TurkeyTravelPlanner.com Istanbul Travel Guide, Turkey

Home
Search
Maps of Turkey
Photo Gallery

Where to Go
When to Go
Where to Stay
What It Costs
Turkish Money
Transport
FAQ-Travel Details

Best Itineraries
Guided Tours
Travel Agency
Unusual Trips
Consultations

TTP Forums
Funny Stuff
Shopping
Site Index
Bright Sun

Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Blue Mosque, Istanbul.

  Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea, by Tom Brosnahan
Lots about Istanbul
in my humorous
travel memoir.


 

Istanbul From Space with Place-Names Site of earliest settlement, acropolis & Topkapi Palace Terminus for Asian trains Delightful resort islands near the city Fabled inland sea connects to Aegean via Dardanelles Istanbul From Space with Place-Names Heart of historic Old Istanbul Transportation nexus Istanbul From Space with Place-Names Theodosian Walls (4th Century) Golden Horn (Haliç) Golden Horn (Haliç) Old Genoese & Jewish waterfront district Center of European culture in 19th-c. Istanbul Heart of "Modern" Istanbul The sultan's vast 19th-century imperial palace 32 km-long strait connects Black and Marmara seas 32 km-long strait connects Black and Marmara seas  

    

Once you've settled into your Istanbul hotel, you might want to take a city tour for orientation, and later a Bosphorus cruise or an excursion to the Princes' Islands, to the nearby cities of Edirne, İznik (Nicaea) or Bursa, Gallipoli and Troy, or even Ephesus or Cappadocia. More...

Many of Istanbul's top sights such as Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome, are in Sultanahmet, as are many good hotels, including charming Ottoman inns.

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is just a 12- to 15-minute walk or short tram ride west of Sultanahmet along the old Roman road called Divan Yolu.

  Click here for hotels in Turkey

You can see Istanbul's top sights in a rush on an overnight stay, but you'll need at least two days to do them justice, and three or four days to really get a sense of the city. In a week, you can get a good look at most of what Istanbul has to offer, do some shopping and enjoy an excursion as well.

Be sure to take some time to just sit at a sidewalk café and sip Turkish tea or coffee, or go native and smoke a nargile (water pipe). Dine on savory Turkish cuisine in an excellent Istanbul restaurant, consume a traditional fish sandwich by the Golden Horn, and you'll realize why it's my favorite city in all the world.

Are you a single male traveler? Read this!

Istanbul Time & Temp (click for weather)

Click for Istanbul, Turkey Forecast


Airport Transport

Best Istanbul Hotels

Top Istanbul Sights

Half- & Full-Day City Tours

Istanbul Maps

Istanbul Restaurants

Istanbul Shopping

Istanbul Transport

Excursions from Istanbul

  Istanbul from Space
 

Plan at least three days in Istanbul, Turkey as it has so much to see and do (even with kids) lots of good hotels , hostels and apartments/flats to let, restaurants, fascinating bazaars and shops, even beaches. Here are itineraries...

<—Click on a map label for more info.

Here's transport information and more Istanbul maps.

Here's info on Atatürk Airport (IST) and how to use the Metro and tram, Havataş airport buses, economical private transfer services, or taxis to get into the city, and how to get to the Büyük Otogar, Istanbul's main bus terminal.

Also, here's info on Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.

If you arrive by cruise ship or international ferry, you'll dock in the heart of the city at the Yolcu Salonu. More...