Galata & Karaköy, Istanbul

Galata grew on the northern shore of the Golden Horn as a trading suburb of Byzantine Constantinople, known in antiquity as Sykai. In 1267, after helping to restore Byzantine rule, the Republic of Genoa was granted the area, and its merchants built a walled colony with its own governor, churches and warehouses. In 1348 they raised the Tower of Christ (Christea Turris) at the highest point of their walls – today's Galata Tower, nearly 67 metres tall.

When Mehmed II took Constantinople in 1453, Galata surrendered peacefully and kept many of its trading privileges. Through the Ottoman centuries it remained home to Genoese, Venetian, Greek, Armenian and Jewish merchants, while the Galata Mevlevi Lodge, founded in 1491, made the hill a centre of Sufi music. A famous 17th-century tale recorded by Evliya Çelebi has Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi gliding from the tower across the Bosphorus to Üsküdar on artificial wings.

In the 19th century Karaköy, the harbour quarter below the tower, became the financial district of the empire. Voyvoda Street, better known as Bankalar Caddesi (Banks Street), filled with banks and insurance houses; the Ottoman Bank headquarters designed by Alexandre Vallaury opened in 1892 and is now the SALT Galata cultural centre. The banking family Camondo built the curving stone Camondo Stairs to link the street with the upper town, and in 1875 the Tünel funicular began carrying passengers up to Pera.

Most of the Genoese walls were demolished in the 1860s, but the tower survived. Since the 2000s Karaköy has been reborn with design hotels, galleries and cafés. The Galataport cruise terminal and promenade opened in 2021, Galata Tower reopened as a museum in 2020, and the new Istanbul Modern building by Renzo Piano opened on the waterfront in 2023.

Start at Galata Tower early to beat the queue, then enjoy the 360-degree view of the Golden Horn, the historic peninsula and the Bosphorus from its outdoor gallery. The lanes around the tower – Serdar-ı Ekrem, Galip Dede and Kumbaracı – are full of boutiques, music-instrument shops, cafés and small design stores. The Galata Mevlevi Lodge museum on Galip Dede Street tells the story of the whirling dervishes.

Walk down the Camondo Stairs to Bankalar Caddesi and SALT Galata, whose former bank vaults, exhibitions and library are open to visitors. In Karaköy, browse art galleries and old hardware-shop streets turned café quarter, try baklava and börek at long-established pastry shops, and eat grilled fish or meze near the water. The Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque, a late work of Mimar Sinan completed in 1580, and the Arap Camii, a Gothic former Dominican church, are worth a short detour.

Along the shore, the Galataport promenade leads to Istanbul Modern, Turkey's leading museum of modern and contemporary art. Cross the Galata Bridge on foot to Eminönü for the Spice Bazaar, or catch a ferry from Karaköy pier to Kadıköy for an inexpensive Bosphorus view. Sunset from the bridge or a rooftop terrace is the classic finale.

The T1 tram stops at Karaköy, and the historic Tünel funicular runs from Karaköy up to the bottom of İstiklal Street. Şişhane station on the M2 metro is a five-minute walk from Galata Tower, and ferries leave Karaköy pier for Kadıköy and Üsküdar. The streets between Karaköy and the tower are steep and cobbled, so wear comfortable shoes.

Queues for Galata Tower are longest from late morning to sunset; arrive at opening time or in the evening. Dress modestly for the mosques, and keep valuables secure in crowded spots. Karaköy's cafés are busiest at weekend brunch time.