The commercial and transport hub of the old city

Noteworthy for: Shop for everything here from an antique silk carpet to a hamam towel, gold jewellery to the 'gold spice', saffron.

The area between the Grand Bazaar and the Golden Horn is one of the city's most vibrant, teeming with people during the day. Explore the Grand Bazaar’s sprawling maze of covered streets lined with thousands of shops and stalls, cafés and restaurants, then walk down to the bustling waterfront at Eminönü. A transport hub and the departure point for ferries to Asia, it's dominated by the New Mosque, and the sensory overload that is the Egyptian Spice Bazaar.

To the north, the chaotic Galata Bridge is lined with fisherman and choked with traffic. It spans the Golden Horn, the body of water that separates ‘old’ and ‘new’ Istanbul. At sunset the water is bathed in yellow light creating a romantic skyline of silhouetted domes and minarets.