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Spa Sommelier
The Süleymaniye Mosque above the Golden Horn, seen from the water
Istanbul

5 spas. One for each side of the city.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Where to go in Istanbul, if you only go once

Istanbul has hundreds of hammams and spas. Most visitors need one: the good one nearest to where they're sleeping.

So we split the city by its water. One pick on the historic peninsula, one just across the Golden Horn, two further up the European side and one on the Asian shore. No two are within 2 km of each other.

Illustrated map of Istanbul: the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara, with the Süleymaniye, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Galata Tower, the Maiden's Tower and the Bosphorus Bridge drawn in cobalt ink 12345
  1. 1

    Historic peninsula · Beyazıt and Laleli

    Rise SPA Old City

    BoutiqueModernSocial

    A hammam, a rooftop pool, an indoor pool and its own bar on the historic peninsula, with every price listed online.

    HammamPoolSaunaRooftop

    €40hammam from · daily 10:00 to 23:00

  2. 2

    Across the Golden Horn · Asmalı Mescit, Pera

    Pera Hammam Spa

    BoutiqueModernRitual

    A small, well-run hammam a block from İstiklal, where the €100 package adds a pool and jacuzzi.

    HammamPoolSaunaMassage

    €45bath from · daily 10:00 to 22:00

  3. 3

    European side · Gayrettepe

    Melas Spa & Wellness

    ResortModernTreatment

    Two floors underground in a business-district hotel: mineral pools, sauna, steam, a hammam and a café-bar.

    HammamPoolSaunaMassage

    3,550 TLmassage from · daily 07:00 to 23:00

  4. 4

    Bosphorus, European shore · Between Beşiktaş and Ortaköy

    The Spa at Four Seasons Bosphorus

    ResortNatureTreatment

    A hammam on the Bosphorus shore at Beşiktaş, with an indoor and an outdoor pool, a sauna and a steam room.

    HammamPoolSaunaMassage

    on requestdaily 07:00 to 22:00

  5. 5

    Asian shore · Kadıköy

    E Spa Wellness Kadıköy

    BoutiqueTreatment

    A hotel spa where guests write about the hands, not the building: hammam, two saunas and tea afterwards.

    HammamSaunaMassage

    on requestdaily 10:00 to 23:00

Checked 7 November 2026. Picks follow the same published rules in every city.