Fodor's Expert Review Ortaköy

Popular with both locals and visitors, this charming neighborhood is a lovely place to spend a summer afternoon or evening. Restaurants and cafés cluster around the small square on the European-side waterfront, which is dominated by the iconic silhouette of Ortaköy Camii, an elegant, 19th-century, Ottoman mosque designed by the same Armenian architects who built the Dolmabahçe Palace. The mosque overlooks the water, with the imposing Bosphorus Bridge (built 1973) behind it. On Sunday, the narrow, cobblestoned surrounding streets are lined with stalls selling jewelry, scarves, trinkets, and small antique items. Ortaköy is also considered the best place in Istanbul to try the street food called kumpir (basically giant baked potatoes with a choice of fillings): look for the row of about a dozen food stands—selling kumpir, waffles, and other snacks—all competing for customers' attention.