What's the Draw?
Located on Palazzo Corpi in the Beyoğlu district, the ever-growing global brand has opened perhaps their most mesmerising house to date. It encompasses 87 characterful bedrooms, a gym, three restaurants in Apheleia, The Allis and Cecconi's, and a Cowshed spa. The building was designed by Italian architect Giacomo Leoni in 1873 but its baroque features mean it could have been built a century earlier. The classy and tasteful colour scheme across the rooms, lobby, and club blends walnut wood seamlessly with shades of coral, strawberry, champagne, and concrete grey. Even the gym is chic, and the rooms' powerful showers will leave you feeling completely replenished.
What to Eat?
Breakfast and an all-day menu can be ordered at The Allis, with international classics like avocado on toast with poached eggs to local dishes like menemen. Whether on the sunkissed terrace with draping trees or on comfortable velvet chairs surrounded by stylish interiors, it's a happy place to tuck into your eggs, and the coffee is superb. For lunch and dinner, an expansive Italian menu including octopus carpaccio, lobster spaghetti, and veal Milanese can be enjoyed at Cecconi's, while a Greek-inspired array of creative dishes can be ordered on the vibrant rooftop terrace at Apheleia. Seafood is the way to go with highlights including: jumbo shrimps cooked on the Josper and dressed in chilli and brown butter; a black rice with calamari; and a sea bass ceviche with a marinade inspired by Greek salad and a watermelon tiger's milk. Nearby is Aheste, a cosy bistro offering a unique take on modern Turkish cuisine.
What to do?
Galata Tower
While Istanbul may be famous for its minarets and domes, one of the area's major attractions is a Genoese tower, which boasts a remarkable vista of the Old City.
Aerial view of the Galata Tower and the Bosphorus
Azlan Ozcan
The Museum of Innocence
A meticulously detailed, soulful delight created by Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's most authoritative literary figure, and as a museum in a city based on a novel set in that city – it is one of the world's most original museums.
Hagia Sofia
Of all the breathtaking historic buildings in the city, Hagia Sofia – famous for its transformation from the central church of Constantinople to a syncretised mosque – is supreme, with unprecedented aesthetic wonder to be found in Byzantine-Christian and Ottoman-Muslim features alike.
Double Rooms at Soho House Istanbul from €375; for more information visit sohohouse.com
