Group Travel to Istanbul

Istanbul's Atatürk Airport or the newer Istanbul Airport (IST) connects to the city center by Metro in 45-75 minutes. Check into your hotel in Sultanahmet or Karaköy and walk immediately to the Hippodrome — the ancient Roman chariot-racing circuit that is now a public park at the heart of the old city, lined with monuments: the 1,600-year-old Obelisk of Theodosius, the ancient Serpent Column from Delphi, and the Column of Constantine. The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) is best seen at dusk, when the call to prayer fills the air and the blue Iznik-tile interior glows in the low light. It is open to visitors between prayer times at no cost — dress modestly and enter in a spirit of genuine respect. Dinner in Sultanahmet at Matbah restaurant in the Ottoman Palace Hotel — one of the few restaurants in Istanbul serving serious Ottoman imperial cuisine — or cross the Golden Horn to Beyoğlu for a meyhane meal with meze and rakı.

• ✦ Hippodrome and the ancient monuments of Sultanahmet
• ✦ Blue Mosque at dusk during the call to prayer
• ✦ First evening introduction to Istanbul's historic district
• ✦ Dinner at a meyhane with meze and rakı

Hagia Sophia is the greatest building in Istanbul and one of the greatest in the world — built as a Christian cathedral in 537 AD, converted to a mosque in 1453, then a museum for most of the 20th century, and now a functioning mosque again. The dome (55 meters high, 31 meters in diameter) appears to float without any visible support, and the surviving Byzantine mosaics — Christ Pantocrator, the Empress Zoë mosaic, the Deësis — are among the finest in the world. Book the Topkapi Palace next, the administrative and residential center of the Ottoman Empire for four centuries; the Harem section (separate ticket) contains 300 rooms of extraordinary tilework and opulent decoration. Lunch near the Grand Bazaar, then spend the afternoon exploring its 61 covered streets and 4,000 shops — the world's original shopping mall, built in 1461. Navigate by color: the carpet dealers in one section, gold and silver jewelers in another, spices and Turkish delight in the Egyptian Bazaar nearby.

• ✦ Hagia Sophia — Byzantine mosaics and the floating dome
• ✦ Topkapi Palace and the Ottoman Harem
• ✦ Grand Bazaar — 61 covered streets, 4,000 shops
• ✦ Egyptian Spice Bazaar for Turkish spices and delight

Take the public ferry from Eminönü for the classic long Bosphorus cruise — two hours up the strait toward the Black Sea, passing underneath the suspension bridges that literally connect Europe to Asia, alongside the wooden yalı mansions of the Ottoman elite reflected in the water, past Byzantine fortresses and Ottoman palaces built directly on the water's edge. Disembark at Anadolu Kavağı at the northern end for lunch and views over the Black Sea approach. Return ferry and then cross to the Asian shore: Kadıköy is Istanbul's most authentically Turkish neighborhood, largely untouristed, with an excellent fresh market, independent bookshops, café culture, and meyhane restaurants serving the best rakı and meze in the city. Walk the Moda neighborhood along the Asian shoreline at sunset for a view of the European skyline — Sultanahmet, the Galata Tower, and the chain of minarets — across the Bosphorus.

• ✦ Public Bosphorus ferry up the strait toward the Black Sea
• ✦ Wooden yalı mansions and Ottoman waterfront palaces
• ✦ Kadıköy market and meyhane on the Asian shore
• ✦ Moda waterfront sunset view of the European skyline

Beyoğlu is European Istanbul — the neighborhood north of the Golden Horn where the embassies were located, the Levantine merchants settled, and the belle époque apartment buildings give the streets a vaguely Parisian feel. The Galata Tower, built by the Genoese in 1348, is the neighborhood's landmark; climb it for 360-degree city views, though the queues can be long. Istiklal Caddesi is Istanbul's pedestrian shopping boulevard — nearly two kilometers of restaurants, bookshops, music venues, art galleries, historic arcades (Çiçek Pasajı is the best), and the world's most chaotic pedestrian traffic, all linked by a vintage red tram that travels the full length. Side streets off Istiklal lead to the meyhane district of Nevizade Sokak — twelve restaurants side by side each with tables on the street, live music, and a genuine party atmosphere most evenings. This is where Istanbul eats and drinks when it's celebrating.

• ✦ Galata Tower — 360-degree views from a 14th-century Genoese tower
• ✦ Istiklal Caddesi and the historic shopping arcades
• ✦ Çiçek Pasajı flower market passage
• ✦ Nevizade Sokak meyhane street for dinner with rakı and live music

The Princes' Islands are a small archipelago in the Sea of Marmara, just 90 minutes by ferry from Eminönü — and a total transformation from the urban intensity of Istanbul. The four largest islands are car-free; the only transport is horse-drawn phaetons and bicycles. Büyükada (the largest) has a historic quarter of 19th-century Ottoman mansions with ornate wooden facades and gardens running to the sea. Rent bicycles and cycle the full circumference (12km), stopping at the hilltop Greek Orthodox monastery of Aya Yorgi for views over the island chain and the Sea of Marmara. Lunch at a fish restaurant on the waterfront — grilled fish, meze, and cold Efes beer with the water lapping beside the terrace. The islands feel like a different world — quiet, wooded, and faintly nostalgic for a vanished Istanbul that existed before the city grew into a metropolis of 15 million.

• ✦ Ferry from Eminönü to the car-free Princes' Islands
• ✦ Cycling Büyükada's circumference through Ottoman mansion streets
• ✦ Aya Yorgi monastery with views over the Sea of Marmara
• ✦ Waterfront fish lunch in the island village

The neighborhood of Karaköy — once a gritty port district — has become Istanbul's most interesting creative neighborhood over the past decade, with design studios, third-wave coffee shops, concept restaurants, and the city's best contemporary art galleries all clustered in converted warehouses and Ottoman han buildings. The Galata Mevlevi Lodge, where the Whirling Dervishes have performed their Sema ceremony since 1491, is here; performances are held on certain Sundays and are extraordinarily moving. The Chora Church (Kariye Mosque), at the edge of the old city walls, contains the most complete Byzantine mosaic cycle in Istanbul — even finer than Hagia Sophia — and is far less crowded. The day ends at the Çırağan Palace terrace or a rooftop bar in Karaköy for sunset over the Bosphorus — one of the most beautiful moments in any city on earth.

• ✦ Karaköy creative neighborhood — galleries, coffee, and design
• ✦ Galata Mevlevi Lodge — Whirling Dervish Sema ceremony
• ✦ Chora Church (Kariye) Byzantine mosaics — better than Hagia Sophia
• ✦ Rooftop sunset over the Bosphorus and Golden Horn

A final morning in Istanbul is best spent buying provisions: visit the Mısır Çarşısı (Egyptian Spice Bazaar) early before it gets crowded, buying saffron, dried figs, apricots, Turkish pepper flakes, and boxes of lokum (Turkish delight) from Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir — the shop that invented the confection in 1777. A final Turkish breakfast somewhere (beyaz peynir, olives, tomatoes, eggs, simit, and copious tea) is essential. Istanbul Airport (IST) requires 60-90 minutes door-to-gate depending on traffic; a private transfer is worth the cost versus a taxi. Turkish Airlines has extensive European and global connections. Alternatively, Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Asian side serves many European budget carriers and is 45 minutes from Kadıköy.

• ✦ Egyptian Spice Bazaar for final provisions — saffron, lokum, spices
• ✦ Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir — Turkish delight since 1777
• ✦ Final Turkish breakfast with çay and simit
• ✦ Private transfer to Istanbul Airport