Turkey
Atatürk Olympic Stadium
Home of Turkey national team in Istanbul: nominal capacity 77,563, opened 2002, in the Başakşehir district.
Istanbul77,563
Opened 2002Football grounds in Istanbul
Istanbul holds two of the grounds in this guide: the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in the far west and Galatasaray's Rams Park in the north, both on the European side.
Turkey
Rams Park (Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex)
Home of Galatasaray in Istanbul: nominal capacity 53,387, opened 2011, in the Sarıyer district.
Istanbul53,387
Opened 2011Getting around
Transport in Istanbul
- Istanbul Metro — line M9 to Olimpiyat for the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
- Istanbul Metro — line M2 to Seyrantepe for Rams Park.
- Metrobus and local buses link both grounds to the centre, but the distances are large.
Planning
A football weekend in Istanbul
Two grounds, one very large city. The Atatürk stadium and Rams Park are on opposite sides of the European half, and neither is close to the centre — allow well over an hour between them and treat the weekend as two separate days.
Whichever ground you choose, the pattern of the day is the same: travel in with the crowd, arrive at the turnstiles about an hour before kick-off, and leave the return journey until the first surge has cleared. In Istanbul that advice matters most at the nearest station to the ground, where the queue builds within minutes of the final whistle.
Before and after
Where supporters gather in Istanbul
Taksim and Beyoğlu
The central pre-match quarter, where most visitors stay.
Sarıyer
The district around Rams Park in the north.
Başakşehir
The district around the Olympic stadium in the far west.