Church of St. Anthony of Padua

A contemporary art museum in a building converted from an old power plant: 1914-built and coal-fired, this was the oldest in Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire. Part of the plant was kept in almost exact original condition and now serves as the "Energy Museum".

The defining image of Istanbul, dominating the skyline with its great dome and six minarets. Completed in 1617 for Sultan Ahmed I, it's still a working mosque, so dress appropriately and avoid prayer times. Enter via the courtyard on the SW side. You step (shoeless) into the blue-tiled prayer hall beneath the main dome and its semi-domes. The mihrab is of finely carved marble, well-lit, and the minbar (pulpit) next to it is visible from almost all parts.

The Greek Orthodox church is on the highest summit of the archipelago, Yücetepe ("great hill") at 203 m asl. Walk up from Birlik Meydanı for about 35-40 min; the cobbled incline is too steep for a bicycle. The church building is unexceptional, but the backyard has a great view of the other islands and the sea. St George's day is celebrated here annually on Apr 23, when you can expect tens of thousands attendees willing to make wishes — if you want to skip the crowds set off before 06:00 or else you will be standing for a long time until you are let inside by the police in groups of 10–15 people at once. Wishmaking rituals range from usual candle burning, to slightly more unusual climbing up to the church on bare feet, to very curious untying wool balls all along the path leading there. If you are interested to partake, you will meet lots of vendors selling candles on the streets that day, right as soon as you step out of the ferry, but it's best to have them from the church for a donation. In case you are wondering if all of Turkey's dwindled Greek Orthodox minority are there that day, or if the community is even that populous, no, most of the visitors eagerly waiting for a blessing from the priest are non-Christian Turks, but there is nothing surprising about that: this is Turkey, where the east and the west meet, and cultures truly mix.

A Byzantine monastery complex carved into a cliff, set in a lush valley. The site is free, but May-Sept there's a 32 TL toll for cars on the access roads. There's a picnic area, pity about all the trash, and a couple of restaurants nearby.

Dedicated to toys, this is a museum which adults can enjoy as much as kids. It's founded by poet Sunay Akın, and is housed in a historical mansion in the Göztepe neighbourhood east of Kadıköy. Among the 2,000 pieces of toys from around the world in exhibition, the oldest are a French-made violin from 1817 and a U.S.-made doll from 1820.

A historic 3-storey house, easily distinguishable among the modern apartment buildings thanks to its brightly coloured and gracefully decorated exterior. This is where the future founder of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Atatürk rented in 1919 while staying in Istanbul before setting sail to Samsun on the Black Sea coast to start the Turkish War of Independence. Hosts Atatürk-related paraphernalia and photos.

This was built in the 1430s by Grecian Jews ("Romaniotes") from the city of Ohrid, now in North Macedonia. The district of Balat was a Jewish quarter, swelled from 1492 by those expelled from Spain. The synagogue is only open for pre-arranged tours.

This is a 1927 Beaux Arts building named after its patron Süreyya İlmen Pasha, then a deputy of Istanbul who was impressed by theatres in Europe during his visits. It became the first opera house in the Asian side of Istanbul, but due to deficiencies in its interior design, it barely staged any opera and was converted to a cinema soon afterwards. It underwent a significant restoration and reverted to its original purpose in 2007, so now houses performances of ballet, opera, and classical music; good tickets are often extremely cheap.

Stretching west from the park is this impressive 16th-century stone bridge with four humps and 28 arches spanning the channel between lagoon and sea. The bridge is pedestrian only and offers some very nice views, so it's worth walking across the entire (breezy!) span via the three islets to the quiet western end, even though beyond is industrial gap site, with the modern highway roaring to the south. In the park, the pillbox menacing the bridge was part of the "Çakmak Line", the World War II fortifications stretching from here to Terkos, which were Istanbul's last line of defence from the west. The pillbox exterior is colourfully decorated but the interior is closed.

This building dating back to 1945 houses the local radio branch of the state radio and television corporation of Turkey (TRT). Not exactly an architectural pearl (although fans of the 1940s' totalitarian architecture will likely find its stately façade interesting), but it is prominent for the part it played in the political history of Turkey: It was occupied three times by the Army, in 1960, 1971, and most recently in 1980, when the radio was decidedly the broadcast type ranging most wide and far, to announce that they had launched a coup and taken over the governance of the country.

Started in 1613 by the Ottoman sultan Ahmet I (r. 1603–1617, who also had the Blue Mosque in the Old City built), and extensively renovated by the art-loving Selim III (r. 1789–1807), this sole building, which itself has the distinction of being the only intact structure that dates back to the rule of Ahmet III (r. 1703–1730), set inside a beautiful garden of pools and mature cedar and magnolia trees is the only remaining part of what was once the fourth largest palatial complex in Istanbul, extending all the way to the banks of the Golden Horn (which is now occupied by the derelict buildings of the closed shipyard, which also block part of the view towards the shore). According to the local rumour, its name (which in Turkish means "mirrored poplar") derives from the now absent mirrors gifted by Venice to the palace that were presumably "as tall as the poplars" (aynalar kavak). The highly decorative and colourful interior includes several rooms of original furnitures fit for a sultan, some of which are covered with nacre, and walls embellished with Ottoman poems praising the palace and Selim III. Downstairs is a small museum dedicated to music, which exhibit some of the instruments (violins, ouds, and kamanchehs) and gramophone records owned by Fatma Gevheri Sultana (1904–1980), the granddaughter of Abdülaziz I (r. 1861–1876). While you are outside, also check out the old main entrance (now closed) towards the Golden Horn, topped by a dome. Worth the half hour spent there.

This is an industry museum showcasing the evolution of machines. Many transport related items including a submarine, classic cars, railway carriages, an out-of-service Bosphorus ferry and a Douglas DC-3 aircraft (possible to board) are on display, among others. Also houses a typical Istanbul streetscape with its shops and all as how it would look in the past.

A neighbourhood east of Şişli known for its Art Nouveau apartment buildings, the ground floors of many of which are upmarket restaurants, cafes, pubs, and garment stores lining the sidewalks. Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, well-known Turkish novelist, is a lifelong resident of the neighbourhood which formed the background of several of his novels.

Among the exhibition of this museum are five thousand pieces from the Ottoman era through WWII, with the most prominent piece possibly being the huge chain that the Byzantines stretched across the mouth of the Golden Horn to keep out the Sultan's navy in 1453 during the siege of Constantinople. In the yard of the museum, the Janissary Band (Mehter Takımı), the world’s oldest military band gives concerts of march music in traditional uniforms each afternoon, at 15:00.

This is a completely wooden building rising up to six storeys. It is said to be the second largest wooden construction in the world and the first in Europe. On the second highest summit of Büyükada (İsatepe, "Jesus hill", 164 m asl), it lies abandoned and dilapidated amidst the pine woods, like a picture-perfect haunted manor. It was built in the late 19th century, originally intended as a luxury hotel for the passengers of the Orient Express but never served that purpose and was put in use as an orphanage by the Greek community until it was closed down in 1964, within the context of the deteriorating Turkish-Greek relations due to the Cyprus dispute. It's dangerous, not to say forbidden, to enter the building due to the damages inflicted by decades of neglect. The title holder is the Ecumenical Patriarchate, led by Bartholomew I who wants the building restored and made a global environmental research centre (he's known as the "Green Pope" due to his efforts for environmental protection), but given the long legal disputes on titleship, not to mention the enormous funds required to bring the building to life, don't hold your breath.

The imperial enclave of the Ottoman emperors for four centuries. Lavishly decorated, with exhibitions of fine craftmanship and four courts of increasing grandeur. The second court has the Harem and the State Treasury, housing a weaponry display. The third court has the Imperial Treasury, with Islamic and Christian relics. The views from the Fourth Court over the Bosphorus are spectacular. Reckon on spending several hours here and bring water as the museum kiosk is overpriced.

Built in first half of the 15th century, this is the large medieval castle under the Second Bosphorus Bridge. Its former name Boğazkesen (Turkish)/Laimokopia (Greek) means both "strait-blocker" and "throat-cutter" in both languages and denotes the reason of its building—to shut the supply routes from the Black Sea in the north into the slowly falling apart Byzantine Empire through the Bosphorus. Rumeli, literally "the Roman land", was the name of the European half of the Ottoman Empire, and as is usual with some other structures and villages along the Bosphorus, used as a prefix to differentiate Rumeli Hisarı from its counterpart in the Asian Side, the much smaller Anadolu Hisarı just across the Bosphorus.

Completed in 1851, this houses a mantle said to have been worn by the prophet Muhammad. The mantle is displayed during Ramadan.

The only active Ashkenazi Synagogue open to visits and prayers.