Istanbul/Western Suburbs

These suburbs are the main ports of entry into the city, as the major airport, the main bus station (otogar) and (for the time being) the European mainline railway terminus are all here. By car you cross this district on the way to central Istanbul from Gallipoli, Bulgaria or Greece.
Local transport radiates out from city centre, east-west. There are some north-south links near the centre, but not further out. Travelling between this area and Istanbul airport either means doubling back via the centre, or a taxi ride across the peninsula.

By air

• Istanbul AirportIstanbul's chief airport, and the main port of entry into Turkey. 30 km northwest of the city in Arnavutköy, on the Europe-side Black Sea coast. It was partly opened in Oct 2018 and fully in April 2019. It has a very wide range of international flights, by Turkish Airlines and other carriers, and domestic flights at least daily to all the major Turkish cities.

The city's former main airport "Atatürk" closed in April 2019. Beware out-of-date road signage, maps, and crooked taxi drivers who will try to take you to what is now a demolition site.

By train

is the terminus for overnight trains from Bucharest and Sofia. There are regional trains once a day from the border town of Kapikule via Edirne and one from Uzunköprü. Halkali is also the western terminus of the cross-city Marmaray train. This runs 06:00-23:00 every 15 mins via some three dozen stations, including Sirkeci in the heart of the Old City, under the Bosphorus to Kadıköy, then out east to Pendik (for SAW Airport) and Gebze. A few high speed YHT trains from Ankara terminate here, though most terminate Asia-side in Söğütlüçeşme.
Metro line M1 (red) runs from Aksaray downtown and runs northwest to Esenler bus station. It then divides: one branch goes west towards Kirazli, connecting with T1 (blue) from downtown and M3 north to Başakşehir. The other branch goes south to Zeytinburnu transport interchange via Bakırköy (though the station is 3 km north of that township) and Ataköy. Tramline T1 runs from near Kirazli via Zeytinburnu to Aksaray then Sirkeci in the old city. A crosstown bus runs from Beylikdüzü to the west via Zeytinburnu to Söğütlüçeşme on the Asian side.

By bus

Buses from Europe, Thrace and Gallipoli terminate at (Esenler Otogar). The most useful local bus lines are:

• 71T Taksim-Ataköy (via Aksaray in old city and Bakırköy)
• 72T Taksim-Yeşilköy (via Aksaray in old city and Bakırköy)
• 81 Eminönü-Yeşilköy (via the coast road)
• 94A Beyazıt-Bakırköy

The hybrid bendy Metrobüs runs up the centre strip of the main highway north of Bakırköy. These depart from Mecidiyeköy and cut travel time dramatically.
The main dolmuş routes, which run virtually round the clock, are from Taksim to Bakırköy, Ataköy and Yeşilköy

By boat

The IDO fast ferries no longer ply along the Marmara coast.

• Sea Life Istanbul

  phone: +90 212 640 2740
  address: Forum İstanbul no:3, Kocatepe
  Aquarium where you walk through transparent tunnels underwater. It's small compared to Istanbul Aquarium in Yeşilköy, an hour will be plenty, and their combi-tickets with Madame Tussauds and Legoland indicate their target audience.

• (formerly San Stefano or Ayastefanos) is a mostly upscale suburb on the coast of the Sea of Marmara, just south of Atatürk Airport. It was a multicultural village during the Ottoman period — the legacy of which still lives on in numerous churches of different Christian denominations dotting its streets — and later a seaside resort. Town centre has colourful wooden houses with highly decorative exteriors from the turn of the 20th century, especially around the railway station (itself a historic building) and the main street leading to it (which has many restaurants and cafes.) The main sights are the aviation museum and Istanbul Aquarium (not related to Sea Life). Get here on the Marmaray. Traffic in Yeşilköy is often congested, and parking very hard to find.

• Aviation Museum

  phone: +90 212 663-24-90
  address: Eski Haavalimani Cd, Yeşilköy
  A military-based museum with various warplanes, helicopters, and weapons used by Turkish Air Force, and also civilian air transport and examples of Turkish aeronautics from Ottoman era onward.

• Istanbul Akvaryum

  address: Şenlikköy Mahallesi, 34153 Bakırköy
  Much bigger aquarium than Sea Life, with over 1500 species. 3 cafes and large parking lot.
• Two lagoons indent the Marmara coast west of Yeşilköy. The suburb of Küçükçekmece lies between the "little lagoon" of that name, and Ataturk airport. Its Halkali railway station is the terminus of trains from Sofia and Bucharest. There are lakeside areas for strolling and cycling but you wouldn't make a special trip.
• Büyükçekmece, the "big lagoon" and township, has more to offer. The main attraction is the small circular on the lakefront. Much of its content is modern, including the amphitheatre and sculpture. But behind the amphitheatre are the old baths, and on the park's southeast rim is the caravanserai: Büyükçekmece was traditionally the first overnight stop for caravans trekking west to Europe from Constantinople, or their last stop eastbound. Also known as Kurşunlu Han, the "lead inn" as that's what it was roofed with, it's now a cultural centre: see if there is an exhibition on, and in any case try to peek inside at the architecture supporting the roof. Next to it is Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque, with its kerbside minaret artistically carved out of a single piece of rock, and a large fountain to provide water to the arriving caravans.

• is a small town 40 km west of central Istanbul and 15 km north of Büyükçekmece that had a substantial Greek population until the 1920s transfers. Spared from destruction in the Balkan wars which foreshadowed the Great War, the old quarter has many historic wooden buildings and fountains in leafy squares. A short stretch of the old town walls still stand just north of the centre. The town's main sight is the

  Population Transfer Museum

  address: Bahar Sk 4
  Housed in a red brick neoclassical building erected as a Greek tavern, this museum commemorates the forced population transfer of 1922–26, whereby Greeks living in Turkey were expelled to Greece, while the Turks of Greece were expelled to Turkey.
• (İnceğiz Mağaraları) are actually a Byzantine monastery complex carved into a cliff, set in a lush valley. The site is free, but May-Sept there's a 5 TL toll for cars on the access roads. There's a picnic area, pity about all the trash, and a couple of restaurants nearby. Minibuses run from Çatalca to İnceğiz village 1 km north of the monastery.
• There's a string of small resorts and beaches along the Black Sea coast. Those furthest east, Rumelifeneri and Kilyos, are described under Istanbul/Bosphorus. These continue west along the coast to Arnavutköy. This formerly quiet area (not to be confused with the downtown district of the same name) now hosts Istanbul's new airport, so it's likely to become rapidly industrialised.
• The Anastasian Wall (Anastasius Suru, Ἀναστάσειον Τεῖχος) was a defensive wall built in the 5th century to protect Constantinople from barbarian attack from the west. It ran for 56 km from Evcik on the Black Sea coast right across the Thracian peninsula to Silivri on the Marmara coast. Unlike the better-known Hadrian's Wall in England, it was neither well-constructed nor well-garrisoned, so the barbarians gleefully overran it, and it was abandoned in the 7th century. Much of the stone was looted or recycled for later buildings, and little remains of its southern half. The northern half has lasted better, with little forts and substantial masonry, such as the section leading to beach (signposted "Evcik Plaji").
• (formerly Podima) is the most interesting of the resorts along this part of the coast. The beach has multi-coloured stones much used as garden mosaics in the city. (Modern quarries nearby still extract these for the Turkish glass industry.) The town has restaurants and accommodation, and bus #404 runs here from Çatalca.
• has a sandy beach backed by forest where a creek runs out. 12 TL/car daily use, 23 TL/car night stays, camping available April-Sept. This is as far as you can go in a standard car. With 4WD you can lurch and jolt further west along the forest dirt roads to (Korsan Koyu), a small and very isolated beach surrounded by rock cliffs, and the relatively developed beach at . The village of has accommodation and old wooden houses: Bus #402 runs here from Çatalca. Past Binkılıç, the highway eventually reaches Saray in the neighbouring province of Tekirdağ.
• is a resort on the Marmara coast. It's the westernmost part of Istanbul, between Çatalca and the province of Tekirdağ. There are some remnants of the Anastasian wall here, the scrappy ruins of a castle, an ancient cistern, the Piri Paşa Mosque, and Uzunköprü the long aqueduct.

• Swimming and beach activities in the series of little beach resorts, and middle-of-the-forest beaches with no facilities, along the Black Sea coast west of the Bosphorus. Beware of strong currents when swimming anywhere along this coast. The Marmara coast also has resorts which are much more built up.
• Forest hikes and cycling: best areas are in Çilingoz Nature Reserve.

Bazaars

• Yeşilköy (Green Village) MarketFar less chaotic market in the west with about 2,000 stalls to be explored.

Shops

• Galleria

  phone: +90 212 559 95 60
  address: Ataköy
  The first modern shopping mall of Turkey, opened in the 1980s.

• Carousel

  phone: +90 212 570 84 34
  address: Halit Ziya Uşaklığil Cad. 1, Bakırköy
  Shopping mall in Bakırköy.

• Olivium Outlet Center

  phone: +90 212 547 74 53
  address: Prof. Dr. Muammer Aksoy Cad. 1/1, Zeytinburnu
  An outlet center.

Budget

These are mostly near the transport hubs, set back from the beach front.

Mid-range

There's a string of places around the harbour/marina of all the resorts along the Marmara coast. The main concentrations are in Yeşilköy/Bakırköy south of the old airport, Büyükçekmece both sides of the lagoon, and away west to Silivri.

Splurge

• Beyti

  phone: +90 212 663 29 90
  address: Orman Sk 8, Florya
  Expensive and a bit of a way out, but its meat dishes draw consistently admiring reviews.

• Yüksel Balık Lokantası

  phone: +90 212 663 97 42
  address: Liman Sk 3, Yeşilköy
  Steep prices but great seafood. They'll advise on what is the best fish for the season and other dishes.

You're never far from a beer in all the conurbations of this district.

Hotels in this district are mostly upmarket.

• Çınar Hotel

  phone: +90 212 663-29-00
  address: Şevketiye Mah. Fener Mevkii, Yeşilköy
  5-star hotel with indoor and outdoor swimming pools located on the waterfront of Yeşilköy. Rooms with en-suite bathrooms, air-con, balcony, internet connection, safebox, and cable TV.

• Radisson Blu Airport Hotel

  phone: +90 212 425 73 73
  address: E-5 Karayolu, Sefaköy
  5-star hotel

• Grand Hotel Avcilar

  phone: +90 212 6949900
  address: E 5 yanyol no 66, 34320, Avcılar
  Istanbul hotel with 68 deluxe rooms.

There are some sections of waterfront park between Bakırköy and old city walls, where you may feel uncomfortable due to the homeless people and inhalant abusers—best avoided at night.

• Bus and train termini for long-distance destinations to the west are all in this district.
• Regional transport runs into Eastern Thrace, notably Saray, Vize, and Kıyıköy on the Black Sea, and Lake Terkos.
• Tekirdağ is the provincial capital to the west, a pleasant coastal town noted for its meatballs and raki.
• By car, continue west of Tekirdağ to Keşan, then either carry on west to the Greek border, or turn south down the Gallipoli peninsula.
• The beautiful city of Edirne is a former Ottoman capital near the Bulgarian border.