Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue, one of the most expensive streets in the world

Istanbul’s famous İstiklal Avenue, one of the city’s main communication arteries and a meeting and walking place for tourists visiting the Turkish metropolis, ranks among one of the most expensive streets in the world to rent, according to a recent study published by global real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

This is according to the report, which has been reported by several media outlets in Turkey and which shows a ranking headed by Via Monte Napoleone in Milan, which is crowned as the most expensive street in the world in terms of renting premises, this year snatching the top spot from New York’s Fifth Avenue, which in the 2024 edition falls from first to second place. London’s New Bond Street appears 3rd in the ranking.

Barcelona’s Passeig de Gracia is ranked 16th, while Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue is ranked 21st. The first Latin American city to appear in the Cushman & Wakefield study is Avenida Presidente Masaryk in Mexico City; other Latin American locations mentioned are Rua Oscar Freire in Sao Paulo (40th) and Calle Florida in Buenos Aires, which closes the ranking in 49th place.

Precisely the rising price of rents in Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue because of its enormous tourist value has led to the disappearance of several historic businesses, such as the famous Lebon pastry shop, which closed its doors forever at the end of 2021 after 212 years because its owners could not cope with a rent increase that doubled the previous price. According to some sources, the average cost of a new lease for premises on this emblematic Istanbul avenue has now reached 250,000 liras a month: that is, some €6,800 a month.

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