How to Make the Most of Your Istanbul Football Trip

Galatasaray Spor Kulübü, known as Galatasaray SK, are the biggest Istanbul team on the European side of the Bosporus River. Known as the most successful team in Turkish football, they have won every domestic honour multiple times as well as the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. Galatasaray’s club colours of red and yellow are sacred to supporters. Each of the 4 stars above the club crest represents 5 Süper Lig championship titles, which means the team have been domestic champions over 20 times.  

Türk Telekom Stadium is the home ground of Galatasaray SK. It is in the Sariyer district of Istanbul, around 14 km north of the city centre. The stadium is directly in front of Seyrantepe subway station, and there are plenty of restaurants in the area.

Fenerbahçe are Istanbul’s most popular club on the Asian side of the Bosporus River. The team have a fierce rivalry with Galatasaray on the opposite side of the city. As the richest club in Türkiye, Fenerbahçe are always challenging for the Süper Lig title and play their football in the 50,000 capacity Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. The team have never been relegated from Türkiye’s Süper Lig since being founded in 1907. On the European stage, Fenerbahçe’s greatest achievement was reaching the UEFA Europa League semi-final in 2012-13.

Fenerbahçe are most famous for football but the sports club actually compete in a variety of sports, including basketball and volleyball. The iconic club colours of yellow and black are worn by all their sports teams.

Beşiktaş are a Süper Lig football team on the European side of the Bosporus River. Known as the Black Eagles, the players are known for their iconic black-and-white striped uniforms. Although best known for football, Beşiktaş have many sports teams competing in basketball, wrestling, volleyball, and handball, among others.

The heyday of Beşiktaş came in the early 1990s, when they won 3 Süper Lig titles in a row. Later on, the team had notable success in 2017-18 in Europe when they qualified for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. Beşiktaş play football in Vodafone Arena, located on the western bank of the Bosporus.

Istanbul Airport

Istanbul International Airport is one of the largest and busiest airports in Türkiye, which replaced the old Istanbul Atatürk Airport as the main arrival gateway for the city in 2018. Istanbul Airport is about 30 km northwest of downtown Istanbul. It has 1 large passenger terminal serving 4 runways.

The terminal contains a good choice of dining and shopping options and has facilities like free Wi-Fi and currency exchange services. Taxis take around 45 minutes to reach downtown Istanbul.