From Tiny Toys to the Sea: A Child-Friendly Day in Göztepe

1. 01
   Culture

   Enter the Museum Built by a Poet

   Start the day at Istanbul Toy Museum, Turkey’s first toy museum, opened on April 23, 2005. It was founded by Belgin and Sunay Akın and financed with copyright income. The collection is housed in a five-story historic mansion, and the displays are arranged more like stage sets than standard museum cases because the exhibition design was created by a stage designer.

   Istanbul Toy Museum, Göztepe, Istanbul, Turkey
2. 02
   Nature

   Find the Pool Without a Pit

   Continue to Göztepe 60th Year Park and head for the rose garden and musical dry fountain. The park opened in 1983 for the sixtieth anniversary of the Republic, and more than half of its eighty thousand square meters is green space. The musical dry fountain shoots water up from the ground with no sunken basin, so small children can approach it without the usual risk of falling into a pool.

   Göztepe 60. Yıl Parkı kuru havuz çevresi, Göztepe, Istanbul, Turkey
3. 03
   Local

   Count the Turtles, Then Head to the Swings

   Stay inside Göztepe 60th Year Park and move to the pond and children’s play areas. The park’s natural pond covers about one thousand square meters and is home to freshwater turtles. Right beside it are two separate play zones totaling 3,350 square meters, divided for different age groups so smaller children are not mixed into the bigger kids’ area.

   Göztepe 60. Yıl Parkı gölet kenarı, Göztepe, Istanbul, Turkey
4. 04
   Local

   Sit Beneath 150-Year-Old Trees

   Next, head to Kalamış–Fenerbahçe Parkı and settle under trees that are about 150 years old. In spring, the Judas trees bloom and turn the whole headland pink. The sea is visible on three sides, and the ground stays close to flat, making it easier to keep track of a child running around because the waterline defines the edge of the park.

   Fenerbahçe Parkı girişi, Istanbul, Turkey
5. 05
   Photography

   End the Day by Finding the Lighthouse

   Finish at Fenerbahçe Lighthouse on the tip of the headland. On an outing with a child, having a clear end point gives meaning to the whole walk: you are going all the way to the lighthouse, then turning back. The area around it is open, but the lighthouse itself is not open to visitors.

   Fenerbahçe Lighthouse, Istanbul, Turkey

Check opening hours before you go. Hours, access conditions and weather can change.