For a great night out: food, drink, street performers and lots of people watching, head to the Çiçek Pasaj in Beyoğlu, Istanbul.

Turn into the adjacent market, walk up to the top of the street and, when the street starts to go downhill take any right turn and you are in Nevizade home to Istanbul’s liveliest taverns and restaurants.

Thanks to the smoking ban, there are now tables in the streets twelve months of the year (with awnings and patio heaters provided to keep off rain and cold).

Many of the establishments are in old, tall, narrow Ottoman buildings and you could find indoor smoking still going on, on the top floors.

In fact one place, Sanat, has an automated roof on its fifth floor to let the smoke out!

And it can be amazingly cheap. A large beer at Sanat, very popular with students, is only 3TL.

So cruise the lively streets of Nevizade, stopping for the occasional drink, and when you find a place that really appeals, settle in for dinner and a very lively evening.

Unlike Sultan Ahmet where all the tourist visitors to Istanbul tend to stay and where all the bars and restaurants are full of foreigners, Nevizade is the place to go for Turks of all ages who like to enjoy themselves – make sure you join in when next in Istanbul.