Amid Istanbul's many surprises, few places can be more unexpectedly romantic than the wonderful Yerebatan Cistern, which lurks underground just across the tram lines from Hagia Sophia.
Topped with a distinctive witch's hat roof, the prominent Galata Tower dates back to the days when Genose traders were settled in this part of town.
By the mid-19th century the Ottoman sultans were obsessed with all things Western and determined to move out of Topkapi Palace and into the Dolmabahce Palace on the southern shore of the Bosphorus.
