The famous Golden Horn—a strategic inlet branching off the Bosphorus Strait—defines Istanbul's Old Town peninsula. The city's fates have always been tied to this stretch of sea—the Golden Horn is Istanbul's highway, food source, and historic harbor all rolled into one. While much of the Old Town zone feels dedicated mostly to tourists these days, visiting this area will have you rubbing elbows with fishermen and commuters.
This walk offers a handy orientation to the city, since it affords a sweeping panorama of the Old Town peninsula. Because it's near the terminals for the various Bosphorus ferries, this walk also works well either before or after a cruise of the strait (see Bosphorus Cruise Tour chapter). The walk is short (about a third of a mile), but allow around 45 minutes if you like to linger.

The walk begins on the New District (north) end of the Galata Bridge, across the bridge from the Old Town.

From the Old Town: Take the tram (direction Kabataş) to the Karaköy neighborhood. Get off at Karaköy, the first stop after you cross the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn. You want to be on the side of the bridge facing the Bosphorus (to the left, as you face the Golden Horn and Old Town). To get to that point from the tram stop, take the pedestrian underpass—if you get turned around in the poorly marked underground zone, simply do your prairie-dog routine: surface, figure out where you are and where you're going, then burrow your way back down and repeat as necessary until you get to your destination.
From Taksim Square, in the New District: You have two options: Take the funicular down to Kabataş, then take the tram to Karaköy. Or walk (or take the "nostalgic tram," if it's running) down İstiklal street to Tünel, where you can either take the old subway down to the bottom of the hill, or walk down on Bankalar Caddesi ("Bankers Street").