• Intro
• 1. Athens
• 2. Berlin
• 3. Edinburgh
• 4. Istanbul
• 5. Mexico City
• 6. Museums in New York City
• 7. North Fork, Long Island
• 8. Palm Beach and the Gold Coast
• 9. San Juan
• 10. Tunis

Istanbul

Rethink the Cliché: Tourists often play it safe with continental fare at the hotels. But excellent Turkish dishes, often regional, based on Ottoman recipes or featuring locally harvested seafood, are begging to be discovered.

Book a Table: For local culinary pleasures, there is Balikçi Sabahattin, in a traditional wooden house offering a prix-fixe seafood menu (011-90-212-458-1824; fixed-price menu for $17); Develi, with its well-spiced meat-based dishes (develikebap.com; entrées from $5); Pandeli, in the Egyptian market, famous for its Izmir tile decor (011-90-212-527-3909; entrées from $75); and one of the most romantic spots of all, Korfez, reached by boat across the Bosporus and lit only with candles (011-90-216-413-4314; entrées from $10).

Find a Room: When it comes to location, to say nothing of luxury and service, the Four Seasons is the winning property in Istanbul (fourseasons.com/istanbul; rooms from $370/night). Hotel Ibrahim Pasha is set in a four-story townhouse with a rooftop deck overlooking the Blue Mosque (ibrahimpasha.com; rooms from $163/night).

See Tunisia Travel Guide | See Palm Beach Travel Guide | See New York City Travel Guide | See New York Travel GuideSee Mexico City Travel Guide