Cihangir is the most pleasant place you can reach from Galata on foot, and most visitors do not know it is there. It is twenty minutes away, but you have to cross İstiklal to get there, so it feels further than it is.
The route. Go up Galip Dede, cross Tünel square, join İstiklal and walk as far as the Galatasaray high school. Turn right there onto Yeni Çarşı Caddesi and keep going downhill. Five minutes later you are in Cihangir.
What Cihangir is. A neighbourhood of writers, translators and people in the film business. It looks at the Bosphorus, it is quiet, and it is one street away from the noise of İstiklal. It is not a sight — there is nothing to visit here, there is somewhere to sit.
What you do. Drink coffee. Cihangir's cafés are among the best in the city and most of them are full from morning to evening, but the crowd is local. Buying a book and sitting for two hours is not thought odd here; it is the habit of the place.
The terrace in front of Cihangir Mosque looks straight down the Bosphorus and costs nothing — one of the best views in the city with no ticket attached. It fills up at sunset.
Cats. Cihangir is considered the cat capital of Istanbul. There are bowls on the pavements, small shelters built for the winter, and every shop has its own. Feeding them is fine; taking one home is not.
Getting back. If you would rather not walk back uphill, go down to Tophane and take the T1 tram — Karaköy is one stop, then ten minutes up the hill. Or a taxi; it is a short ride from Cihangir to Galata.