Marmara · Turkey
Capital of three empires across sixteen centuries, on a strait between two continents, with sixteen million people and a ferry system that doubles as a sightseeing tour.
Photo: Alvesgaspar · CC BY-SA 4.0
Istanbul has been the capital of three empires. Constantine made it the capital of the Roman world in 330. It remained the Byzantine capital for eleven centuries, until the Ottoman conquest in 1453 made it the capital of an empire that lasted until 1922. Very few cities anywhere have that continuity of importance, and almost none have the buildings to show for each phase still standing.
It is also physically extraordinary. The city sits astride the Bosphorus, a 30-kilometre strait connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, with one third of it in Asia and two thirds in Europe. The Golden Horn cuts into the European side, dividing the old imperial city from the districts that grew up opposite. The result is a city where commuting involves ferries, and where the best views are all from the water.
Sixteen million people live here, which makes it the largest city in Europe and one of the largest in the world. That scale means the historic peninsula — Sultanahmet, where the great monuments are — is a very small part of it, and visitors who never leave it miss the modern, restless, argumentative city that surrounds it. Four days is the minimum; five is better.
Why visit
Istanbul's case rests on layering. Almost every European city has one great period; this one has three, and all of them are still visible.
Completed in 537 with a dome 31 metres across that was the largest in the world for nearly a thousand years, built with engineering nobody has fully explained. It was the greatest church in Christendom, then an imperial mosque, and its Byzantine mosaics survive alongside Ottoman calligraphy.
Roman walls and cisterns, Byzantine churches and mosaics, Ottoman mosques and palaces — plus a modern city built on top of all of it. Very few places let you walk through sixteen centuries in an afternoon.
Ferries cross constantly between Europe and Asia, and a full-length Bosphorus cruise costs a few euros. The best views of the city are all from the water, and commuting by ferry is one of the genuine pleasures of being here.
Ottoman court cuisine, Anatolian village food, Black Sea fish, southeastern kebap and Greek-influenced meze all coexist here. Add a long Turkish breakfast and the eating alone justifies several days.
Among the cheapest major cities in Europe for visitors holding euros or pounds — hotels, restaurants and transport all run well below Western European equivalents.
Main attractions
The great monuments cluster in Sultanahmet, within ten minutes of each other. Everything else is spread across a very large city and reached by tram, metro and ferry.
Justinian's church of 537, with a dome that appears to float on a ring of forty windows. Byzantine gold mosaics of Christ and the emperors survive in the upper galleries alongside enormous Ottoman calligraphic roundels. It reverted to functioning as a mosque in 2020.
Tip Now requires a ticket for non-worshippers, with entry via the upper gallery. Go at opening; the queue builds sharply by 10:00.
The Ottoman court for four centuries, arranged as a series of courtyards rather than a single building, with the imperial treasury, the sacred relics and a harem of 300 rooms that housed the sultan's family and household.
Tip The Harem is a separate ticket and is the best part. Allow three hours minimum for the whole site, and note it closes on Tuesdays.
Sultan Ahmed's mosque of 1616, facing Hagia Sophia across a garden, with six minarets and an interior lined with more than 20,000 blue İznik tiles. It remains an active place of worship and entry is free outside prayer times.
Tip Closed to visitors for about 90 minutes at each of the five daily prayers. Shoulders, knees and — for women — heads covered; scarves are provided.
A 6th-century underground reservoir held up by 336 columns, dimly lit, with water dripping and carp swimming between them. Two Medusa heads used as column bases sit in a far corner, one upside down and one sideways.
Tip Recently restored with lighting and walkways. Cool in summer and a good hour when the heat above is punishing.
The Grand Bazaar has around 4,000 shops on 61 covered streets and has operated since 1461. The Spice Bazaar near the waterfront is smaller, more food-focused and considerably more pleasant to shop in.
Tip Both close on Sundays. The streets around the Grand Bazaar, where the wholesalers are, are more interesting than the bazaar itself.
Mimar Sinan's masterpiece of 1557, on a hill above the Golden Horn, and by most reckonings the finest Ottoman building in the city. Larger, calmer and far less visited than the Blue Mosque, with a terrace looking over the water.
Tip The best mosque in Istanbul and often nearly empty. The courtyard and terrace view alone are worth the walk up.
Public ferries cross between Europe and Asia constantly for the price of a bus fare, and a long Bosphorus cruise runs up the strait past waterside mansions, fortresses and the villages at its northern end.
Tip The ordinary commuter ferry to Kadıköy costs almost nothing and gives you the whole skyline. Do it at sunset.
Across the water, a district with a produce and fish market, streets of bars and restaurants, and a completely different feel — younger, more residential, almost no tour groups. The Moda seafront is the local Sunday walk.
Tip The market streets around Kadıköy's fish market are the best casual eating in Istanbul. Twenty minutes by ferry from Eminönü.
Things to do
Istanbul rewards using the ferries and walking the neighbourhoods as much as visiting the monuments.
The commuter ferry from Eminönü or Karaköy to Kadıköy takes twenty minutes, costs the price of a bus ride, and gives you the entire historic skyline from the water. Do it at sunset with a glass of tea.
Tip Sit on the upper deck at the back. Gulls follow the ferries and people feed them simit rings.
A serpme kahvaltı is a table covered in small dishes — cheeses, olives, tomato, cucumber, honey with clotted cream, eggs, jams, endless bread and tea. It takes ninety minutes and is the best meal in the city.
Tip Weekend mornings in Kadıköy or Beşiktaş, where Istanbul families do this properly.
The 16th-century baths designed by Sinan are architectural monuments as well as functioning bathhouses. A hot marble room, a vigorous scrub, a foam wash and a rest.
Tip Historic hamams cost considerably more than neighbourhood ones and are worth it for the buildings alone.
Two neighbourhoods along the Golden Horn, historically Jewish and Greek respectively, with steep streets of coloured wooden houses, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and an iron church shipped from Vienna in pieces.
Tip About 45 minutes' walk from Eminönü along the water, or a short taxi. Quiet, photogenic and increasingly fashionable.
Balık ekmek — grilled fish in bread — from the boats at Eminönü, and the restaurants under the bridge itself with anglers casting from the deck above.
Tip Cheap, chaotic and good. Eat it standing at the waterfront rather than sitting down.
The ferry up the strait stops at villages like Arnavutköy, Bebek and Anadolu Kavağı, with wooden waterfront mansions, fish restaurants and a Genoese castle at the northern end.
Tip The full-length public ferry runs a couple of times daily and takes about 90 minutes each way. Far better value than the tourist cruises.
Local food
Istanbul eats the whole country. Ottoman court cooking, Black Sea fish, southeastern kebap, Aegean meze and Anatolian village food all have their restaurants here.
A spread rather than a dish: white cheese, olives, tomato, cucumber, sucuk sausage, eggs, honey with kaymak clotted cream, several jams, bread and tea that keeps arriving. Ninety minutes, minimum.
Where to try it Breakfast salons in Kadıköy, Beşiktaş and Bebek, especially at weekends.
A long evening of small dishes — stuffed vine leaves, aubergine purée, marinated anchovies, broad beans in olive oil — with anise spirit cut with water. The meal is the pace as much as the food.
Where to try it Meyhanes in Beyoğlu, Kumkapı and along the Bosphorus. Allow three hours.
Grilled mackerel or bonito in half a loaf with onion and rocket, sold from boats and stalls at Eminönü beneath the Galata Bridge. The definitive Istanbul street food.
Where to try it Eminönü waterfront and Karaköy. A few euros and eaten standing.
Adana kebap of hand-minced lamb with red pepper, İskender of döner over bread with tomato and yoghurt, and the ocakbaşı grill houses where you sit around the coals.
Where to try it Ocakbaşı restaurants in Beyoğlu and Kadıköy, and the southeastern places around Aksaray.
Sesame-crusted bread rings sold from red carts everywhere, plus roasted chestnuts in winter, grilled corn, stuffed mussels sold by the piece, and kokoreç for the adventurous.
Where to try it Street carts across the city. Simit with tea is the standard Istanbul breakfast on the move.
Pistachio baklava, best from a specialist rather than a tourist shop, and lokum — Turkish delight — in flavours far beyond the rose most visitors know.
Where to try it Long-established confectioners in Karaköy and the Spice Bazaar area. Ask for a taste before buying.
Accommodation
The main choice is between Sultanahmet, where the monuments are, and the districts across the Golden Horn where the city actually lives. Both are connected by tram and ferry.
Transport
Istanbul is one of the world's biggest aviation hubs, with two large airports on two different continents — a distinction that matters more than it sounds.
Trams, metro, funiculars and ferries, all on one card. Never drive — Istanbul's traffic is among the worst in Europe and parking is close to nonexistent.
When to go
Istanbul has a genuine four-season climate — hot humid summers, cold wet winters, and two excellent shoulder seasons.
The city at its best: 15–22°C, tulips across the parks in April — the flower originates here rather than in the Netherlands — and comfortable walking weather for the hills and the monuments.
Hot and humid at 26–32°C, with the monuments crowded and the queues long. The compensation is the Bosphorus, the long evenings and the rooftop terraces. Many locals leave for the coast.
Arguably the best window. The humidity breaks, temperatures settle at 17–24°C, the light is superb and the summer crowds thin. October in particular is excellent.
Cold, grey and wet at 5–12°C, with occasional snow that transforms the domes and minarets. Very few visitors, the lowest prices of the year, and an atmospheric city — the monuments are indoors anyway.
Worth planning around: Mosques close to visitors for about 90 minutes at each of the five daily prayers, and for longer on Friday around midday. Plan mosque visits around the prayer schedule, which shifts with the seasons.
Itinerary
The monuments early, the neighbourhoods and the water later, and at least one full day on the Asian side. Assumes an Istanbulkart from arrival.
The imperial core, starting at opening to beat the queues.
The Ottoman court, then the commercial city that funded it.
Cross the water and stay there.
Up the strait and back.
The best mosque in the city and its most photogenic streets.
Travel tips
Istanbul specifics, the first of which prevents an expensive mistake.
FAQ
Four to five. Two days covers Sultanahmet's monuments, but the city is far larger than its historic peninsula and the neighbourhoods across the Golden Horn and on the Asian side are much of what makes it worth coming. Five days lets you add a Bosphorus ferry day, Balat, a hamam and time to eat properly.
Yes. It reverted to functioning as a mosque in 2020 and now charges non-worshippers for entry, with visitor access via the upper gallery where the Byzantine mosaics are. Dress modestly, remove shoes where indicated, and go at opening — the queue builds sharply from about 10:00. It remains extraordinary.
Both. The Bosphorus strait runs through the middle of the city, with roughly two-thirds of the population on the European side and one-third on the Asian. Ferries cross constantly for the price of a bus fare, and the Marmaray rail tunnel does the crossing in about four minutes. Spending a day on the Asian side is strongly recommended.
Shoulders and knees covered regardless of gender, and a head covering for women — scarves are provided free at every visitor-facing mosque. Shoes come off at the entrance and are carried or left on the racks. Avoid the five daily prayer times, when mosques close to visitors for about 90 minutes, and Friday around midday.
Yes, with ordinary city precautions. The realistic risks are pickpocketing in crowded areas like the Grand Bazaar and on packed trams, and the well-established scam in which a friendly stranger near the tourist sites steers you to a bar or carpet shop with inflated prices. Both are avoided by keeping bags in front and politely declining unsolicited invitations.
April to May and September to October. Spring brings tulips — the flower originates in Turkey — and comfortable 15–22°C walking weather. Autumn has the same temperatures with better light and thinner crowds. Summer is hot, humid and busy; winter is cold and grey but very cheap, and most of the great monuments are indoors anyway.
Buy an Istanbulkart on arrival — it covers ferries, trams, metro, buses and funiculars on one card at a fraction of single-fare prices. The T1 tram links the main sights on the historic peninsula, the ferries cross to Asia constantly, and the Marmaray tunnel runs under the Bosphorus. Do not drive; Istanbul's traffic is among the worst in Europe.
Keep exploring
Places that pair well with Istanbul, whether you have a few spare days or are building a longer route.
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A landscape with no real parallel: soft volcanic rock carved by wind and water into towers and cones, then carved again by Byzantine Christians into painted churches and underground refuges.
Don't miss A hundred hot-air balloons rising out of the valleys at dawn — and being in one of them.
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The best-preserved classical city in the Mediterranean, where you walk the actual paved streets past a 24,000-seat theatre, public latrines and a library, with a small Turkish town alongside it.
Don't miss The Terrace Houses — six Roman apartments with mosaic floors, painted walls and plumbing, under a modern roof.
Explore Destination — Ephesus & SelçukCentral Anatolia, Turkey
A planned republican capital on the Anatolian plateau, with Atatürk's mausoleum, a Byzantine citadel, Augustus's own account of his reign carved on a temple wall, and Bronze Age capitals within reach.
Don't miss The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations — Çatalhöyük, the Hittites and the Phrygians under one Ottoman roof.
Explore Destination — AnkaraVeneto, Italy
The strangest working city in Europe — Byzantine mosaics, Tintoretto by the acre, cicchetti bars down alleys, and a lagoon of glass furnaces and coloured houses behind it.
Don't miss The Grand Canal from the deck of a number 1 vaporetto, which costs the price of a bus ticket.
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