Nightlife
All along Istiklal Avenue you will find a club, bar or cafe playing various different music genres including jazz, rock, dance, hip-hop and techno and many of the clubs have live music to enjoy.

Cinemas
Visiting the cinema is not a very popular pastime in Turkey . There are in fact only around 60 cinemas in the whole country and about half of them are in Istanbul . Several of the Istanbul cinemas can be found along Istiklal Avenue and you can usually catch a Western movie in its original voice with Turkish subtitles, or you may be lucky enough to catch a Turkish-made movie!

The Istanbul International Film Festival is held in early April and offers a rare opportunity to see Turkish movies with English subtitles!

The Istanbul Festival of Arts and Culture runs from the middle of June to the middle of July. Various locations around the city, including Topkapi Palace , play host to live music of both Turkish and Western origins. If you can buy tickets for a concert it's a once in a lifetime chance to see performers play in magical settings.

The International Istanbul Theatre Festival is held biannually between May and June and attracts about 250,000 people. Shows are performed around the city, though do include the various theatres which can be found just off Istiklal Avenue . Although most are performed in Turkish it's a good opportunity to experience Turkish theatre.