You have probably heard of this. Guy de Maupassant had lunch everyday at the base of The Eiffel Tower, because that was the only place in Paris from which he could not see it. İstanbul’s Galata Metro Bridge is the Eiffel Tower in this story.
It is one of the city’s newer (constructed in 2014) constructions, The steel cable-stayed bridge connects the Beyoğlu and Fatih districts via the M2 metro line. It was controversial during its construction for disturbing the skyline of İstanbul’s historical area. It dominates the scenery around it. The piers are much higher than approved. It looks more of an elongated spaceship than a bridge. On top all that, the metro station is in the middle of the bridge! Without any logical function, one needs to get off the train while in the middle of a bridge and walk the rest!
There is nothing beautiful about the bridge but being on top of it. Located near the Galata Tower and the Süleymaniye Mosque, the bridge offers one of the best views of Istanbul. You can stand on the walkways and enjoy the view as long as you can. Every time I need to take the metro from that station, I give myself a 5 minutes of break from everything and watch my fascinating city. I definitely recommend going there at sunset while the sinking sun is coloring the city into tones of yellow, red and purple. You will take the best pictures.
