The Galata Bridge: Istanbul's great free spectacle

Crosses

The Golden Horn, linking Eminönü to Karaköy

Current bridge

The fifth on this site, opened in 1994

Two decks

Road and tram above; restaurants and cafés below

Famous for

Hundreds of rod fishermen, and balık ekmek at the Eminönü end

Cost

Free

Best time

Late afternoon into sunset

Why a bridge is an attraction

Stand in the middle of it at five in the afternoon. Above you, a solid rank of men — and it is almost entirely men — line both railings with rods out over the water, buckets at their feet, occasionally hauling up a palm-sized fish. Trams rattle past. Below your feet, on the lower deck, restaurants and çay houses run the length of the span, their waiters calling out at anyone who slows down.

Ahead is the old city: the New Mosque, the Spice Bazaar, and behind them Süleymaniye on its hill. Behind you, Galata Tower on the opposite slope. Ferries churn out from the piers on both sides, gulls follow them, and the light on the Golden Horn late in the day is extraordinary.

There is no ticket, no queue and no opening time. It is simply the city, being itself, in one place.

Balık ekmek — the fish sandwich

At the Eminönü end, gaudily decorated boats rock at the quayside with grills going on deck, and men in Ottoman-style waistcoats hand up balık ekmek: grilled mackerel in half a loaf with raw onion, lettuce and a squeeze of lemon. You eat it standing up, at a plastic stool by the water, with a glass of pickle juice if you are feeling brave.

It is cheap, it is genuinely good, and it is one of the few Istanbul rituals that both tourists and locals do without irony.

Five bridges, one crossing

People have wanted a bridge here for a very long time. In 1502 the Sultan asked Leonardo da Vinci for a design; Leonardo proposed a single enormous stone arch, and it was never built — though a scale version was eventually constructed in Norway in 2001. Michelangelo was reportedly approached too, and declined.

The first permanent bridge came in the 1840s and four more followed. The famous one, from 1912, had the lower-deck restaurants that made the bridge legendary; it burned in 1992 and was towed up the Golden Horn, where parts of it still sit. The present bridge, the fifth, opened in 1994 and has a bascule section that opens at night to let ships into the Horn.

Walking it

The crossing takes about ten minutes on foot. Go in the late afternoon, walk from Eminönü towards Karaköy so the old city is behind you and Galata ahead, then continue uphill into the lanes towards the tower. Come back after dark on the lower deck for the lights.

A word of warning: the lower-deck restaurants are heavily geared to visitors and the touting can be relentless. The food is fine and the setting is unbeatable, but it is not where locals eat. For that, walk two minutes into Karaköy.

On a private tailor-made Istanbul tour the bridge is rarely a destination in itself — it is the hinge between the old city and Galata, and one of the walks that makes people fall for Istanbul.

Galata Bridge — frequently asked questions

Galata Bridge in pictures