Ultimate guide: How to experience the real Istanbul

If there is one thing you need to pack when visiting Istanbul, it is a pair of walking shoes. This is a city best explored on foot and you can notch up plenty of steps exploring the city's extraordinary monuments: the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the long stretch of Istiklal Street, with its elegant architecture and its jaunty red trams.

Don't think you can put your feet up after ticking off the big sights. The true spirit of Istanbul lives in its neighbourhoods, each of which has its own vibe. Go exploring and you may discover anything from cats basking in the sun in front of lively tea gardens to vegan cafes set into wooden townhouses overlooking ancient synagogues and Orthodox churches. This guide to some of our favourite neighbourhoods shows you how to walk the paths less travelled.

Why we love it: An easy walk from bustling Istiklal Street and Taksim Square, these much quieter neighbourhoods have long been beloved of the city's artists and intellectuals and the attractions are obvious. The pastel-painted buildings lining the narrow streets house an enticing array of art galleries, vintage boutiques, old-school cafes and restaurants, while a vast population of stray cats is cared for by residents. (You will find multi-level "cat apartments" or shelters on many sidewalks, although many of the cats seem more comfortable snoozing on front steps or even the seats of parked motorbikes.)

Where to start: If you are on Istiklal, slip into one of the narrow laneways behind Galatasaray High School and head downhill. If you are at Taksim Square, turn down Siraselviler Caddesi and you will soon be in the heart of the neighbourhood.

Plan your visit: No need to set the alarm clock - shops and galleries here don't get going until around 10 or 11am. For early risers, Van Kahvalti Evi on Defterdar Yokusu serves one of Istanbul's most famous Turkish breakfasts. Alternatively, the Firuz Aga Cay Bahcesi tea garden on the corner of Siraselviler Caddesi and Akarsu Caddesi, named for the nearby green-and-white Firuz Aga Mosque, is one of the most popular gathering spots for locals. Take a seat beneath sprawling tree canopy and order a glass of black tea - served in the traditional tulip-shaped glass - and you are free to sit as long as you like. Starstruck locals love to watch some of Istanbul's best-loved actors learning their scripts over cups of tea.

This area is also rich in contemporary arts galleries - including Pilot (housed in a converted nightclub), C.A.M Gallery and The Empire Project - and antiques stores, many of which offer an experience as immersive as any gallery. Among the loveliest is A La Turca, where a wide range of exquisite objets (with matching prices) is displayed over several levels: everything from kilim carpets to antique globes and ornately wrought lamps. Also worth a visit are Asl Gniray and Abdullah Antiques.

Sitting alongside these upmarket retailers are more traditional vendors such as Asri Tursucu, one of the city's most famous pickle shops. Pickles are an integral part of Turkish cuisine and this family-run outlet, in business since 1938, sells not just traditional favourites but also more inventive options including pickled cherries and pickled okra.

If the colourful jars of pickles get your appetite going, head to Cezayir Sokak (Algeria Street), a long stairway lined with cafes, bars and restaurants painted in bright colours. The street has a distinctly European vibe and was originally known as French Street. After the French government recognised the Armenian genocide, local authorities rechristened the street to memorialise French colonial atrocities in Algeria.

One more thing: Perhaps the area's most unusual attraction is the Museum of Innocence created by Nobel Prize-winning author (and local resident) Orhan Pamuk. Conceived as he wrote the novel of the same name, the Museum of Innocence contains vintage objects that capture the moods of the novel's main characters.

Why we love it: Sitting on the western bank of the Golden Horn, the neighbouring districts of Fener and Balat share a charming village vibe despite their very different histories. Both feature a tangle of sloping streets where neighbours gossip and children play in the streets, and are among the few neighbourhoods to retain large numbers of traditional wooden houses studded with closed balconies known as cumba. Fener was once home to the largest Greek population in the city, encouraged to settle here by the Ottoman sultan. Balat's population included large numbers of Jews who fled persecution by the Spanish Inquisition.

Where to start: You can reach Balat by ferry from Eminonu, Karakoy, or Uskudar to Ayvansaray, and then walk back along the coast. If you would rather start in Fener, a number of buses from the Eminonu bus station by Galata Bridge take you there.

Plan your visit: Istanbul's multicultural past is memorialised by local landmarks such as the cast-iron Church of Sveti Stefan, known locally as "the Bulgarian church", sitting on the Balat waterfront. The individual parts of the church were fabricated in Vienna and shipped to Istanbul for assembly.

Fener's Church of St George is the Greek Orthodox equivalent of the Vatican, the centre of spiritual authority for the church and home to a magnificent iconostasis. Even more splendid, however, is the grandiose Phanar Greek Orthodox High School. Sitting atop one of the area's highest hills, the red-brick edifice is perhaps the area's most imposing landmark.

Right around the corner is the Church of our Lady of the Mongols, the only Byzantine-era church that wasn't converted into a mosque under the Ottomans. The red-painted church's alternative name, the Church of Blood, refers not to the colour of its walls but to the fact that this is where the final resistance against the invading Ottoman forces took place.

Allow some time to explore the area's colourful streets and drink in the bustling life. When you need a break, the area bounded by Yildirim Street and Vodina Street is home to a colourful clutch of shops, cafes and restaurants. Cafe Naftalin K, sitting on a sunny corner, is one hipster hotspot, as beloved by the neighbourhood cats as by customers. Alternatively enjoy a glass of cherry juice at Maison Balat, a cafe that doubles as an antiques shop. If you are getting hungry, the lahmacun (Turkish pizza) at Forno Balat is excellent, or take a seat in one of the area's traditional meyhane, or taverns, such as Balat Sahil.

One more thing: Want to pick up a memento or two? Head toward the Yanbol Synagogue near the centre of Balat to find Cifit Bazaar on Leblebiciler Street, where a cluster of vintage and antique stores offers great browsing. Right nearby is the Agora Meyhanesi, one of Istanbul's oldest taverns, which has been serving up delicious meze since 1890.

Why we love it: The waterfront suburbs on the European shore of the Bosphorus started life as simple fishing villages well outside the city's original walls. The area became a popular retreat for the Istanbul elite during the Ottoman era and, to this day, the extravagant mansions remain sought-after residences. Lively bars and restaurants draw weekend crowds, and the cooling sea breezes and the sense of distance from the centre of town adds to the carefree vibe. Some visitors choose to split their stay between the more central neighbourhoods and the luxe hotels that line the waterfront here.

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Where to start: Catching the ferry from Eminonu is the recommended route. Not only do you get to take the magnificent views along the Bosphorus, you also avoid the traffic.

Plan your visit: Besiktas's best-known attraction is the ornate Dolmabahce Palace, a blend of Ottoman and European styles that was home to the last six sultans of the Ottoman Empire. The theatrical interiors - including massive chandeliers and a crystal staircase - were created by the designer of the Paris Opera. Head a bit deeper into the neighbourhood and you will find a very different feel, with a strong student population (there are several universities nearby) and a popular fish market. The area is also something of a contemporary art hub, with a number of galleries housed in restored Ottoman row houses near the Naval Museum.

Ortakoy tends to have a festive vibe, with plenty of street markets, coffeehouses and tea terraces overlooking the water. The area's twin landmarks are the elegant Ortakoy Mosque and the towering Bosphorus Bridge that looms high above it, stretching 1500 metres to connect the European and Asian shores. The area tends to be packed on weekends with families enjoying a promenade along the waterfront before tucking into kumpir (jacket potato) from one of the dozens of vendors that compete for business. It is also known as one of the best spots for sunset viewing in town.

One more thing: Once the hunting ground of the sultan, Yildiz Park is now one of the city's most popular green spaces. It is at its most delightful in spring, when massed tulip displays create an astonishing impression.

Cruise control

More than just a cruise port, the new Galataport in Karakoy is a riverfront entertainment district right in the heart of the town, across the Golden Horn from Topkapi Palace. See galataport.com

Museum makeover

Turkey's first museum of modern and contemporary art, Istanbul Modern, will soon reopen in a brand-new waterfront building designed by Renzo Piano. See istanbulmodern.org

A skyline star

Istanbul has a new tallest building, the 369-meter-high Camlica Tower. Sitting in Uskudar on the Asian side, the sinuous tower offers unbeatable panoramas from its viewing deck and its restaurant.

Masterpiece mosque

Close to the Camlica Tower, the Camlica Mosque is the largest mosque in Turkey and also home to the Museum of Islamic Civilisations, with nearly 800 pieces on display.

Even more metro

The city's metro system keeps expanding, with a new line to Istanbul Airport opened this year. Combined with the tram network and the ferry system, getting around is easier than ever.

Getting there: Etihad flies daily from Australia to Istanbul via Abu Dhabi. See etihad.com

Staying there: The Stay, Turkiye's first carbon-neutral hotel group, has stylish boutique hotels in a range of Istanbul neighbourhoods including the riverfront The Stay Bosphorus in Ortakoy. See thestay.com.tr

Touring there: Istanbul Tour Studio offers a range of private tours across all areas of Istanbul, including neighbourhood tours and street photography tours. See istanbultourstudio.com

Ute Junker travelled with the assistance of Etihad Airways and The Stay hotels.