visiting Istanbul Modern Art Museum and Taksim Square

It is a really colorful walk through interesting neighborhoods like Cihangir. It is uphill, though, so if you’re pressed for time or it’s a hot day, you may want to taxi.

It is uphill from the Modern Art Museum (at river level) to Taksim Square (on a hill). You could take the tram from the Tophane stop (a block or so from the museum) three stops to Kabatas stop, then walk a half block to the funicular that drops you off at the square. You'd need to buy transit tickets or use tap and pay with your credit card.

FYI CityMapper app works very well in Istanbul to offer options for how to get from point A to point B.

Thank you both for your advice. I downloaded the Citymapper app and will use it when in Istanbul

Or reverse your day and walk down. A shame not to see the city on foot.

When I was in Istanbul in the fall of 2023, both CityMapper and Google Maps tended to ignore the existence of the Kabatas-Taksim funicular, suggesting buses instead.

Thank you all for your advice. I'll look into reversing the trip down the hilly area, but won't I still be going uphill along Istiklal Street?

Thank you all for your advice. I'll look into reversing the trip down
the hilly area, but won't I still be going uphill along Istiklal
Street?

Istiklal is pretty flat, running along the top of the hill. If you virtually walk down the street in Google Maps using street view, you can get a pretty good idea what it looks like. To get up to start your walk, you can take the funicular (tunel) from the Karakoy stop up to Beyoglu stop, which is the the start of Istiklal street, and then walk to Taksim Square.

Kenko, what streets or sites should I see in the Cihangir neighborhood?