Known for
Byzantine churches, Ottoman mosques and imperial palaces on two continents
Must-see landmarks
Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern
Free to visit
Sultanahmet Square, Gulhane Park and Taksim Square
Days needed
Three to four full days for the historic peninsula and the Bosphorus
The domed church built for Justinian in 537 became a mosque under the Ottomans and returned to that role in 2020, with worship below and Byzantine mosaics visible from the upper gallery. Doors open at 9:00, and the site closes to visitors around midday on Fridays. The Blue Mosque stands 7 minutes away.
Sultan Ahmed I's mosque takes its name from the more than 20,000 blue Iznik tiles lining its interior beneath six minarets. Entry is free but the mosque closes around each of the five daily prayers, with a longer Friday break. Basilica Cistern is a 5 minute walk.
336 marble columns rise from the water of this 6th century Byzantine cistern, lit to show off carved Medusa head bases and carp gliding between the pillars. It opens daily from 9:00 to 22:00. Topkapi Palace is an 11 minute walk uphill.
The Ottoman sultans ruled from this palace complex for nearly 400 years, its courtyards leading to the Imperial Treasury and the relics kept in the Privy Chamber. The ticket office opens from 9:00 to 17:00 and the palace is closed on Tuesdays. The Grand Bazaar is a 25 minute walk through Sultanahmet.
One of the world's oldest covered markets spreads leather, jewellery and lamps across 61 streets that have traded since the 1450s. It opens from 8:30 to 19:00 and closes on Sundays. Suleymaniye Mosque is a 14 minute walk uphill.
Architect Mimar Sinan's masterwork crowns Istanbul's third hill with a dome inspired by Hagia Sophia and a terrace overlooking the Golden Horn. Entry is free outside prayer times. Galata Tower is a 28 minute walk downhill to the Golden Horn and across the Galata Bridge.
The stone tower Genoese traders built in 1348 to guard their walled colony now holds a viewing deck over the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the domes of the historic peninsula. It opens daily from 8:30 to 22:00, and sunset draws the busiest crowds.
Entry to the mosque's prayer hall costs nothing and needs no ticket. Visitors pass a security check, then dress modestly: women cover their hair, everyone covers shoulders and knees, with free scarves and wraps at the door. Arriving soon after the 08:30 opening avoids the longest queue.
Walking the market's 61 covered streets and stepping into any of its roughly 4,000 shops costs nothing beyond what a purchase costs. Weekday mornings soon after the 08:30 opening are quietest, before tour groups fill its main avenues.
The square that was once the Hippodrome of Constantinople still holds the Egyptian Obelisk, the bronze Serpent Column and the German Fountain along its length between the Blue Mosque and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, free to walk at any hour.
The modern heart of the city centres on the Republic Monument and the start of Istiklal Avenue, the pedestrian street running down to Galata, making it a free starting point for exploring Beyoglu's shops, cinemas and side streets.
The prayer hall and its terrace are open at no charge outside the five daily prayers. The same modest dress applies as at other working mosques: shoulders and knees covered, a headscarf for women, shoes left at the door. Crowds thin out here compared with the Blue Mosque.
Browsing the covered market's single arched corridor and its side stalls costs nothing, and vendors expect a taste offered before any sale rather than a purchase. Early mornings before the tour buses arrive make the busiest stretch easier to walk.
Once the outer garden of Topkapi Palace, this is one of Istanbul's oldest public parks, its rose beds and tree-lined paths running down toward the Golden Horn side of the historic peninsula. It opens daily from around 6:00 to 22:30 and costs nothing to enter.
Crossing the bridge's upper deck between Eminonu and Karakoy costs nothing at any hour, past rows of anglers casting lines toward the Bosphorus. The fish restaurants on the lower deck charge for a meal, but the walk across for views of the Golden Horn stays free.
This 17th century mosque above the Eminonu ferry docks is free to enter outside prayer times, with the same modest dress expected at other working mosques. Its courtyard and waterfront steps make a quiet spot to watch the ferries after the Spice Bazaar next door.
The 4th century Roman aqueduct that once supplied Constantinople with water still spans Ataturk Boulevard on arches nearly 30 metres tall, a public monument with no gate or ticket, best seen lit up after dark.
Istanbul is the only major city built across two continents, its European and Asian shores divided by the Bosphorus strait and stitched together by bridges, tunnels and a constant traffic of ferries. Byzantion, the Greek colony Byzas founded on the peninsula, grew into Constantinople under Constantine the Great and stayed the Byzantine capital for more than a thousand years before Mehmed II took the city for the Ottomans in 1453. The Republic moved its capital to Ankara in 1923, yet Istanbul remains Turkey's largest city, home to around 15.6 million people and still the country's commercial and cultural centre.
The historic peninsula around Sultanahmet holds the imperial mosques, palaces and the Grand Bazaar, bounded by the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn. Across the Golden Horn, Galata and Beyoglu form the modern centre, climbing from the tower to Istiklal Avenue and Taksim Square. The Bosphorus shore north of the centre mixes waterfront mansions with fortresses like Rumeli Fortress, while Kadikoy, on the Asian side, keeps a younger, less touristed pace reached by ferry.
April to May and September to October bring mild temperatures without the summer heat or the busiest cruise season. Three to four full days cover the historic peninsula and one further neighbourhood at a steady pace, with a fifth day free for a Bosphorus ferry ride or a crossing to the Asian side.
The T1 tram runs along the historic peninsula from Kabatas through Sultanahmet and Eminonu to the western districts, connecting by transfer to the M11 airport metro line at Gayrettepe. Ferries cross the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn between the European and Asian shores, and the Istanbulkart travel card covers trams, metro, buses and ferries on a single tap. Traffic makes the surface roads slow, so rail and water transport beat taxis at peak hours.
See two icons of old Istanbul on one skip-the-line tour, the majestic Blue Mosque above ground and the atmospheric Basilica Cistern below, led by an expert guide.
Skip the queues and step into the Basilica Cistern, the underground water palace of Byzantine Istanbul, where 336 columns rise from still water and two carved Medusa heads guard the depths.
Descend into the Basilica Cistern with a live guide who brings its Byzantine story to life, from the illuminated columns to the mysterious Medusa heads, all with skip-the-line entry.
Dolmabahçe Palace was the last great home of the Ottoman sultans, and this skip-the-line ticket opens its most lavish spaces. Explore the Selamlik state apartments and the private Harem, wander the waterfront garden, and visit the National Palaces Painting Museum on the European shore of the Bosphorus.
Dolmabahçe Palace replaced Topkapi as the seat of the Ottoman sultans, and this skip-the-line ticket leads straight into its opulent state rooms. Walk the Selamlik apartments beneath gilded ceilings, past Hereke carpets and a famous collection of crystal chandeliers, on the European bank of the Bosphorus.
Join a live English-speaking guide for a walking tour of the Blue Mosque, Istanbul's iconic six-minaret landmark, and learn the story behind its blue Iznik tiles and centuries as a working place of worship.
Skip the line at Topkapi Palace and the Harem with this self-guided ticket. A downloadable audio guide app leads you through the courtyards, treasury and imperial rooms at your own pace.