The national drink of choice in Turkey is raki, a fiery aniseed-flavoured liquid that takes some getting used to. Turkish wines are also on the rise, meaning that you’ll find plenty on the menu at restaurants and in bars around the city. There are also bars that specialise in serving wine.

Although bars and cafes serving alcohol are found almost all across the city, certain areas specialise in after-hours entertainment such as Taksim, which is also the area where most of the gay and lesbian bars and nightclubs can be found. Caddesi is another area where things hot up in the evenings too.

Rock and jazz tend to be the most popular forms of live entertainment in Istanbul and the better places may even demand you pay a cover charge for the privilege. There also clubs that feature DJs playing dance music. Head to Ortakoy for two of the best in this department – The Scene and The Reina – where the fun usually doesn’t stop until somewhere around 05:00.

There are a few things that single travellers should watch out for when roaming the city at night. One popular scam is for a venue to land its unsuspecting foreign guests with ridiculous bills that seem to bear no resemblance to what was actually ordered. This is most likely to happen after some pretty girls have sat at your table for no apparent reason.