Kanyon Mall

Kanyon is what a shopping centre looks like when the architects get to it first. It sits on Büyükdere Caddesi at Levent, and its organising idea is the same canyon that Zorlu later popularised — a glazed central void lined with balconies, planted generously, crossed by walkways, so that you are rarely on a flat floor.

The effect is smaller-scale and more boutique than its bigger rivals. It has the Apple Store, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and a good spread of Turkish and international fashion, plus a Migros and a well-regarded food floor. What it does not have is the sheer acreage of Cevahir or the anchor tenants of Metrocity. You will not spend three hours here by accident.

That is the recommendation. If you have already done the big box malls and want somewhere to actually look at things, this is the one. If you have not, and you only have time for one, Cevahir is closer to the hotel and has more of everything — but you will leave Kanyon with better things and a clearer memory of them.

The metro is the easy part: M2 runs straight up from Taksim to Levent without a change, and the mall is a two-minute walk from the station. Roughly twenty-five minutes door to door from Heya.