Büyükada

Büyükada is the largest of the Princes' Islands, a green, pine-clad retreat in the Sea of Marmara about an hour and a half by ferry from central Istanbul. Its name simply means "big island," and for generations it has served as a cool summer escape from the heat and clamour of the mainland city.

The island's atmosphere is defined by a near-total absence of cars. Grand timber mansions from the late Ottoman era line shaded avenues, once the summer homes of Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Levantine families whose faiths still fill its churches and synagogue. Horse-drawn phaetons have given way to electric shuttles, but the pace remains slow, and bicycles are the natural way to circle the wooded shore.

History clings to its hills. The revolutionary Leon Trotsky spent part of his exile here in the early 1930s, writing in a seafront villa, and the hilltop monastery of Aya Yorgi, reached by a steep pilgrim path hung with wishing ribbons, draws visitors of every faith for its sweeping views over the archipelago. Small beaches and swimming coves ring the pine-covered coast below the mansions.

A day trip is easily done from Kabataş or Bostancı. Ferries dock at a handsome Art Nouveau terminal in the island's only town, where seafood restaurants, ice-cream sellers and bike-rental shops cluster around the harbour. Bring water and sun protection for the climbs, and expect thick crowds on summer weekends when Istanbulites pour off the boats; the island is budget-friendly, walkable and, thanks to its clean sea air and traffic-free lanes, a genuine change of tempo from the city. Bicycle hire is cheap and the flat coastal loop is the most enjoyable way to see the mansions and swimming coves.