Yeniköy is a village on the European shore of the Bosphorus, about 20 kilometres north of the city centre. It hasn't been curated for visitors, which is exactly why you should go. The waterfront is lined with old wooden yalı houses, the fish is fresh, and the pace is different from anywhere else in Istanbul.
Come for raki and fish at the waterfront restaurant. Come in October for the bonito season. Come for coffee in the courtyard roastery. Stay longer than you planned.
Take the ferry up the Bosphorus — the journey itself is worth it. Yeniköy has the rhythm of a small fishing village that happens to be inside one of the world's great cities. Coffee at Grea in the morning, fish and raki at Arnavutköy in the evening, a drink at Pero when you're not ready to go home.