Best outdoorsy plans in Istanbul

Living in a big city is hard and living in Istanbul is even harder. Every other day public green spaces in Istanbul are destroyed to build another shopping mall or a luxury residence. So if you want to enjoy nature and get some fresh air in Istanbul, you really need to try your best to discover those secret spots. Well, maybe secret spot is not to best word to describe those places because every tiny square in Istanbul is literally invaded by people. But I think Istanbul is still very enjoyable on a sunny day. Here are some ideas to have an enjoyable weekend within the city and get a little bit closer to nature. I know that the winter has just started, but it is nice to dream about the upcoming sunny days.

Maçka Parkı

This place is literally one of the last public spaces remained as a park in the heart of Istanbul (and of course Gezi Park, but let’s confess it is not as nice as Maçka Parkı.) I hear you saying, I am sorry, is this your secret spot; this place is invaded by thousands of people on a sunny day. Well, you are right. Maçka Parkı is not a secret spot by any means, but I think it is still an enjoyable place to chill in the afternoon. But no worries I have a little bit more to say. If you have ever been to this park, you might have seen that a lot of activities going on there. One of my favourites is the morning yoga happening in the park. It is such a nice way start your day and get away from Istanbul’s stress. If you are interested you may follow the Facebook page “Yoga ve Doğa.”

Another interesting event happening in the park is the swing dance gatherings organized once in a while. This usually happens around the big water fountain in the park, and I don’t think you will miss a huge group of people dancing in the park. If you are interested you may follow their Facebook page “Macka Swing” for more information the upcoming events. Unfortunately, during the winter there are not many events happening, but you know Istanbul’s winter. There might be an unexpectedly sunny day (now it is even more likely with the climate change I guess), so keep an eye on their Facebook page. (Please note that I took this photo from their Facebook page.)

Last but not the least, I do have a secret spot in Maçka Parkı. This is a really basic cafe (or çay bahçesi in Turkish) with an amazing view of the park and the Bosphorus. This place is located on the hilly and higher side of the park. When you are descending from Nişantaşı, don’t take the main entrance of the park, continue walking. The park should be on your right-hand side. Continue walking and you will see another entrance after 10 minutes. This is the entrance where the cable car is located. You will see a small outdoor cafe right after this entrance. I love this place and used to go there every day after work to read or just to watch the sunset. Especially during the weekdays, this place is very calm. So you can go there to read, to draw or just to relax. I should say their tea and coffee is pretty bad, so lower your expectations. I only drink herbal tea or just soda. But if you are hungry their gözleme was actually nice.

Breakfast in Moda

For the last couple years, Moda has been developed incredibly and now every tiny place is filled with hipster coffee shops and breakfast places. Those places are lovely but pretty expensive. Among all those fancy places, my absolute favourite is still Moda Çay Bahçesi which is a fairly budget-friendly choice. Just a small note: this is not the place that is shown as Moda Çay Bahçesi on Google maps. I don’t know how this place is really called, but the easiest way to find it is taking a right turn just after Ali Usta (extremely famous and crowded waffle and ice cream place), and that street will directly lead you to this place.

You are free to bring your own food and just buy a cup of tea there (or buy 8 cups of tea as a Turkish person would do). The view is absolutely stunning. The whole place is surrounded by trees and you can enjoy the amazing view of the historic peninsula between the trees. It can get pretty crowded during the weekends, but as an Erasmus student, I am sure you have at least couple days off. So, what you should do on a Monday morning is to drop by Kadiköy Beyaz Fırın, buy some amazing pastries, go to Moda Çay Bahçesi and enjoy your cup of tea by the stunning view. If you wanna continue your day in a more relaxed mood, you can make your way to Moda Sahil after the breakfast. Oh, and did I mention that there are swing dance eventshappening in Moda as well. Just follow the facebook page “Swing Modasi.”

Breakfast at Çınaraltı

This is an amazing çay bahçesi (you can see that I am a big fan of this concept) located on the Asian side of the city. It might seem a little bit far, but you can take a direct bus or “minibus” (I hope you have already learned what this means, but if you haven’t I can describe it as a painful way of public transportation) from Üsküdar, right in front of the Beşiktaş ferry port.

Surprisingly, this place can get pretty crowded any time of the year. But if you are patient enough you will find a table by the Bosphorus. Just pick one of the available tables and every time somebody leaves, move to a closer one. It is well worth trying.

You are again free to bring your own food, but this neighbourhood is full of great shops. So start with a charcuterie, buy couple slices of cheese, olives and even a little bit of honey. Then move on to a grocery and get some tomatoes and cucumbers; this neighbourhood is famous for its crispy and juicy cucumbers. Finally, right before Çınaraltı Çay Bahçesi, you will see Çengelköy Börekçisi. These puffy pastries are definitely amazing, so don’t miss it. If you are too lazy for all of this, they serve decent food at the Çınaraltı Çay Bahçesi. You can just order eggs or a toasty. On a sunny and warm day, you can easily spend the whole day watching the seagulls and drinking tea.

Sunset at Cihangir Merdivenler

I should warn you in advance that this may not be the most comfortable place, but it definitely offers one of the best views of Istanbul. It is right above the Cihangir Parkı, so there is a big empty space right in front of these stairs to enjoy the beautiful view. You will see a lot of people drinking beer and it can be pretty popular at nights. Although it looks like a weird place, it is usually pretty safe. I think right before the sunset is the perfect time to go so that you can enjoy the day and night time with this great view. If you prefer going there in the afternoon, there is a really really small tea stall appears once in a while. So you can sit on a chair and order a Turkish coffee or tea, and let yourself warm under the sun.

If you are looking for something alternative and really into agriculture, there is a public garden right next to the stairs. They meet up on the weekends to take care of the garden or for other events when the weather is convenient. You can follow their Facebook page “Roma Bostani” for more information.

Baklava at Karaköy Sahil

I am sure you have heard of the famous fish sandwich stalls in Karaköy. Well, that is a nice way to have a quick lunch with the amazing view of Golden Horn. If you can’t get enough, you can always have more options; there are so many things to eat in Turkey. What I usually do is going to Karaköy Güllüoğlu, a famous and amazing baklava shop, buy some pistachio baklava to go and eat it by the Karaköy Sahil. If you are lucky, you can find a stall that offers tea by the sea. If not you should just sit on a bench and enjoy your tasty baklava.

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