Public route research · Istanbul
Istanbul Neighborhood Route & Slope Index
Seven comparable walking routes with visible distance, pure walking time, elevation gain and loss, named waypoints, accessibility caveats, and onward-neighborhood logic.
Download the dataset
Use the visible table as CSV and the detailed route shapes as GeoJSON.
Comparable route evidence
Compare the walking load before choosing the neighborhood.
“Detailed route page” rows have a full server-rendered evidence module in this sprint. “Index comparison” rows stay unchanged on their neighborhood pages so the richer route format can be evaluated without changing every page at once.
| Neighborhood and route | Distance | Pure walk | Gain / loss | Access status | Time fit | Next connection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cihangir walking routeTaksim → Cihangir Mosque → Museum of Innocence → TophaneDetailed route page | 2.5 km | ≈35 min | ≈20 m gain / 90 m loss | Not step-free. Not step-free. The route loses about 90 metres and includes steep, uneven hillside streets; reversing it turns most of that descent into climbing. | 2h: Route fits; keep stops selective.Half-day: Best fit when cafés, museums, or pauses are included.Full day: Pair with one adjacent district rather than stretching this route alone. | Karaköy or the Tophane waterfrontStrong at Taksim; the lower finish connects to the Tophane waterfront corridor. |
| Nişantaşı shopping and Maçka routeOsmanbey → Teşvikiye → Abdi İpekçi → MaçkaDetailed route page | 1.8 km | ≈25 min | ≈0 m gain / 70 m loss | Not step-free. Not step-free. The measured Maçka connection contains stairs and loses about 70 metres; use a separately verified accessible route when steps are a barrier. | 2h: Route fits; keep stops selective.Half-day: Best fit when cafés, museums, or pauses are included.Full day: Pair with one adjacent district rather than stretching this route alone. | Maçka, Harbiye, or BeşiktaşStrong at Osmanbey M2; onward exits differ between Maçka, Harbiye, and the Beşiktaş side. |
| Bebek waterfront walkBebek Park → waterfront → Rumeli HisarıDetailed route page | 1.8 km | ≈25 min | ≈35 m gain / 40 m loss | Not verified. Step-free continuity has not been verified end to end. Pavement width, crossings, temporary works, and the fortress approach should be checked locally. | 2h: Route fits; keep stops selective.Half-day: Best fit when cafés, museums, or pauses are included.Full day: Pair with one adjacent district rather than stretching this route alone. | Rumeli Hisarı or ArnavutköySurface-transit dependent; the route is strongest as a one-way shoreline walk with a planned return. |
| Ortaköy waterfront and transport routeBeşiktaş İskele → Çırağan → Ortaköy MosqueDetailed route page | 2.4 km | ≈30 min | ≈55 m gain / 55 m loss | Not verified. Do not treat this as an uninterrupted flat promenade. Pavement width, crossings, road-side sections, and step-free continuity have not been verified end to end. | 2h: Route fits; keep stops selective.Half-day: Best fit when cafés, museums, or pauses are included.Full day: Pair with one adjacent district rather than stretching this route alone. | Beşiktaş or BebekStrong through Beşiktaş and Kabataş, but the final shore leg depends on current surface service and traffic. |
| Balat and Fener hill walkFener waterfront → Balat hill streetsIndex comparison | 2.0 km | ≈25 min | ≈20 m gain / 25 m loss | Not step-free. Not step-free as a general route. Balat and Fener include steep, uneven streets and constrained pavements. | 2h: Route fits; keep stops selective.Half-day: Best fit when cafés, museums, or pauses are included.Full day: Pair with one adjacent district rather than stretching this route alone. | Fener or the Golden Horn waterfrontWaterfront transit corridor with a sharp change in walking conditions once the route climbs inland. |
| Karaköy waterfront and Galata routeKaraköy İskele → SALT Galata → Istanbul ModernIndex comparison | 1.6 km | ≈20 min | ≈35 m gain / 35 m loss | Not verified. Step-free continuity has not been verified. The Galata leg includes a meaningful grade and busy urban crossings. | 2h: Route fits; keep stops selective.Half-day: Best fit when cafés, museums, or pauses are included.Full day: Pair with one adjacent district rather than stretching this route alone. | Galata, Tophane, or CihangirStrong ferry, tram, and walking connections; Galata adds a short but material climb. |
| Beşiktaş ferry and waterfront routeBeşiktaş İskele → Naval Museum → DolmabahçeIndex comparison | 1.1 km | ≈15 min | ≈10 m gain / 5 m loss | Not verified. The elevation load is low, but step-free continuity, crossings, and temporary waterfront constraints have not been verified end to end. | 2h: Route fits; keep stops selective.Half-day: Best fit when cafés, museums, or pauses are included.Full day: Pair with one adjacent district rather than stretching this route alone. | Dolmabahçe, Ortaköy, or NişantaşıExcellent ferry and surface-transit connectivity at the route start. |
Methodology
What was measured—and what was not.
Each primary route was generated as a pedestrian route with Valhalla over OpenStreetMap. Its geometry was sampled for elevation with Open-Meteo, then gain, loss, distance, and pure walking time were rounded for editorial use.
GeoJSON is published for the four detailed intervention routes. Their LineStrings were simplified for server rendering and download while preserving the routed street shape. The three comparison rows remain geometry-free in this sprint so the control pages and dataset treatment stay distinct.
The estimates do not include museum visits, café stops, queues, live traffic, transit waiting time, temporary closures, weather, construction, or a return journey. They are route-comparison evidence, not live navigation instructions.
A route is marked “not step-free” only when the published shape has a known barrier such as stairs or a clearly unsuitable hill sequence. “Not verified” means no end-to-end accessibility audit has been completed; it does not mean the route is accessible.
Official visitor and transport links on the detailed route pages must still be checked before travel because schedules, access, and opening information can change after the review date.
Version history
2026-08-29
Initial public dataset: seven primary neighborhood routes, four detailed route-page modules, three index comparison rows, and a downloadable CSV generated from the same source data.
Measurement provenance
Follow the data trail.
Reuse the visible rows.
The CSV contains the same seven primary routes, caveats, review date, and measurement method shown above.
Download the CSVCarry one route into the product.
Use the route evidence as a starting constraint, then research current places and keep the result visible on Navly's map.
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