Tepebasi, Beyoglu, Istanbul

Tepebasi (TEH-peh-bah-shuh, "hilltop") is the district of Istanbul near the southwestern end of Istiklal Caddesi overlooking the Golden Horn.

From here the heights of Beyoglu (formerly Pera) slope down to the shores of the Golden Horn at Karaköy (Galata), Kasimpasa and Tophane.

Southwestern Istiklal Caddesi (ie, southwest of Galatasaray Square) and Tepebasi were the heart of 19th-century "European" Istanbul. (In the 20th century, the modern city center moved northward to Taksim Square, Nisantasi and beyond.

It's here that you'll find many of the grand old 19th-century embassies (including the American, British, Russian and Swedish) left from the time when every European country wanted to influence the Ottoman sultan.

Also here are the city's oldest "grand hotels." The Pera Palas Oteli, next to the Palazzo Corpi (formerly the American embassy/consulate), was built for passengers arriving on the fabled Orient Express from Paris, and is still a hotel. So is the Grand Hotel de Londres, built for British businessmen, as was the old Hotel Bristol, which has now been converted into the wonderful Pera Museum.

The modern high-rise The Marmara Pera Hotel, opposite the Pera Palas Oteli, is the largest and most comfortable hotel in Tepebasi.

Tepebasi is not a bad place to use as your base in Istanbul. Transport options are not quite as varied as in Taksim, but quite sufficient, especially if you're a walker or like taxis.

When I stay here, I walk to the Tünel, ride it to Karaköy (Galata), then take the Findikli-Zeytinburnu Tram across the Galata Bridge to Eminönü and its ferry docks, Sirkeci railway station, Sultanahmet and/or the Grand Bazaar.

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Pera Palace Hotel

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Grand Hotel de Londres (Londra Oteli), Tepebasi, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey

The Grand Hôtel de Londres, one of several 19th-century European-style hotels in Tepebasi.