Hotel Bankerhan

This affordable boutique hotel is a short funicular ride from Istiklal Caddesi, the very heart of Beyoglu – Istanbul’s hip shopping and nightlife district.

Housed in a late-18th-century building, it’s the pet project of wealthy art collector Oner Kocabeyoglu, with industrial-feeling exposed bricks and pipes spruced up with lashings of contemporary Turkish art.   

Rooms come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but the best – on the sixth floor – have extraordinary views over the Bosphorus.

If you want the buzzy, artsy feel of 21st-century Istanbul with a touch of classic architecture, look no further.