wouldn’t be out of place in Beverly Hills—all curves, potted plants, and huge windows—Ozler offers inspired renditions of Turkish regional dishes that she researches with the zeal of a field anthropologist. Case in point: her comforting hand-rolled hengel noodles from Kars near the Armenian border, or her delicate chard dolmas with an intriguing filling of bulgur and ricotta-like Lor cheese from the Black Sea region of Erzrum. And while a thousand places in town serve lahmacun (lamb-topped flatbread), manti (meat-filled dumplings), and icli kofte (filled bulgur balls), Ozler’s versions, elevated by her obsessive approach to technique and ingredients, are worth walking to Vadi for.
Half-hidden on the third floor of the Bebek by the Stay Hotel in the Bosporus enclave of Bebek, Sankai by Nagaya is an intimate 24-seat omakase spot awarded a Michelin star within its first year of opening in March 2023. Helming its kitchen: Hiroko Shibata, a native of Kanazawa who served in the Japanese navy before becoming a sushi chef. Whereas most Istanbul sushi hot spots import their tuna and salmon, Shibata, who loves to fish in the Bosporus, casts her sourcing net more locally, using cipura (sea bream), levrek (sea bass), and buttery palamut (bonito) from Turkish waters. Her seasonal tasting menu might kick off with a jewel-like flower-strewn green nori waffle with Marmara Sea salmon and pomegranate gelee, followed by petals of pristine sasihimi, then artful maki rolls, progressing to a lacquered presentation box of bright-eyed local fish that will star in the nigiri sushi course. Sweet highlights include a Monaka ice cream sandwich accompanied by a cup of matcha affogato. Arrive in style in an electric BMW i7 by using the restaurant’s complimentary transfer service
Another recent Michelin star went to Arkestra, a glamorous spot in the hills above Bebek. A labor of love for young French-trained chef Cenk Debensason and his wife, Debora Ipekel (a hipster music-biz veteran), it’s actually three distinct concepts housed in a romantic retro 1960s villa. In the swank wood-paneled fine-dining restaurant, fluffy rolls of fermented potato bread served with smoky burnt butter set the tone for an adventurous meal that might star beef katsu sando on home-made shokupan, fragrant wild local mushrooms on umami-rich miso-onion puree, or a monkfish bouillabaisse.
Behind velvet curtains across from the restaurant is newly launched Ritmo, a sultry bistro with mirrored ceiling, cool wines, and small plates like oysters with champagne sabayon. Before or after eating, have a cocktail at the upstairs Listening Room. The stylish audiophile bar inspired by Japanese jazu-kissa has a wall of vinyl records that might get spun during a rotation of weekly events by guest DJs.
For a different kind of gastro-musical evening, book at Frankie, one of the few standouts amid the glut of Galataport’s touristy restaurants. To the clave beat of a live Cuban band, pretty young Istanbullus drink on the expansive terrace with showstopping Bosporus vistas. Come for the vibes and the music but don’t sleep on the excellent “MediterrAsian food” starting with zingy crudos like hamachi tataki with XO sauce or refreshing sea bass ceviche with fennel. For something more substantial, there are pastas like duck tortellini and slow-roasted lamb shoulder that falls apart into succulent shreds at the touch of a fork.
On a floor just below, Roka is the trendy global robata-ya concept imported from London. The Istanbul branch marks a triumphant homecoming for the gifted Turkish chef Suna Hakyemez; her impressive résumé includes a stint at Heston Blumenthal’s three-star Fat Duck in Bray. Among her signature dishes are bone marrow teriyaki accompanied by glazed pillowy buns and a miso creme brûlée served with caramelized quince and pistachio ice cream. Dig in as the setting sun casts its magenta glow over the water.
And for something down-home Turkish? Join the young locals patiently waiting for a table at at Papatya Dürüm, a wildly popular street food place opened in 2022 on a backstreet of the trendy Bosporus district of Arnavutkoy. The modest spot enlivened with a few flea market finds specializes in durum (wraps) that involve pliant flatbreads smeared with salca (spicy-fruity red pepper paste), folded around juicy minced lamb kebab or chicken marinated in za’atar and hot peppers—then blistered on the grill. This style of durum—as well as the restaurant’s owner, Melina Abdo—hail from Turkey’s Hatay (Antakya) province that was so shattered by the 2023 earthquake.
New places to find a drink
In this city of glamorous rooftop bars, the hottest cocktail sensation is Fahri Konsolos, a den of wildly creative mixology on the Asian shore in the happening district of Moda. Presiding over the gleaming copper shakers of this pocket-size bar? Burak Ayaz, whose Orientalist potions feature local pomegranates, saffron, spices, and roses. A drink called Duthane blends raki, mastic, and white mulberry while Çīdem reworks a Manhattan with whiskey, sour cherry, and orange flower.
In a Beyoglu district building that once housed the U.S. consulate, Cok Cok Pera is the top new Thai spot. Clued-in drinkers also love its moody-dark Ernest’s bar, named after Hemingway, who might have penned his 1922 Istanbul foreign reportage from this very building. Award-winning mixologist Fatih Akerdem updates a Negroni with plum and black mulberry and devises a drink called Tom Yam that has teriyaki and chili vodka among its ingredients. And yes, Papa’s favorite grapefruit Daiquiri is on the menu. As for beer, even local hipsters who usually shun Galataport’s crowds wait for a panoramic upstairs terrace table at the Populist. This new branch of a beloved local microbrewery offers the same cool vibes, weekend live music, and artisanal beers as its original in the Bomonti neighborhood. Try the six-beer sampler, which includes my favorite creamy red ale and the rich nitro stout. And grab the pide (flatbread) with a topping of kokoreç, which is, um (and yum), roasted offal.
The Istanbul Modern comprises multiple exhibitions spaces, a library, shop, restaurant, and café. It’s open late on Friday nights until 8 p.m.
Photo by Mehmet Cetin/Shutterstock
Cultural additions to the city
Some of Istanbul’s prime religious attractions have welcomed noteworthy changes. The precious Byzantine mosaics at Hagia Sophia’s upper gallery are once again visitable after being closed for four years following the site’s reversion to mosque status. Across the flowery plaza, the Sultanahmet Mosque (aka Blue Mosque) with its splendid tiles and six minarets has fully reopened after five years of partial closure for restoration. And the magnificent Byzantine frescoes and mosaics at the 11th-century former Chora Church, now Kariye Mosque, in the Edirnekapi neighborhood, are accessible again for viewing.
Beyond these classics, check out the exciting new architectural projects that are revitalizing the city’s cultural life. On massive Taksim Square, the long-defunct and demolished Ataturk Cultural Center was brought back to life in 2021 in a version by the son of its original architect. Behind the neo-modernist glass and metal facade, the warm oak wood interiors include a cinema, library, art galleries—and an opera house inside a dramatically tiled sphere the color of pomegranate. The top floor Biz Istanbul restaurant showcases Istanbul’s complex mosaic of flavors with three distinct concepts: a neo-Ottoman restaurant, a lokanta or local-style eatery, and a bar with a fabulous menu inspired by street food—with a terrace for gazing at the Bosporus.
Over at Galataport, the Istanbul Modern museum finally opened in June 2023 after many delays. Renzo Piano’s striking five-story building salutes its warehouse origins with sweeping stacked horizontals of sleek aluminum, interspersed with airy gaps, vista windows, and slender columns. Exhibitions showcase international names like Icelandic Danish star Olafur Eliasson (his installation runs till February 2025), besides a permanent collection of post-1945 Turkish art. There’s a cinema too and a shallow reflecting pool on the viewing terrace where seagulls await Instagrammers.
Close by sits the lesser-known Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum, which displays late-Ottoman and 20th-century Turkish art in yet another architectural showstopper, repurposed from a warehouse by the award-winning Turkish architect Emre Arolat. It glows red at night.
Restorations and repurposings of diverse heritage sites entice elsewhere in the city. In Kadikoy on the Asian shore, a gasworks erected in 1891 was transformed in 2021 into Gazhane Museum for science and technology; the sprawling complex also houses a Turkish cartoon and humor museum. In Askaray in the Historic Peninsula, Bulgur Palace, a red-brick neo-Ottoman mansion from 1912 has been refreshed into a cultural center and library. On Istiklal Avenue, Beyoglu’s pedestrian-thronged main thoroughfare, the long-derelict Casa Botter, an art nouveau showpiece by the Italian architect Raimondo D’Aronco, is now restored and transformed into a municipal arts and design center. And in the Zeyrek neighborhood, the Cinili Hamam, a 16th-century bathhouse by imperial architect Mimar Sinan, the Ottoman Michelangelo, reopened in September 2023 and also includes a museum space.
Meanwhile the Golden Horn is making an ambitious splash with ArtIstanbul Feshane, the refashioning of a former 1833 military textile factory (the fez was its emblem) into a publicly funded two-acre art and culture venue. Earlier this year, its galleries for modern and contemporary art hosted a special exhibit of op and kinetic art from London’s Tate Modern.
Read and watch before you go
Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul, Charles King’s endlessly fascinating cultural history of interwar Istanbul, inspired a popular Netflix series. The Pera Palace Hotel, its grand setting, is still one of the most atmospheric spots in the city.
The Turkish Airlines lounge at Istanbul’s airport offers a stylish place to relax—and a range of traditional delicacies made to order.
Courtesy of Turkish Airlines
Getting there
Turkish Airlines is often ranked by Skytrax as one of the world’s top 10 airlines. Its economy class provides a two-piece free luggage allowance, meals that taste like actual food, toys for traveling tots, and amenity kits in cute Mandarina Duck vinyl bags. Business-class travelers get cosmetic bags from Ferragamo, lie-flat sleepers, and meals that include meze and entrées prepared by the airline’s signature white-toqued Flying Chefs.
Over the past couple of years, the country’s flag carrier has expanded its U.S. getaways with new routes from Newark, Dallas, Seattle, and Detroit, and as of June 2024, direct flights from Denver International Airport. Been putting off that Istanbul trip? Why not take advantage of the airline’s Stopover in Istanbul program, where passengers with lengthy layovers can receive two complimentary nights at a four-star hotel for economy class and three nights at a five-star hotel for business-class passengers.
If a passenger’s route doesn’t provide a natural long layover option, they can create one themselves to take the advantage of the Stopover service free hotel offering. Traveling from the United States via Istanbul to, say, Mumbai or Dubai? Just select the stopover option on the Turkish Airlines website and adjust your flights according to how many days you want to spend in Istanbul. For those with shorter Istanbul layovers (ranging from 6 to 24 hours), the airline offers its complimentary Touristanbul, which includes a tour of the city’s historic attractions and a car to take you from and back to the airport.
This article was originally published in March 2023 and was updated in August 2024 with new information.
