Travel · Istanbul ✦ May 2026 ✦ 13 min read
Istanbul — the city where east
meets west and everything
is better for it
It is a majority Muslim country that is not remotely conservative. It is ancient and completely modern. It is chaotic and entirely navigable. Every time I leave Istanbul I am already planning when I am going back — and I have been more times than I can count.
Anjie Moin
Founder, Style & Soul 35+
There is a moment — usually about twenty minutes after you land in Istanbul — when you realise the city is not going to let you stay passive. It pulls you in. The sounds, the smells, the extraordinary layering of old and new, sacred and ordinary, East and West existing not in tension but in genuine harmony. I have lost count of how many times I have been and it still does that to me every single time.
People often have a fixed image of what Istanbul is before they arrive. Most of them are wrong. This is not a conservative destination. It is not complicated to navigate. It is not a city that requires you to compromise on comfort, food, culture or a good time. It is one of the most surprisingly complete travel experiences I have had anywhere in the world — and I think women over 35 specifically will love it for reasons I am about to explain.
This Istanbul travel guide is what I wish someone had told me before my first trip. The practical things, the honest things and the specific recommendations I would give anyone I cared about.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions and experiences are entirely my own. Full disclosure here.
“Istanbul is a majority Muslim country that is not remotely conservative. It is modern, warm, exhilarating and one of the most complete travel experiences you will ever have. The mix of East and West here is not a compromise — it is the whole point.”
— Anjie, Style & Soul 35+
Where to stay
Stay in Nişantaşı — and stay connected
Where you stay in Istanbul changes your entire experience. The city is large and the traffic can be genuinely unpredictable. Getting this right matters.
The W Istanbul, Nişantaşı
Nişantaşı neighbourhood · Best location for transport
The reason I keep coming back to the W in Nişantaşı specifically is the location relative to the metro. The underground train system connects the whole city beautifully — airport to old town to the modern neighbourhoods — and being right next to a station means you are never dependent on traffic. Istanbul traffic can genuinely eat hours of your day. The metro doesn't.
Nişantaşı itself is one of the most enjoyable neighbourhoods to be based in — upscale, walkable, full of beautiful cafés and boutiques. It is the modern, European-feeling Istanbul that surprises people who expected something more austere. The contrast between being here in the morning and the Grand Bazaar in the afternoon is one of my favourite things about the city.
Practical note
Always avoid taxis in Istanbul. They are unreliable on price and the traffic makes them frustrating. The metro is clean, safe, easy to navigate and connects everywhere you need to go. For the airport specifically — book your transfer in advance. Do not try to figure it out on arrival.
Where to eat
The food in Istanbul is genuinely extraordinary
This is one of the most underrated food cities in the world. The range, the quality and the sheer joy of eating here is something I was not expecting on my first trip. I was expecting good food. I was not expecting food this good.
The one restaurant I always come back to
Nusrat — go to the original location
Nusrat is world-famous now — you will have seen the videos, you will know the brand. There are locations everywhere. The original Istanbul location is still the best one and the experience is genuinely different from any franchise version you might have tried elsewhere. The quality of the meat, the energy of the room, the whole ritual of the meal — it earns every bit of its reputation.
The recommendation
Book in advance. Go hungry. Order more than you think you need. The original Istanbul location is the one — not a branch, the original.
Best afternoon in the city
The Galata Tower neighbourhood — cheesecake, baklava and Turkish coffee
One of my favourite things to do in Istanbul is simply sit around the Galata Tower area and absorb the energy. The Turkish people are warm, expressive and completely magnetic to watch. The neighbourhood around the tower is full of cafés where you can order the best cheesecake and baklava, sip Turkish coffee that is unlike anything you will find elsewhere, and spend hours without once feeling you should be somewhere else.
People-watching here is a proper activity. Take your time. Stay longer than you planned.
For gifts and Turkish delights
Hafız Mustafa 1864
If you are going home with gifts — and you should be — this is the address. Hafız Mustafa is the most beautiful and authentic place in the city to buy Turkish delights and sweets. The packaging is gorgeous, the quality is exceptional and it is the one thing I bring back every single time. People who receive these as gifts are always delighted.
Shopping
The Grand Bazaar — haggle, always
The Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world. Over 4,000 shops. Centuries of trading history. And the most enjoyable shopping experience I know — provided you understand the one rule that makes all the difference.
Haggling is not optional here. It is the entire point of the interaction. The first price you are given is not the real price — it is the beginning of a conversation. If you pay the opening price, you have not bought something, you have left money on the table. The traders expect you to negotiate and frankly they enjoy it. Engage with it, smile, walk away if you need to and do not take any of it personally.
What I always buy
Coffee sets — I genuinely have too many and I keep buying more
The traditional Turkish coffee sets you find in the bazaar — the copper pots, the small porcelain cups, the trays — are some of the most beautiful objects I own. I have bought so many over the years I have genuinely lost count. They make extraordinary gifts and they are a genuine piece of the culture to bring home. Haggle hard on these. The prices are very negotiable.
The bigger investment
Rugs — worth every negotiation
I buy rugs when I am in Istanbul and I have never regretted a single one. The quality of handmade Turkish rugs is exceptional — these are pieces that will outlast almost everything else you own. They are also very shippable; the better dealers will arrange international shipping for you.
Take your time choosing. There is no pressure that cannot be dissolved by walking away calmly. The right dealer will come back with a better price.
Wellness · The hammam experience
The Ritz Carlton hammam —
do the couples experience
I have done the hammam experience at the Ritz Carlton Istanbul and it is one of the most genuinely memorable things I have done in any city, anywhere. My husband and I did the couples experience together and we still talk about it. It was not what either of us expected — and it was better than both of us expected.
The traditional hammam is one of Istanbul's oldest wellness rituals — steam, exfoliation, massage, the gradual unhurrying of the body that you cannot rush or replicate anywhere else. The Ritz Carlton version delivers all of that within an environment that is beautiful, private and genuinely pampering. It is not a tourist version of the hammam. It is the real thing, done exceptionally well.
What struck me most was the quality of the kese — the exfoliation glove treatment that removes what feels like an entire layer of your life. Your skin afterwards is genuinely different. Softer, brighter, more alive. I have done skincare routines for years and nothing resets the skin quite like a proper hammam treatment.
“We came out of that hammam completely different people. Quieter. Softer. Genuinely restored in a way that a massage alone never quite achieves. It is one of those experiences you talk about for years.”
— Anjie, Style & Soul 35+
The couples experience specifically is something I would recommend even if you are not a couple who typically does spa things together. There is something about the shared experience of the hammam — the steam, the stillness, the ritual — that is quietly connecting. It is one of the most unexpectedly intimate things we have done as a couple, and we travel a lot.
If you are going to Istanbul and you do only one wellness experience — make it this one. Book it for the first full day so your body arrives into the trip properly rested rather than carrying your journey with you.
Practical notes — the Ritz Carlton hammam
Book in advance — the hammam is popular and the best time slots go quickly. Book before you travel, not on arrival.
Do the couples experience — whether you are travelling with a partner, a friend or a sister, the shared version is the one I recommend. The private suite experience is worth the upgrade.
Go on your first full day — it resets your body from travel and sets the tone for the entire trip. You will move through Istanbul differently for the rest of your stay.
Allow the full time — do not book anything immediately after. The whole point is to have nowhere to be.
Location — The Ritz-Carlton Istanbul, Suzer Plaza, Elmadag, Sisli. Worth a taxi specifically for this one — the metro will not get you right to the door.
If hammam culture lands for you, the spa scene in Dubai takes it to a different level — different aesthetic, same restorative principle. I go to both for the same reason.
Culture & evenings
Shisha, evening culture
and the energy of the city at night
Istanbul comes alive in the evening in a way that very few cities match. The shisha culture here is exceptional — and I say this as someone who has had shisha in a lot of places. The quality here is genuinely second to none.
There are shisha spots throughout the city — in the rooftop bars, the traditional cafés, the waterfront restaurants along the Bosphorus. The settings are extraordinary and the experience of sitting with a good shisha, watching the lights of the city across the water, is one of those Istanbul moments that stays with you.
What I love most about Istanbul evenings is the energy of the people. Turkish culture is warm, social and genuinely inviting — there is a collective joy to being out in this city that you absorb whether you intend to or not. Sit somewhere with a view and let the city come to you.
From the trip
Seven things Istanbul does
exceptionally well
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Before you go
The practical things every Istanbul travel guide should tell you
Transport
Always take the metro. Book airport pickup in advance. Avoid taxis — they are unreliable on price and traffic makes them maddening.
Shopping rule
The first price is not the final price. Haggle everything in the bazaar — it is expected, it is enjoyable and you will leave with far better deals.
What to expect
A majority Muslim country that is modern, welcoming and completely non-restrictive. Dress comfortably, be respectful in mosques and enjoy the extraordinary freedom the city gives you everywhere else.
Best time to visit
April to June and September to November. Spring and autumn give you the best weather for walking the city. Summer is hot and busy; winter is mild and considerably quieter.
Pack well, travel better
What I travel with — the actual kit
Istanbul is the kind of trip where you want to pack well. You will be walking a lot, you will want to look good at dinner and in the bazaar and you will almost certainly come home with more than you left with. The right luggage makes all of that significantly easier.
Checked luggage · 29 inch
Hanke 29″ Hardside Spinner Suitcase — Ivory White
Istanbul is a shopping trip. The Grand Bazaar, the coffee sets, the rugs, the Turkish delights from Hafız Mustafa — you will not leave light. This 29-inch hardside spinner is the answer. The PC hard shell protects everything inside, the spinner wheels handle cobblestones and airport terminals equally well, and the ivory white is exactly the kind of elegant detail that makes travel feel intentional rather than functional.
Why it works for this trip
Large 29-inch checked size gives you room to bring home everything the bazaar tempts you with. Spinner wheels are non-negotiable for Istanbul’s stone streets and the metro.
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Packing organisation · compression set
Compression Packing Cubes
The double-zipper compression system reduces clothing volume by up to 60% — which on an Istanbul trip means the room you need for shopping is already built in before you leave home. Compress your clothes on the way out. Leave a cube or two empty for the return journey. You will fill them.
Istanbul is too good a shopping city not to plan for the return journey. These make it entirely manageable.
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Security · TSA approved · 4 pack
TSA Approved Luggage Locks — 4 Pack
I always add a secondary TSA-approved lock to the zip pulls on any trip where I am returning with valuables. Rugs and coffee sets from the bazaar qualify. The cable design loops through both zip pulls at once and takes two seconds. Istanbul’s airports and transit hubs are busy — this is the kind of low-cost, high-peace-of-mind addition that is always worth it.
TSA-approved means security can inspect and relock without cutting. Non-TSA locks get cut off and are not replaced. Always check for the red diamond logo.
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Non-negotiable · Every single trip
Digital Luggage Scale
This is the one thing I would tell anyone travelling to a shopping city that they genuinely cannot leave home without. You are going to buy rugs, coffee sets and bags of Turkish delights from Hafız Mustafa. You need to know you are not over the airline weight limit before you get to check-in, not after.
I have paid an overweight fee at an airport exactly once in my life. I now own three of these. One lives in every bag I travel with regularly.
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Go. You will not regret it.
Istanbul rewards curiosity more than almost anywhere I have ever been. It is layered in a way that very few cities are — you can come back many times and still find something new. I have. The culture is rich, the food is extraordinary, the people make you feel welcome from the moment you arrive and the East-West mix that defines this city is not something you will find anywhere else on earth quite like this.
Take the metro. Book the hammam. Eat at Nusrat. Sit around the Galata Tower for longer than you planned. Buy the coffee sets — yes, even if you already have too many. I always do.
If you have been to Istanbul or you are planning a trip, leave a comment below. I read every single one.
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