Istiklal Avenue

Istiklal Avenue runs 1.4 kilometres through Beyoğlu from Taksim Square to the historic Tünel funicular station, a pedestrianized boulevard lined with 19th-century apartment blocks that once housed European consulates, banks, and grand cinemas. Visitors walk past the French, Dutch, and Russian consulate buildings, the neo-Gothic Church of St. Anthony of Padua, the Flower Passage (Çiçek Pasajı) with its glass-roofed arcade of restaurants, and the Fish Market (Balık Pazarı) tucked into a side street selling fresh seafood, pickles, and street food. A restored 1875 nostalgic red tram, the T2, trundles the length of the avenue and is as much a photo subject as a means of transport. Side streets branching off Istiklal lead to meyhane taverns, art-house cinemas, independent record shops, and small galleries, rewarding those who wander off the main thoroughfare. A visit can range from a one-hour walk end to end to a half day for those stopping in the Flower Passage, the Fish Market, and side-street cafés. The most recognizable photo is the red tram passing under the avenue's overhead lights with the crowd streaming around it, best captured from a side-street vantage point looking down onto the main avenue. Istiklal is busiest in the evening, when locals and visitors alike fill the avenue for dinner and nightlife; a calmer, more photogenic walk happens in the morning before the crowds build.