Is Istanbul guide in 3 days It has several routes on foot and by public transport, so you do not miss any interesting place in the city, making the most of the available time.
During the first two days you will have known the most important temples, palaces, markets and viewpoints located in the city center and surroundings for on this third day, visit some of the less visited jewels of Istanbul and other places are a little further from the center like the Dolmabahce Palace, the Ortaköy Mosque and the Pierre Loti Café viewpoint, among many others.
This practical guide to know the best of Istanbul in three days It is designed based on the experience of the 4 days we spent in the city, after which we also wrote this guide to travel to Turkey. We start!
Tips for traveling to Istanbul
This list of practical tips will help you on your trip to Istanbul:
- To get to the city center or your hotel from the two Istanbul airports, you have these options: subway (from 2020), bus, taxi or book this convenient direct transfer to the hotel. For more information you can consult this post on how to go from Istanbul airport to the center.
- To sleep we recommend the Adamar Hotel with fantastic views of Istanbul and The Million Stone Hotel, both located a few meters from the Topkapi Palace and the Basilica of Hagia Sophia.
- Use public transport before taxis and if you use it, you better ask for it from the restaurant or hotel, know approximately the price of the trip and be attentive to the return of the change.
- Before taking public transport, buy the convenient Istanbulkart rechargeable card.
- Book this free tour of Istanbul Free! or if you are more people, this private tour, both with a guide in Spanish and with whom you will have a good first contact with the city learning its history and idiosyncrasy
- Follow this list of things to see and do in Istanbul and if you are going to make a route through the country this is of places to visit in Turkey essential.
- Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot. You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
- Hire good travel insurance to have the best free medical care in the most important hospitals in the city. We always travel insured with Mondo And he has always been the best travel companion. For more information you can read this post about the best travel insurance for Turkey.
You can look for more recommendations in this post of tips to travel to Istanbul essential.
First day in Istanbul
The route of the first day of Istanbul in 3 days It begins at 9 in the morning with the visit of Topkapi Palace, a huge complex where many halls, the Harem and the Treasury stand out.
When you leave the palace you will arrive in a few minutes to the Basilica Cistern, an old warehouse with 336 columns of 9 meters high that has a Medusa head hidden at the base of one of them and has become over time, throughout A symbol of the city.
Once you have finished this visit, we recommend you approach the 3500-year-old Egyptian obelisk and two commemorative columns that are part of the Constantinople Racecourse square and are very close to the cistern and then continue down on foot south until you reach the Church of San Sergio and San Baco, one of the most beautiful churches / mosques in the city, where after visiting them and taking advantage of the place where several recommended restaurants in the city are concentrated, eat at Istanbul Anatolian Cuisine or the Three Partners .
Grand bazaar
In the afternoon the Istanbul itinerary in three days Continue entering the bustling Grand Bazaar to look for some souvenir like the Turkish eye or the carpets, at a good price and then climb the third hill of the city to reach the Soliman Mosque, the largest in the city and where you Find a beautiful mausoleum.
When you go down the hill and cross the famous Galata Bridge, you will walk or with the Tünel funicular to the Galata Tower, one of the best panoramic viewpoints in the city, which is another place you can not miss.
To end the first day of Istanbul in 3 days We recommend you book this Bosphorus cruise at sunset with a guide in Spanish or this night cruise with show and dinner, which depart from the nearby Kabatas pier.
If you have not dined on the cruise you can approach the Galata Tower again to try the Turkish delights of the Galata Kitchen or the F&B Culture.
(Extended information of the first day here)
Map of the first day of Istanbul in 3 days
Second day in Istanbul
The route of the second day of Istanbul in 3 days It begins with the visit at 9 in the morning of the Basilica of Santa Sofia, one of the most beautiful in the world, from which after seeing the great dome and the interior mosaics, you will head to the other most famous religious building of the City, the Blue Mosque.
You have to take into account when entering any mosque in Istanbul, shorts, tank tops and women are forbidden to cover their hair with a handkerchief, as well as remember that Fridays are days of prayers, so There are restrictions on access.
After the visit to this spectacular mosque with more than 20,000 tiles inside, we recommend you take a relaxing walk through the Gülhane park until you reach one of the sides where you can observe the Bosphorus Strait and take advantage of the place to try the Turkish cuisine in Seher Kebab Meat House or Bitlisli restaurants.
Basilica of Hagia Sophia
In the afternoon, the itinerary of Istanbul in three days Continue entering the Spice Bazaar, where you will feel an explosion of colors and smells while enjoying one of the best known places in the city.
When you leave this market you can take a taxi, a tram or walk 30 minutes to reach Istiklal Caddesi Street, the most famous in the city and one of its commercial arteries, through which you will pass through the beautiful Cicek Pasaji gallery and you will reach Taksim Square, which is another place you can't miss.
The Hammam Aga Hamami, where you can take one of the best Turkish baths in the city, of which we especially recommend booking this bath in advance here, is just a few meters away from this set square.
After relaxing for a while you can take the ferry that crosses the Bosphorus to reach the Üsküdar Asian neighborhood, an authentic neighborhood of Istanbul where you can get lost in its narrow streets surrounded by ancient Ottoman-style buildings and see some of its numerous mosques such as the from Yeni Valide.
Bosphorus
The Istanbul in 3 days He ends up enjoying the best sunset and having tea at the famous Café de las Alfombras and to return to the hotel, take a ferry to see the illuminated city and pass by the beautiful Maiden's Tower.
When you get off at the Eminönü pier you can approach dinner at the Panoramic Restaurant or at the Mesopotamian Terrace Restaurant with visits to the illuminated Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
A good option for these first two days if you want to learn more about the history of the city is to book this tour of Istanbul in 2 days or this 7-hour tour that includes the Bosphorus cruise, both with a guide in Spanish.
(Extended information of the second day here)
Map of the second day of Istanbul in three days
What to see in Istanbul in 3 days
The last day of what to see in Istanbul in 3 days It starts arriving early at the Dolmabahce Palace, located on the banks of the Bosphorus and opens at 9 in the morning. In this European-style palace, built between 1842 and 1853, the sultans moved to live for the comforts offered over the Topkapi Palace and it is worth entering inside this immense palace to see some of the rooms and halls like the Throne Room or the Crystal Staircase.
To get to the palace you can take the tram T1 at the Sirkeci İstasyonu stop that will leave you at the Kabatas stop, located 5 minutes walk from Dolmabahce.
Dolmabahce Palace
When leaving the palace you can take a walk through the Besitkas neighborhood to the Ortaköy Mosque, one of the most beautiful in the world, built on the banks of the Bosphorus in 1856 and which has an interior decorated with mosaics that are illuminated by the high windows that leave pass the light of the Bosphorus,
The route through Istanbul in three days Continue on a ferry, always using the Istanbulkart, to take you to the port of Eminonu passing in front of the Ortaköy Mosque and Dolmabahce Palace.
Ortakoy Mosque
A few meters from the Eminonu pier is the Archaeological Museum, the most important in Istanbul that has among its most important pieces the Alexander Sarcophagus of the fourth century, parts of the Babylonian Gate of Istar and the Pavilion of the Tiles.
Before continuing with the itinerary you can take advantage of the fact that you are in this area to eat in some of the best restaurants in the city such as the Gulhane Sark Sofrasi or the Bitlisli.
In the afternoon the Istanbul in 3 days Start by visiting the hidden Rüstem Pasa Mosque, one of the jewels of the city, where you will find an elevated building that impresses with the quality of the floral and geometric patterns that decorate all the interior walls.
Near this mosque is the Eminönü bus stop, from where you can take the number 28 to get you to the Church of San Salvador in Chora, the next stop on the route that is currently a church converted into a mosque after the conquest from Constantinople (ancient Istanbul) by the Ottoman Turks and has inside some of the best preserved Byzantine mosaics in the world.
Church of San Salvador in Chora
After visiting this church you can take a taxi or walk half an hour to the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, a place of veneration for Muslims when you find the tomb of Eyüp Sultan, leader of the Prophet Muhammad, who died during the attack on Constantinople in 670 These lesser-known mosques are interesting to know the religious life of the locals, especially if it coincides with the moment of prayer.
Next to this mosque is the cemetery of Eyüp, one of the most beautiful in the city, full of graves of Muslims who wanted to be near the right hand of Muhammad. This cemetery is located along a hill that you can climb meandering down a path watching the columns of the tombs with Arabic inscriptions and have incredible views of the Golden Horn although another option is to climb by cable car to the famous Pierre Loti cafeteria and get off walking, which is the one that we most recommend to have tea at sunset in this cafe overlooking the Golden Horn and the city, which we are sure, will become one of the moments of the Istanbul in 3 days That you will remember all your life.
Being areas farther from the center, a good option to get to know this part of the city is to book this guided tour in Spanish.
Pierre Loti coffee
When you go down the hill you can take a taxi to take you to the Hocapaşa Culture Center, located in the center, to see this show of Dervish Giróvagos, the most famous dance in Turkey and for dinner nothing more advisable than to continue enjoying the Turkish gastronomy in the Buhara Ocakbası or the Kucukoglu Barbecue, two of the best restaurants in the center.
If you have more time you can follow this guide of Istanbul in 4 days or do some of the best excursions in Istanbul with a guide in Spanish to know some of the great jewels of the country:
Map of the route of the third day in Istanbul
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Istanbul guide in one day
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The best offers of Flights to Istanbul here
The best hotels at the best prices in Istanbul here
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Istanbul guide in one day
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