Istanbul: Sirkeci-Kazlıçeşme, one of Europe’s must-see train routes, according to Lonely Planet

Istanbul’s Sirkeci-Kazlıçeşme train line, reopened last February by Turkish President Erdoğan after being out of use for several years, has been named by the prestigious travel guide Lonely Planet as one of the 6 must-visit train routes this summer.

In an article published on its website and entitled “6 of the best European train routes for summer 2024“, Lonely Planet cites the Sirkeci-Kazlıçeşme line as one of the must-do’s for travellers nostalgic for Istanbul’s past. “If ever a station was a shadow of its former self, it’s Sirkeci” the article says, noting its location on the banks of the Bosphorus, and adding that the opening of the new line “is an excuse for nostalgically-minded travelers to hop on a train from one of Europe’s most storied stations, perhaps for a seafood meal in lively Kumkapi, one of the stops on the new line.”

The Sirkeci-Kazlıçeşme line, used by some 10,000 passengers a day, runs for just over 8 kilometres with 8 stops along the southern coast of Istanbul’s historic peninsula, running alongside the city’s ancient Byzantine walls. In the final years of the Ottoman Empire, this route was considered the gateway to Europe; moreover, the Sirkeci station – opened in 1888 – served for many years as the final stop of the legendary Orient Express. The line, which opened 153 years ago, connects the Sirkeci district of Eminönü with Kazlıçeşme in the Zeytinburnu district, but was closed in 2013 to build the Marmaray underwater tunnel across the Bosphorus.

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