About Istanbul
Istanbul is the only major city in the world that stands on two continents, with Europe on one shore of the Bosphorus and Asia on the other.
The city has been continuously inhabited for well over two and a half thousand years. Founded as Byzantium around 660 BC, refounded as Constantinople in 330 AD, it served as an imperial capital for nearly 1,600 years, first of the Roman and Byzantine empires and then, after 1453, of the Ottomans. That much history leaves a mark: Hagia Sophia, the Topkapı Palace, the city walls and the mosques of the old peninsula are gathered in the Historic Areas of Istanbul, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.
Modern Istanbul is Türkiye's economic and cultural engine, and with about 15.7 million residents it is the most populous city in Europe. It is also one of the most visited places on Earth: some 18.6 million international travellers came in 2024, drawn by the same skyline of domes and minarets, the ferries crossing between continents, and a food culture that rewards curiosity. For four days in February, it is also the city waiting outside your committee room.
more people than any other city in Europe
joined across the Bosphorus
as the capital of empires
international arrivals in 2024
Explore Istanbul, district by district
Hover over a district for a quick snapshot, and open one for the full delegate guide. The star marks the conference venue.
District boundaries © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), on Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery by EOX (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Landmarks that need no introduction
Hagia Sophia
Built as the cathedral of Constantinople under Justinian I, and the largest enclosed space in the world for nearly a thousand years. The dome still stops people mid sentence.
Topkapı Palace
Home of the Ottoman sultans for almost four centuries. Courtyards unfold into the treasury, the imperial kitchens and a terrace looking out over the meeting of the waters.
Grand Bazaar
One of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world, with roughly 4,000 shops along 61 streets. Go in with time to spare and a willingness to haggle.
Basilica Cistern
A forest of 336 marble columns holding up the ground beneath the old city, built to store water for the Great Palace. Cool, dim and quietly surreal.
Galata Tower
Raised by the Genoese as the high point of their walled colony. Still the best full circle view of the historic peninsula, the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus.
Dolmabahçe Palace
The Ottoman court's move to the waterfront: 285 rooms, a chandelier weighing over four tonnes, and the room where Atatürk died, its clock kept at 9:05.
Population from the Turkish Statistical Institute (2025). Heritage listing from UNESCO. Visitor figures from Türkiye's Ministry of Culture and Tourism for 2024.
