Istanbul offers a unique blend of history, culture, and breathtaking beauty. Immerse yourself in the cityโs rich heritage, indulge in delicious Turkish cuisine, and explore its vibrant neighborhoods. This guide will take you through the cityโs top attractions, hidden gems, and unforgettable experiences.
Living traditions and eco-innovation meet in Turkeyโs most cosmopolitan center.
Istanbulโs waterways and narrow streets thread Europe to Asiaย in a tapestry ofย Ottoman palaces, slender minarets, and soaring plane trees. Yes, life inย Turkeyโs most storied city is breezily bicontinental, and locals have an enviable knack for layering fresh culture atop ancient heritage.
Sustainable journeys to Istanbul draw on that confluence. Here, travelers can merge ecological innovation with tradition, whether by sampling Anatolian wines at a Michelin Green Star restaurant, strolling between antique stores in stylish Cukurcuma, or buying artisan crafts from Balat district workshops.
And while Istanbulโs recent entrรฉe into theย EBRD Green Citiesย program signals a growing commitment to environmental design, its savvy travel advisors and guides have long championed eco-conscious exploration. The meandering streets in the cityโs oldest neighborhoods, for example, are best visited on foot, and a network of public ferries,ย far from perpetual traffic snarls, links Bosporus-side districts. Below, more ways to plan an Istanbul trip while making conservation and local craftsmanship a priority.
High-end craftsmanship at Neolokal.
Eat and Drink
The Michelin Guide made its long-awaited Istanbul debut in 2022, awarding Turkeyโs first Green Star to chef Maksut Askarโsย Neolokal, a restaurant serving contemporary takes on the countryโs rich gastronomic heritage. โTo create a better future, we need to make our traditions sustainable,โ says Askar, who sources ingredients for dishes such as morel-stuffedย mantiย dumplings from small producers and strives to make his kitchen zero waste. Neolokalโs wine list highlights Turkish wine regions from Anatolia to the Aegean coast, showcasing rare and endangered grapes such as hasandede and cakal.ย At sister restaurantย Foxy, a beloved wine bar in the Nisantasi neighborhood to the north of the old city, aficionados order from a bottle list sourced entirely from within Turkey.
Shop
Istanbulโs antique shops are a trove for sustainably minded travelers, who upcycle or preserve their finds. โTurkish culture has always prioritized beautiful design, exquisite craftsmanship, and high quality,โ saysย Artisans of Leisureย CEO Ashley Isaacs Ganz. โShops and bazaars feature items that were meant to be passed down for generations.โ Ganz recommends the chicย A la Turcaย showroom, which curates precious carpets and kilims within the Cukurcuma antique district. Nearby, strolling through the cosmopolitan Beyoglu neighborhood leads toย Sofa Art & Antiques, a thrilling jumble of gold jewelry, oil paintings, and brass sculptures.
While Turkish towels are plentiful in the labyrinthine fifteenth-century Grand Bazaar, travelers seeking artisanal versions should visitย Jenniferโs Hamamย in the smaller Arasta Bazaar near the Hagia Sophia. When owner and longtime Istanbul resident Jennifer Gaudet founded the shop in 2009, she discovered just a few weavers still hand-looming towels with techniques developed during the Ottoman Empire (factory-made textiles had pushed the craft nearly to extinction). Today, the shop and its three-story showroom support a network of in-house weavers creating sumptuous and colorful flat-woven towels, looped towels, and other textiles, all from organic Turkish cotton.
Other artisans sell right from their studios. โIn Balat, there are small pottery shops and small leather shops. You can sit and see how theyโre doing it โ they like to chat,โ says Yavuz Salataci, an Istanbul local and operations specialist forย G Adventures. He recommends that guests on the four-dayย Classic Istanbul Mini Adventureย use their free time for a craft-themed stroll through the vibrant Balat neighborhood overlooking the Golden Horn. For fine tiles and ceramics, Salataci prefersย Firca Seramikย in the neighboring Fatih area, where buyers source traditional pieces directly from the lakeside town of Iznik. Or head to Beyazitโs coppersmith market for another craft at risk of factory-made replacement: hand-hammered copper kitchenware from eastern Tukeyโs renowned Gaziantep workshops.
Bosporus views from The Peninsula Istanbul.
Experience
Not all heirlooms fit in a carry-on: Souvenir minimalists and culture-curious visitors have ample opportunities to support traditional ways of life in Istanbul. The 65-roomย Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmetย books tickets for travelers to watch Sufi practitionersโ (aka whirling dervishes) dancing meditations atย Hodjapasha, a cultural center housed in a fifteenth-century hammam.
And as international travelers catch on to the breadth of Turkeyโs patrimony, hotels across the city are introducing creative hands-on experiences. Guests at the 100-roomย Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus, Istanbulย can take glassblowing workshops to create personalized versions of the good-luck charms known as โevil eyes,โ a tradition rooted in ancient Mesopotamia. And in the bustling Galata neighborhood, the 177-roomย Peninsula Istanbulย ushers visitors to the sixteenth-century Caferaฤa Madrasa to learn the art ofย ebruย โ a style of marbling perfected by calligraphers during the Ottoman period โ now featured on UNESCOโs list ofย intangible cultural heritage.
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Reference: [https://www.virtuoso.com/travel/articles/green-city-guide-istanbul]