The Marmara Hotel

There's lot to see and do. I would say dress down when going through the older parts of town. Where the hotel is located at Taksim square it's very central and close to the main metro line in the town. There's a tourist bus from the airport. If ever you get lost, look up. You can see the hotel from most parts of town, so it is easy to find which is great especially if you can't speak the local lingo. The square allows you to walk to most of the town's main the tourist sites. Still you can grab a taxi or a metro. I wanted to check out the old town. Basically I just walked along Pera, a pedestrian like shopping street. You can then get the bridge across the golden horn. There's lots to see and do there. If bartering is your game, have a go but I wasn't that good at it. Although I picked up some silks and a few small mats, it was value but not local value :-DWhy I'm raving bout the hotel is coz it's got a full panoramic window with views from Asia past the Princess' Tower plus islands across to old Istanbul. The Architecture is really amazing. When the sun was going down I was picture snapping like crazy. With a good camera and a decent zoom you can get photos fit for what my girlfriend and I called Turkish Delight!