2 Best Performing Arts Venues in Beşiktaş and Nişantaşı, Istanbul

Located near the Lütfi Kırdar Congress Center off Cumhuriyet Caddesi, between Taksim and Nişantaşı, Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall is run by the Istanbul Municipality and hosts a wide variety of performances, from classical music, opera, and the occasional jazz and pop concert to ballet and flamenco.

Turkey’s largest performing-arts venue, located inside the Zorlu Center shopping mall, has a state-of-the-art, 2,000-seat main theater that hosts everything from Broadway and West End musicals to rock concerts and operas. The complex also contains a small “city stage” for free public shows by up-and-coming local performers, as well as exhibition spaces for contemporary visual art. The center is accessible by metro via the Gayrettepe station.