Most tourists who travel to Istanbul either visit the historical places of the city or shop at famous Turkish and international brands.
Like all tourists, I travelled to Istanbul both to visit and to shop. During my stay in this city, I visited many cheap and luxury shopping centres in the town and gained many experiences.
In this article, I am going to share my experience of visiting the best Istanbul Luxury Shopping Malls with you so that you can easily get to know them and plan to see them.
Luxury shopping centres in Istanbul
Table of Contents
In the following list, I have included the luxury shopping centres that I visited during my trip:
| Shopping Center | Description | Key Brands | Unique Features |
| Istinye Park | Luxurious open-air mall with a focus on high-end fashion. Breathtaking architecture and serene gardens. | Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Beymen (Turkish luxury brand) | Open-air concept, art installations, gourmet restaurants, children’s play areas. |
| Zorlu Center | Upscale mall known for its blend of art, design, and retail. Modern architecture and focus on sustainability. | Prada, Alexander McQueen, Vakko (Turkish luxury brand) | Art galleries, performance spaces, rooftop cinema, organic farmers market. |
| Akmerkez | Timeless and elegant mall featuring a curated selection of luxury brands. Upscale ambience and focus on customer service. | Burberry, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren, Bottega Veneta, Bulgari | Personal shopping services, VIP lounges, rooftop restaurants, children’s, entertainment center. |
| Mall of Istanbul | Few international brands are present in it and most of them are Turkish brands | LC Waikiki,
Louis Vuitton, Mango, Rolex, |
Indoor playground Cinema, Bowling hall, Ice skating, rink, Jurassic Park |
| Forum Istanbul Shopping Center | Luxurious environment and focus on customer satisfaction | ADIDAS ,ARMİNE, BERSHKA, COLUMBIA, DEFACTO, JACK JONES | Indoor shopin center Family Rooms, Baby Care Rooms, Free Parking |
Istinye Park Shopping Center
When I was walking on the European side of the city in the Sarıyer neighbourhood, I saw this mall from afar and decided to visit it.
When I entered it, I was really excited because there were about 280 shops on 4 floors of this shopping centre, and they sold various items such as clothes, cologne, glasses, bags, watches, jewellery, etc.
The thing that attracted my opinion about this shopping centre was the presence of luxury brands on different floors of this shopping centre. Most of the famous brands in the world are present in this shopping centre.
One thing you should know is that in other shopping malls in Istanbul, there are fewer prominent brands present, and this is a positive point for Istinye Park, which was able to accommodate all the well-known brands.
I visited the following brands during my visit to this mall:
- Calvin Klein
- Adidas
- Benetton
- Bershka
- LC Waikiki
- Louis Vuitton
- Mango
- Rolex
- Ramsey
One thing that I noticed while visiting this place is that the international luxury brands in this mall, like other malls in Istanbul, are more expensive than in the United States due to inflation in Turkey. Still, Turkish brands’ products are sold at reasonable prices.
Luxury and expensive restaurants such as Nusret are also on different floors, and you can visit them to eat delicious food.
Istinye Park shopping centre has many facilities, which I have included below:
- Cinema
- billiard hall
- Bowling alley
- high-capacity parking
- wheelchairs
There are different ways to go to this shopping centre. The yellow line buses with the numbers P29 and B29 and the blue line buses with the numbers SRY7, SRY10 and SRY14 will get you off in front of the main door of Istinye Park.
If you plan to go to this mall by metro, the closest metro station to Istinye Park is İtü-Ayazağa station. To get there, you need to use the M2 metro line. This station is 500 meters away from the shopping centre, which can be reached by walking for 5 minutes.
For complete information about this shopping centre, you can read the article “Istinye Park Shopping Center“.
- Working hours: 10 am to 10 pm
- Website: https://istinyepark.com.tr/
- Address: Pınar, Katar Cd No:11, 34460 Sarıyer/İstanbul
Location
Zorlu Shopping Center
My favourite shopping centre in Istanbul is the Zorlu Center. This shopping centre is located in the European part of the city and Besiktas area.
During my visit to this shopping centre, I noticed that the area of Zorlu Shopping Center is less than Istinye Park, but it is still a large and luxurious shopping centre.
Two hundred shops in this mall sell various products such as clothes, bags, shoes, watches and accessories, home appliances and digital goods.
In this shopping centre, international luxury brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Mango and Dior, Mack, Gratis, Seville, Auda, Jo Malone, EZ are also seen, which I didn’t buy from them because they were expensive. I preferred to buy from the Turkish brands in the mall.
I visited many brands during my stay. When I entered the Fendi store, I realized that the prices of its products were very expensive. For example, the cheapest shoes in this store were 600 dollars, and I could not find anything more affordable than 500 dollars.
After I got tired of shopping, I went to the food court on the first floor and had lunch. Different restaurants are located on the floors and sell different foods at various prices.
The facilities that I saw in this shopping centre during my visit are as follows:
- Istanbul art exhibition
- concert halls
- amusement park
- Cinema
- Children’s rooms
- wheelchairs
- Parking
If you decide to go to this shopping center from Taksim Square, you should know that you have to take the M2 metro line first. After passing through 3 stations, you should exit the metro at Gayrettepe station. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from this station to the Zorlu. You can take this route by taxi or on foot!
For more information, you can read the article “Zorlu Shopping Center“.
- Working hours: 10 am to 10 pm
- Website: zorlucenter.com
- Address : Levazım, Vadi Caddesi Zorlu Center No:2, 34340 Beşiktaş/İstanbul, Turkey
Location
Akmerkez shopping center
If you are in Beşiktaş and looking for a luxury shopping centre, I suggest the Akmerkez shopping centre.
I visited there only once and liked its design and attractive architecture. 250 stores on 4 floors of this shopping centre are placed together in a modern style, which makes visiting them enjoyable.
According to what I read on the website of this mall, I found out that one of the most important reasons for this mall’s popularity is its age. It has been operating since 1993, and two years after its opening in 1995, it was ranked as the best mall in Europe and was recognized as the best shopping centre in Europe in 1996.
You can find various high-quality products such as clothes, toys, sports and sanitary equipment in this shopping centre.
I also saw many brands during my visit to this mall, which are listed below:
- Bee Goddess
- Mac Athletic Club
- Joker Baby
- Zara&Zara Kids
- Decathlon
- Vakko
- Mango
- MacroCenter
To go to this shopping centre, go to Nıspetıye station using metro line M2 or M6 and reach this shopping centre after a short walk.
- Working hours: 10 am to 10 pm
- Website: https://akmerkez.com.tr/
- Address: Kültür, Nisbetiye Cd No:56, 34340 Beşiktaş/İstanbul, Turkeyshopping centre in Europe in 1996.
Location
Mall of Istanbul
This mall is one of the biggest malls in Istanbul, where you can find everything from expensive and luxury products to the best international cuisine.
When I entered this mall, I saw a lot of people there, and it annoyed me a bit because I wouldn’t say I like crowded places. More than 350 shops sell different goods in this mall.
You cannot find many international brands in this shopping centre, and most Turkish brands have branches there.
You can see the Turkish luxury brands that have branches in this shopping centre below:
- VAKKO
- Koton
- Sarar
- DeFacto
- Hatemoğlu
- Faik Sönmez
- Ipekyol
If you are a fan of Victoria’s Secret and LC Waikiki, you should know that the largest branch of these two brands in Istanbul is present in this shopping centre.
The facilities of this shopping centre are as follows:
- Indoor playground
- Cinema
- Bowling alley
- Ice skating rink
- Jurassic Park
To go to this mall, you need to go to the Başakşehir neighbourhood. For this, you can take the M3 metro line and get off at İstoç station, and after a short walk, you will reach this shopping centre.
- Working hours: 10 am to 10 pm
- Website: https://www.mallofistanbul.com.tr/
- Address: İkitelli OSB, Süleyman Demirel Blv No:7, 34490 İkitelli OSB/Başakşehir/İstanbul, Turkey
Location
Forum Istanbul Shopping Center
According to the information I read on the website of this mall, I found out that this mall claims to be one of the biggest malls in Europe and Turkey.
283 Turkish and international brands are present in this shopping centre and sell different goods such as jewellery and accessories, beauty and health care, bags and shoes, toys, clothes and sports equipment.
During my visit, I couldn’t find famous world brands such as Hermès, Cartier, CHANEL and Dior there, which was considered a negative point for this mall.
International brands are also present in this shopping centre, but their number is less than that of Turkish brands.
Features of this shopping centre:
- Aquarium
- Jurassic land
- Legoland
- Flyride helicopter simulation
To reach this shopping centre, take the M1 line and get off at Kocatepe station and walk a little to reach this shopping centre.
- Working hours: 10 am to 10 pm
- Website: http://www.istanbul-ulasim.com.tr/
- Address: Kocatepe, 34045 Bayrampaşa/İstanbul, Turkey
Location
At the end of the line
In my opinion, Istinye Park shopping centre is the best luxury shopping centre in Istanbul among all the shopping centres in this city because it has most of the world’s leading brands in it, and I suggest people who don’t care about the price of products to shop only in this centre. If the price of products is important to you but you are still looking for luxury products, Istanbul Mall will be a more suitable option for you.
In the end, I suggest you read the following articles for more information:
