Istanbul 3-Day Itinerary

This plan takes closing days into account. Day 1 can be any day except Tuesday, when Topkapı is shut, and Day 2 any day except Sunday, when the Grand Bazaar is. Mosques close to visitors around prayer times, so keep a little slack in each day.

Day 1: Sultanahmet

Early morning: be at Hagia Sophia when it opens, before the queue builds. Allow an hour in the galleries.

Mid-morning: cross the square to the Blue Mosque, then go down into the Basilica Cistern.

Lunch: köfte (grilled meatballs) with piyaz, a white bean salad, the classic Sultanahmet lunch.

Afternoon: Topkapı Palace. Three hours, including the Harem and the terraces over the Bosphorus. On the way out, walk down through Gülhane Park.

Evening: dinner in the lanes around Hocapaşa in Sirkeci, where the lokantas serve home-style stews from steaming trays.

Day 2: bazaars, Süleymaniye and Galata

Morning: the Grand Bazaar, starting at the booksellers' courtyard in Beyazıt.

Late morning: walk up to Süleymaniye Mosque and stand on the terrace behind it, with the Golden Horn below.

Lunch: down Mahmutpaşa Yokuşu to the Spice Bazaar, then balık ekmek from the boats by the Galata Bridge.

Afternoon: cross the bridge on foot, past the men fishing over the rail, and climb through Karaköy to the Galata Tower.

Evening: İstiklal Avenue, then a meyhane in the side streets for meze, grilled fish and rakı.

Day 3: the Bosphorus and the Asian side

Morning: the short Bosphorus tour from Eminönü, or the long tour if you're happy to give it the whole day. Our Bosphorus guide compares them.

Afternoon: ferry to Kadıköy. Graze through the market streets: stuffed mussels, pickles, Turkish coffee.

Sunset: walk down to Moda and watch the sun drop behind the minarets of the old city.

Night: the ferry back across. From the deck, with the lights of the historic peninsula ahead, you'll see why people keep coming back.