Istanbul City Tour

The Blue Mosque and its six minarets

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known to visitors as the Blue Mosque, was built between 1609 and 1616 and is easy to recognise by its cascading domes and six minarets. Its interior takes its name from the thousands of blue Iznik tiles on the walls. It is still a working mosque, so visits are arranged around prayer times and modest dress is required.

On this Blue Mosque tour our guide explains the architecture and the ritual of the building before you enter. If you are asking how to visit the Blue Mosque, the key points are covered shoulders and knees, a headscarf for women (which can be provided if needed) and shoes that slip off easily. Early in the day is usually the quietest time to go.

Hagia Sophia, Byzantium's great church

Hagia Sophia was completed in 537 as the cathedral of Byzantine Constantinople and for almost a thousand years was the largest church in the world. Its central dome, which seems to float on a ring of windows, was an engineering marvel of its time. Over close to fifteen centuries it has served as a church, a mosque, a museum and again a mosque.

Standing in the main hall with a guide helps you read the layers: Byzantine mosaics, Ottoman calligraphy panels and the later additions. Visitors often search for Hagia Sophia opening hours and tickets, and since it is an active place of worship, entry can pause during prayer times. Our guide adjusts the order of the day around this, and our desk confirms any entrance arrangements before you book.

The Hippodrome and its ancient monuments

Between the two great buildings lies the Hippodrome, the chariot-racing arena and civic centre of Byzantine Constantinople, which could hold tens of thousands of spectators. Today it is an open square, but several monuments still stand along its length: the Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III, brought here in the fourth century, the bronze Serpent Column from Delphi and the ornate German Fountain from the early twentieth century.

This is a quieter stretch of the tour, and it gives context to the grand buildings on either side. Our guide shows how little of the original structure survives above ground and what daily life looked like here. It is a good place to ask questions and take photographs without a queue.

Topkapı Palace courtyards and the water views

Topkapı Palace was the residence and administrative centre of the Ottoman sultans from the fifteenth century until the court moved to Dolmabahçe in the nineteenth century. On this city tour you enter the palace's outer courtyards and see the scale of the complex, as well as the terraces with views over the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, which all meet here.

If you are weighing a full Topkapı Palace tour against a city tour, note that this visit covers the outer courtyards and views rather than the interior galleries. Our guide gives you the palace's structure so the maze of courtyards and gates makes sense, and our desk can suggest a longer palace visit on another day.

The Grand Bazaar's covered lanes

The Grand Bazaar began in the fifteenth century and is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world, with more than sixty covered streets under vaulted stone ceilings. Shops sell textiles, jewellery, ceramics, carpets, spices and metalwork, and many trades have been passed down through families for generations.

Our guide leads you through the main routes and explains the layout, then gives you free time to browse or shop on your own before the group moves on. Bring a little cash and a sense of humour for bargaining, and consider visiting on a morning when the lanes are less crowded. After the mosques and monuments, it is a livelier, more commercial contrast to the day.