Istanbul Must See:Hagia Sophia Bluemosqu Topkapı Basilica Cistern Bosphorus Tour
Istanbul Must See:Hagia Sophia Bluemosqu Topkapı Basilica Cistern Bosphorus Tour
Local istanbul experience with a professional licensed tour guide!With this experince you will see the city from a different window and you will not be same as before.Firstly we start the day at Sultanahmet area and visit the Hagia Sophia and Bluemosque. After that we will visit the Topkapı Palace. You will listen to different histories about Roman and Ottoman Empires.Then free time for lunch, we will go Bosphorus tour (on a public bosphorus boat) to see marvellous istanbul from the sea.
After 90 minutes ride we will visit the Spice Bazaar.These are only starters, you will have the main course on the tour :-)***Please note that Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays and will be replaced with Dolmabahce Palace.What we will see in this tour:Hagia SophiaBluemosque Hippodrome Basilica CisternGrand Bazaar (Closed on Sundays)Topkapi PalaceBosphrous cruise (90 minutes -(public bosphorus boat)Egyptian Bazaar (Spice Market)***Private tour option is also available. Check details.
Book This ExperienceA glimpse of the journey
Your Itinerary
A curated journey through the experience
Hagia Sophia Mosque
The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque / Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi, with its innovative architecture, rich history, religious significance and extraordinary characteristics has been fighting against time for centuries, was the largest Eastern Roman Church in Istanbul. Constructed three times in the same location, it is the world’s oldest and fastest-completed cathedral. With its breathtaking domes that look like hanging in the air, monolithic marble columns and unparalleled mosaics, is one of the wonders of world’s architecture history. The sheer dazzling beauty of mosque with its magnificent play on space, light, and color provokes worship in the believer! Hagia Sophia pose on the ground of the first hill of Istanbul, precisely at the tip of the historic peninsula, surrounded by the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn on three sides.
40 minutesTopkapi Palace
Topkapı Palace and Harem (Topkapı Sarayı) are likely to have more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful concubines and scheming eunuchs lived and worked here between the 15th and 19th centuries when it was the court of the Ottoman empire. A visit to the palace's opulent pavilions, jewel-filled Treasury and sprawling Harem gives a fascinating glimpse into their lives.
2 hoursHippodrome
Hippodrome of Constantinople, located in Sultanahmet/Istanbul, was a public arena mainly for chariot races. The word hippodrome comes from the Greek hippos (horse) and dromos (way). The Hippodrome of Constantinople was also home to gladiatorial games, official ceremonies, celebrations, protests, torture to the convicts and so on. Hippodrome functioned all in Roman (203-330 CE), Byzantine (330-1453 CE), and Ottoman (1453-1922) periods.
30 minutesBasilica Cistern
This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was constructed using 336 columns, many of which were salvaged from ruined temples and feature fine carved capitals. Its symmetry and sheer grandeur of conception are quite breathtaking, and its cavernous depths make a great retreat on summer days.
45 minutesBlue Mosque
(It is closed for restoration until March 2023) known as the Sultan Ahmet Camii (or Sultan Ahmed Mosque), this breath-taking building is one of the most majestic Ottoman mosques in all of Turkey.
30 minutesGrand Bazaar
stanbul's Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı in Turkish) is one of the world's greatest shopping destinations and, spanning 30,700 square meters, the largest covered market in the entire world.
1 hourBosphorus Strait
We will do a bosphorus cruise on a public boat for 90 minutes.
1 hour 30 minutesMisir Carsisi (Spice Market)
No visit to Istanbul is complete without stopping by the atmospheric Spice Bazaar. While the Grand Bazaar may be the largest and most famous of Istanbul's covered bazaars, this spice market wins the prize for being the most colorful, fragrant, and often the most fun – as visitors can taste the goods on offer.
30 minutesIncluded
- Professional Guidance in English
- Public transportation tickets if we use are included
Not Included
- Pick up and drop off/to from the hotels are not included.
- Topkapı Palace Museum entrance ticket is extra
- Lunch
- On Tuesdays Dolmabahce Palace entrance ticket is extra
- Basilica Cistern ticket is excluded
- Bosphorus tour ticket is excluded
- Gratuities
Good to Know
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Guides required to regularly wash hands
- COVID-19 vaccination required for guides
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Tickets & Cancellation
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.