How walkable is Balat, Istanbul?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Balat has a walkability score of 100 out of 100 across the 400 m around its centre, which makes it a Walker's Paradise, where daily errands do not require a car. It is one of 3 neighbourhoods tied as the most walkable of the 20 ranked in Istanbul, which scores 97 as a whole.
What's within walking distance
2,302 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of the centre of Balat. The nearest grocery is about a minute away on foot. Every category earns full or nearly full points.
Groceries
- Balat Fatih İstanbul, 4 min
- Coşkun Market, 5 min
Restaurants & bars
- Gelato Vita Mia - Balat Sube, 1 min
- Bazen Açık Dükkan, 1 min
Shopping
- Zoks Store, 1 min
- Balat Antika Mezat, 1 min
Coffee
- Balatistan Cafe, 1 min
- Hanımeli cafe, 1 min
Banks
- Kuveyt Türk, 10 min
- Karagümrük/İstanbul, 16 min
Parks
- Akşemsettin Parkı, 7 min
- Molla Aşkı Kültür Parkı, 8 min
Schools
- İstanbul Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi, 5 min
- Kirimli Aslanbey Ilkogretim Okulu, 5 min
Books & libraries
- Balat Sahaf, 2 min
- Siraç Yayınevi, 9 min
Culture & entertainment
- Pembe'Nin Evi, 3 min
- Kadın Eserleri Kütüphanesi ve Bilgi Merkezi Vakfı / The Women's Library, 4 min
Measured from the mapped centre of Balat, Istanbul at 41.0320, 28.9483. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route.
Street layout
Within 800 m of the centre there are about 284 street intersections per km², and blocks average 45 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
Walkability across Balat, Istanbul
- 90+
- 70–89
- 50–69
- 25–49
- 0–24
Each hexagon is the score at a point across the 400 m around the centre of Balat, Istanbul. Rings mark 200 m and 400 m from the centre. Gaps are water or land without streets.
Nearby neighbourhoods in Istanbul
| Neighbourhood | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Fener | 350 m | 98 |
| Hasköy | 1.3 km | 95 |
| Galata | 2.2 km | 99 |
| Eminönü | 2.5 km | 99 |
| Karaköy | 2.6 km | 97 |
| Aksaray | 2.6 km | 98 |
| Tophane | 2.8 km | 100 |
| Yenikapı | 3.1 km | 96 |
See all 20 neighbourhoods of Istanbul ranked by walkability.
Questions about walking in Balat, Istanbul
Is Balat walkable?
Yes. Balat in Istanbul has a walkability score of 100 out of 100 across the 400 m around its centre, which makes it a Walker's Paradise, where daily errands do not require a car.
Is Balat more walkable than the rest of Istanbul?
Balat is more walkable than Istanbul as a whole: it scores 100, against 97 for the 5 km around Istanbul's centre. It is one of 3 neighbourhoods tied as the most walkable of the 20 ranked in Istanbul on How Walkable.
What are the most walkable neighbourhoods in Istanbul?
Of the 20 Istanbul neighbourhoods on How Walkable, the most walkable are Cihangir (100), Tophane (100) and Balat (100).
How is the walkability score of Balat calculated?
The score counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and deducts up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long. For Balat it is the average of 57 points spread evenly across the 400 m around its mapped centre, leaving out water and land without streets, using open map data from Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap. It measures what is within a walk, not what the walk is like: pavements, traffic, safety, hills and heat are not part of the score.
This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. Neighbourhood position from Overture Maps, name from Wikidata.
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