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Between Sultanahmet (the center of Old Istanbul) and Sirkeci Railway Station is the Sirkeci district, a neighborhood with three dozen hotels, several dozen restaurants, a cultural center where you can see dervishes whirl, and even a Turkish bath.

For more about the district, see my Sirkeci Street Guide.

In Sirkeci you may pay 20% to 35% less for a comfortable hotel room than in other hotel areas near Sultanahmet, yet Sirkeci is only a 10-minute walk downhill from Sultanahmet, the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Ayasofya and even less far from Istanbul's Gülhane Parkı, Archeological Museums and Topkapı Palace. You can shorten the walk to and from Sultanahmet by taking the tram.

Most hotels here are newly-built or -restored. Many have some Ottoman-style decor, some have restaurants and/or bars, a few have views from a few rooms.

Many host tour groups from Europe and the United Kingdom, but all prefer individual travelers, couples and families.

All in all, this is the best-value area near Sultanahmet.

3-Star Hotels
Here's a selection of adequately comfortable but inexpensive hotels rated at 3-stars or fewer. More...

4-Star Hotels
Here are Sirkeci's better hotels, rated as 4-star or Special Class, with all the comforts, at prices significantly lower than comparable hotels in Sultanahmet. More...

Special Class Hotels
These charming boutique hotels have many luxury comforts and services, convenient locations, and the bonus of personal attention. More...

Sirkeci & Hocapaşa Restaurants
There are some quite nice restaurants in and right next to some of these hotels, and many simpler ones clustered near the Hocapaşa Camii (mosque) just two or three blocks from the hotels.

The Hocapaşa restaurants are great bargains, patronized mostly by locals, but being discovered by foreign travelers as well.

Sirkeci Street Guide
Want to see what the Hocapasa neighborhood looks like? Here are views, street by street. More...