Christmas & New Year in Istanbul: lights, historic churches and New Year’s Eve by the Bosphorus

Festive lights and decorations

From early December, shopping streets, hotels and malls put up lights and decorated trees for the New Year. İstiklal Avenue, Nişantaşı and Bağdat Avenue on the Asian side are among the most festive, and the grand hotels of the Bosphorus decorate their lobbies. Exact programmes vary from year to year; check closer to the time.

Christmas in Istanbul’s churches

Istanbul has historic churches of many traditions. The Catholic Basilica of St Anthony of Padua on İstiklal Avenue, the city’s largest Catholic church, holds Christmas Eve and Christmas Day masses, and other churches in Beyoğlu hold services in several languages. Orthodox and Armenian Christians celebrate on 6–7 January. Check service times with each church.

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is one of the big nights of the Istanbul year. In previous years, crowds have gathered along the Bosphorus and in the squares to watch fireworks, while restaurants, rooftops and Bosphorus boats hold special dinners and parties. Book well ahead and plan your journey home: traffic and public transport are extremely busy. 1 January is a public holiday.

Winter pleasures

Winter is the season of boza, the thick fermented millet drink served at Vefa Bozacısı since 1876, of salep, hot milk thickened with orchid root and dusted with cinnamon, of roasted chestnuts on street corners and of hamsi, Black Sea anchovies, in the fish restaurants. It is the perfect season for a hammam, and the monuments are quieter. Occasionally snow dusts the domes and minarets.

Questions and answers