An amusingly self-referential and consciously upscale bar-cum-bistro in the modish area of Bebek. Lucca turns into a heaving, happening lounge bar later at night with DJs spinning a combination of jazz, funk and house. Plan your arrival time accordingly.

The popular Cihangir neighbourhood is full to bursting with bars and cafés. One of the many worth dropping into is Geyik on Akarsu Avenue, a coffee roastery and shop during the day and heaving local bar at night. You can pull up a stool and admire the bare brick and wood aesthetic of the interior, but it’s more likely that when night falls you’ll be transfixed by a lively crowd putting the world to right, while holding an excellently mixed cocktail.

The Corinne Hotel is tucked away in Beyoğlu – the historic section of the European-side of Istanbul, north of the Golden Horn. More specifically, it’s just below İstiklal Boulevard, near Çukurcuma (a popular street full of antiques shops in Cihangir). This left-leaning, well-heeled neighbourhood is beloved by expats and west-gazing Turks. Take the brass lift up from the vine-covered lobby to escape from the serpentine streets below and you will be met with a richly floral two-level restaurant and bar, at the top of which lies one of the finest views of the city.

Across the street but a universe away from Aret’in Yari is this bar slash nightclub. On entering the darkened main room you are immediately hit with pounding electro, techno and house. As you struggle to make sense of your disco-ball and flashing lights surrounds, gyrating bodies illuminated from floor to ceiling, thanks to an internal balcony from which people watch the dancing below, will add further confusion. Lose yourself in the rhythm, but we’d suggest you first pull yourselves up to the third floor for slightly less intense music and drinks on the dark and industrial rooftop bar, which occasionally catches the lights and sounds of the chaotic streets below. You can then descend back into the madness at your own pace.

If you find yourself wandering by the Galatasaray Lycée on Istiklal Boulevard one evening, get a quick drink at Ziba, a welcoming concrete and exposed-brick bar hidden around a corner. With a great selection of drinks and a chilled atmosphere, this is a place for friends to come together to plot where the night will take you. Expect to bump in to anyone and everyone here – the local consular staff, the odd youthful poet, a jobbing lawyer, or a German newspaper correspondent sinking a golden glass of beer and inviting you to his next notorious techno party. We’ve seen it happen.

A totally unexpected pleasure, turn up here and walk in to what looks like a regular tenant building. Go up a staircase and enter something akin to house party where your friends have gutted the place and dedicated themselves to melodic tech house. Packed full of friendly in-the-know clubbers and overseen by the curly-haired proprietor in her 60s who’s always in there until the early hours, this one a particularly unique nightspot. With slick, talented DJs and an enchanting dance floor, no doubt this is a garden of earthly delights.