Things to see

Sultanahmet (the historic center, for touristy stuff)

• Topkapi palace
• Hippodrome
• Hagia Sophia
• Blue mosque
• Basilica Cistern (I love this one, quick to see but very interesting)
• Grand bazaar (make sure that you bargain there hard core!)
• Numerous museums to see around there (though I would leave them as last priorities)
  • Islamic art museum
  • Mosaics museum
  • Archeology museum

Ortakoy

• Tour of the bosphorus by boat (there are boats that leave every hour and there are a lot of hookah places there if you want the experience)
• As a restaurant, I like Banyan (it's an asian fusion restaurant but a bit pricey)

Kabatas/Tophane

• Dolmabahce palace (feels more like a European Palace than an Ottoman one so it's probably less of a priority than the stuff in Sultanahmet)
• Modern art museum (it has a nice restaurant on the water as well and it's free on Thursdays)

Other places

• Chora (Kariye) Museum (an old byzantine church with very nice mosaics)
• Valens Aqueduct near Sarachane Park (old roman aqueduct, crossing a major road in the middle of a suburb. It's a bit surreal and pretty cool)

Places to stay

• Avoid staying in Sultanahmet (even though that's where most of the historic stuff is, it's very touristy, and nothing to do there at night really)
• Nisantasi is also a good neighborhood (upscale) that is very lively but tends to have traffic and is a little harder for public transportation in case you like that
• Besiktas is also a nice place to stay, with good views of the Bosphorus

Places to eat

• Vogue (in Besiktas): they have good Turkish food, but also a wide array of selection (even sushi I think) and amazing views of the city!
• Sunset (Ulus): again good food and great views, especially when the weather is nice and you can sit outside (but expensive)
• Borsa: there are a few different locations for this but it's very good Turkish food
• Hunkar (nisantasi): also a good option for Turkish food (faster option than others as it's the type of place you can pick the food from a display and get served immediately)
• X restaurant (Sishane): also great views, and also great drinks (this is also close to all of the cool bars in Asmalimescit so if you feel like going out, it might be a good option for beforehand, but it's expensive for food)
• Karakoy Lokantasi (Karakoy): Karakoy is a neighborhood that has been developing a lot in the past couple of years and has cute cafes and restaurants, as well as art galleries. This is one of the older options in there with good food
• Yeni Lokanta (Taksim area): this is a relatively new restaurant but it's been popular for modern fusion Turkish food. It was my favorite place to go to this summer and I would highly recommend it (also great cocktails)!
• Suada (Kurucesme): this is a mini restaurant island with good options for seafood and kebabs
• In general you can also trust street food which I LOVE and have never gotten sick from (doner kebab mmm!!)
• You could go for tea to the Four Season on the bosphorus (in besiktas) it has a very nice terrace on the water and I find it very calming.

Places to party

• Reina is the most famous club. It's fun but it's open air so it's not as good in the winter and weirdly enough people don't really dance there (even though it's still open with heaters). It has an entrance cover but if you go there for dinner beforehand (has many restaurants), you can avoid it
• Anjelique is probably the best club to go to in the winter (as mentioned above, it's in Ortakoy)
• Ulus 29 (which also serves good food)
• Fosil in Karakoy
• Zelda Zonk in Karakoy

Places to shop

• Malls in Levent (Kanyon is the most fun)
• Nisantasi (upscale neighborhood with lots of shops and restaurants)
• Bagdat Boulevard (this is on the Asian coast, it's a long street with many many shops and restaurants)