Sultanahmet, the district in Old Istanbul around the Byzantine Hippodrome and the premier sights of Istanbul: Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, is surrounded by good hotel neighborhoods.
Staying in any of them allows you to walk to most of Istanbul's top sights, and to easily take the tram to most of the rest.
Here are the hotel areas near Sultanahmet.
Ayasofya
A few hotels are right near Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya)and offer an advantage to travelers with limited mobility: these places are the closest to the sights, and you can easily retire to your room for a rest whenever desired. More...
Hippodrome
Next to Ayasofya at the very center of Sultanahmet, with the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque on its southeast side, the hotels around the Hippodrome (At Meydanı)are as close as you can possibly get to the major historical sights on the peninsula of Old Istanbul.More...
Divan Yolu
The ancient road to Rome extends from Sultanahmet Square and the Hippodrome westward 1 km (6/10 mile) to Beyazit Square. On its north side are several hotels within a 2- or 3-minute walk of the Hippodrome in an area of narrow streets (some pedestrian) crowded with restaurants. More...
Cankurtaran
East and south of the Hippodrome toward the Bosphorus, this warren of streets packed with a hundred small hotels of all shapes, sizes and degrees of comfort and price, from backpackers' hostels to the elegant 5-star Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul. All are within a 5- to 10-minute walk up a gradual hill to the Hippodrome. More...
Sirkeci
Down the hill north of Sultanahmet along Alemdar Caddesi on the way to Sirkeci Station, this neighborhood has a hundred hotels in all price ranges, and several dozen restaurants from cheap to fancy.Prices are lower and transport connections—tram, ferryboat, suburban train, Bosphorus cruise—are perhaps the best in the city. A 10-minute walk or a short tram ride takes you uphill to Sultanahmet, Divan Yolu and the Grand Bazaar, or north to Sirkeci Station, the Eminönü ferry docks and Spice Bazaar, Galata Bridge and Beyoğlu. More...
Ahırkapı/Çatladıkapı
At the far eastern/southern extent of Cankurtaran right by the Byzantine city walls and the shore highway, this district has several good hotels with virtues that may make the extra few minutes' walk (8 to 12 minutes uphill to the Hippodrome) worth it. (Other transport is limited.) More...
Küçük Ayasofya
On and off Küçük Ayasofya Caddesi, the street running downhill from the Blue Mosque's Arasta Bazaarto the Little Hagia Sophia Mosque, and neighboring Nakilbent Sokak, there are another hundred hotels, small and large, in all classes, all convenient to the Hippodrome, though the tram stop is on the far side of it. More...
Binbirdirek
Just west of the Hippodrome up the hill off Divan Yoluis a small park beneath which lies Binbirdirek, the Byzantine Cistern of 1001 Columns. Facing the park and on neighboring Klodfarer Caddesi are several good hotels, some quiet, some with fine views and moderate prices, only steps from the major sights and transport. More...
Piyer Loti Caddesi
West of Binbirdirek, south of Divan Yolu, Piyer Loti Caddesi is a partly-pedestrianized street, therefore fairly quiet, and lined with good small hotels. More...
Kadırga
South and west of Binbirdirek and Piyer Loti, this neighborhood has a variety of lodgings on narrow streets in a real Istanbul-Turkish (not tourist) neighborhood. It's a 10- or 15-minute walk uphill to the Hippodrome though, and transport is not so convenient. More...
Beyazıt
Farther west, south of Beyazit Square near the Grand Bazaar and Istanbul University, are several good modern quiet hotels near shopping and the tram line, with lower prices, and still only a 12- to 15-minute walk (or shorter tram ride) from the Hippodrome along historic Divan Yolu. More...
If you already have the name of a hotel and want to know more about it, see my Istanbul Hotel Index.
—by Tom Brosnahan
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