Kaleiçi evening walk without the hard sell

Start at the clock tower after 18:00 and walk downhill toward the old harbor. Keep to the lit lanes. If a restaurant runner blocks the path and pushes a menu, smile, say no, and keep walking. For dinner, pick a place already half full with Turkish families, not empty tables with English-only boards. After eating, take a taxi from the harbor rank with the meter on, or walk back up Hadrian’s Gate while streets are still busy.