It would be borderline impossible to come up with just one word to describe Istanbul. There isn’t an adjective on the planet which really sums it all up. If we’re being lazy, or we’re simply trying to find a good fit, one word might be suitable, although it does nothing to explain the wonderful and sheer history that his city has seen over the centuries. That word? Big.

Yes, Istanbul is big. Very, very big.

It is impossible to see all of Istanbul in one visit; without a lot of time and a lot of money, you simply cannot get around the entire 1539 square kilometres of land, or walk past the 15 million residents, plus the visitors. Yes, this is a big city.

The thing about big cities is that they are not made up of one main area, but split into neighbourhoods and districts. Each district has a certain flavour, a subtle difference to the others, and that’s why exploring as many as you can during your visit to Istanbul is a must do. If you can get around three or four, you’ve done well, and you can save the rest for your next visit! That’s the other thing about Istanbul – one visit is never enough.

The Main Districts And Neighbourhoods of Istanbul

We can’t talk about them all, there’s simply not enough time and I don’t have enough word count free, but we can talk about the main ones, the ones which you can easily visit as a tourist and get to experience the subtle differences between them.

The main districts and neighbourhoods of Istanbul we will cover are:

• Anadulo Kavagi,
• Bebek,
• Besiktas,
• Beyoglu,
• Eminonu,
• Eyup,
• Fatih,
• Galata,
• Kabatas,
• Kadikoy,
• Ortakoy,
• Sariyer,
• Sisli,
• Sultanahmet,
• Uskudar.

There are countless more, we do need to stress that, but these are the main districts and neighbourhoods in Istanbul which have the most to show you in terms of attractions.