Complete 7-Day Itinerary for Your Istanbul Trip

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Overview

Istanbul – once the epicenter of the great Byzantine empire and a route of trade and empire building for the Roman empire. Today a marvel of touristy attractions, aromas and sights that will overwhelm all the senses. The sizzling of kebabs around every street corner and the hustle and bustle of the vibrant markets. This city is a must visit for anyone and offers something for everyone.

Itinerary

Our plan was to stick to the touristy attractions while still maintaining closeness to the Asia side as well as to the norther region of Istanbul. A full 7 day trip is advised so you get the most out of your trip. It’s possible that you can do with less, especially if this is a repeat visit. This was our agenda:

Day 1: Sultanahmet Square

Hagia Sophia (ayasofya) is the highlight of the city due to its rich history spanning centuries and empires such as the Byzantines, Romans, and Ottomans. You will need to purchase tickets to visit the top floors if you are a non Turkish citizen (cost is around 25 euros at the time of this article). If you are Muslim, you can pray in the downstairs larger foyer of the mosque as well. The upper floors will give you access to ancient inscriptions and images. Time Spent: 30mins.

Hagia Sophia Museum – A short few minutes walk away from the Hagia Sophia and situated directly in front of the Blue Mosque, the museum tickets can be purchased at the same ticket counter that you use for the mosque. It is around 20 euros per person and is a video guided presentation lasting about 1 hr. about the history of the Hagia Sophia. In our opinion this was definitely worth it. Time Spent: 1hr

Blue Mosque – After the museum, definitely check out the Blue Mosque and take some pictures inside for a remarkable journey through time as you gaze the architectural wonders. There is no entry fee of any kind here but the mosque is closed to visitors around the prayer times so make sure to check that before going. Time Spent: 30mins

Day 2: Ferry Trip & Spice Bazaar

Egyptian Bazaar – Referred to as the Spice Bazaar or Misr Carsisi is a popular shopping spot and offers pretty much everything that the Grand Bazaar does for sale but focuses more on spices (as the name suggests), cookware, and food products. The prices are high and will be around 3 times what you would otherwise pay so make sure to haggle for better pricing if you really like something. Recommended items to buy here are the custom spices, saffron, and handmade soaps. Time Spent: 1-2hrs

Kadikoy (Asia Side) – After the Egyptian Bazaar hop on to one of the government ferries in the Eminonu district which will take you to Kadikoy. A word of caution here is to avoid the private ferries unless you want to spend money unnecessarily. They know that this is a high tourist area so be ready to get lured into the paid cruises and trips. The Ferry stations will give the location of the destination ports. About a 20min ferry ride gets you there and around 50 cents on the Istanbulkart (covered here). Kadikoy has a completely different atmosphere, more local cuisine and the prices are a lot lower compared to the main Istanbul area. This was by far our favorite part of the city to explore the shops and restaurants. Time Spent: 3-4hrs

Day 3: Ortakoy, Galata District, & Istiklal Street

Ortakoy – Hop on the ferry again in the Eminonu district and land at the port in Ortakoy. You will pass the famous government building, Dolmabahce Palace on the way there. Once you dock, there you will come across the Ortakoy Mosque which is very picturesque and is along the water which it makes it a must visit location. Outside there are street vendors, restaurants, and shops all charging tourist rates. Time Spent: 1hr

Istiklal Street – From Ortakoy to Taksim Square where the Istiklal Street will start there is no tram and you must take a bus to get there which will also accept the Istanbulkart. Be careful here as we got scammed by the bus driver when he took our Istanbulkart and returned it with a 0 balance. Keep your belongings and your card with you at all times and don’t ever hand it over to anyone for any reason. Once we got to Istiklal Street its a few mile walk down to the end. You will encounter many modernized and European stores selling clothing, jewelry, crafts, and offers an upscale shopping experience. There is also an abundance of Baklava shops here if you plan on taking some back with you. Time Spent: 1hr

Tomtom Kebab – Although we want to dedicate a blog completely to the restaurants we ate at and our honest reviews here, we just couldn’t pass up not recommending this restaurant as you exit Istiklal street before making your way to the Galata area.

Galata Tower – Once you exit Istiklal street, make your way down to the Galata tower which is perfectly nestled across a multitude of coffee shops and bakeries. The common offering is tea and coffee as onlookers plan their perfect sunsetting experience while viewing the Galata tower. We chose Viyana Khavesi and one of the must haves is the San Sebastian cheesecake – it just hits differently while viewing an ancient lookout tower. Time Spent: 1hr

Day 4: Grand Bazaar, Seven Hills, & Massage

Shopping at Grand Bazaar – A labyrinth of shops spanning all types of cookware, spices, food items, gold, silver, and pretty much anything you are looking for can be bought here. Make sure to plan plenty of time here since some of the shops close at 7 and there is a significant amount of ground to cover. We personally split the Grand Bazaar over two days which we found helpful. Also, if you are wanting to exchange currency for TL, this place has the best exchange rates available. Time Spent: 2-3hrs

Seven Hills Restaurant – This is an iconic restaurant located within a 5 minute walk from the Sultanahmet plaza. There is a terrace access to the top of the restaurant where you can take pictures from an aerial view. Another exciting thing here to do is feed the seagulls. You can order food at any level, but it can get hot in the summer months and really cold in the winter time so plan according to the season. Time Spent: 1hr

We winded down here at the midpoint of our journey with a full body massage at Sultan Suleyman Hamam in the Fatih district. For around $50 USD per person we had a 1 hr long massage. Most of the visitors opted for the full Hamam experience which is the traditional Turkish bath, but we felt that the massage is what we really needed and didn’t regret it.

Day 5: Topkapi Palace, Gulhane Park, & Eminonu Night Stroll

Topkapi Palace – Once the private residence of the Sultans, this is now a museum with historical fragments kept inside. We chose to tour the castle grounds and appreciated the proximity between the palace and the Hagia Sophia. Time Spent: 30mins

Gulhane Park – Since we travelled in May, there was not a lot of blossoming flowers and instead were greeted with empty garden beds. The rest of the park was still scenic enough and offered a nice relief from the heat. Perhaps coming here in Spring would offer the full spectacle of flowers we were hoping to see. There is no entrance fee for Gulhane park and is located in the Gulhane district which is 1 tram stop away from Sultanahmet. Time Spent: 30mins

Eminonu Night Stroll – End the day by taking the T1 Tram to Eminonu district where a short stroll across the exit point of the station takes you to the pier. The exciting part here is that the pier is fully alive with fishermen, food carts, and people hanging out. Something we don’t get to enjoy here in the states. From the pier take the Galata tour walk and enjoy the fully lit skyline that Istanbul has to offer as you gaze across the Bosporus. Time Spent: 1-2hrs

Day 6: Kadikoy, & Grand Bazaar Round 2

Kadikoy – Easily one of our most favorite districts in Istanbul. This is accessible by taking the ferry service in Eminonu heading towards Kadikoy. Although we covered Kadikoy once in Day 2, you have to remember that the ferry service is only open until about midnight and there is a lot of ground to cover. The shops here are identical to the ones in main Istanbul but at about a fraction of the cost. We also found the food here to be tastier and more use of spices with better portions as well. Time Spent: 3-4hrs

Grand Bazaar – This time we headed to the Grand Bazaar in the late afternoon time a few hours before closing time. It made for a nicer walk from our hotel which was only about 10 mins walk. While the Grand Bazaar is easily the most expensive shopping experience in the city, there are some unique items that can only be had here. There were tea set designs here that we could not find anywhere else in the city and had to get them even though they were on the pricier side. Remember to bargain with them and hold your ground when you feel the price is fair enough, the vendors will always start the bid 2-3x higher than the real price. We waited around 10 minutes and did a good bit of back and forth with the vendor before he finally agreed to our offer – intense, but worth it. Time Spent: 2-3hrs

Day 7: Open Exploration, Revisit Day

Something to consider on your trip is to have a day where you are packing up and getting any last minute do overs. We committed day 7 to openly walking the city and exploring the inner streets of the city and walking all the way from Eminonu to Fatih which took around 30 minutes.

This was also a good time to do any last minute shopping too. One of the things that I kept an eye out during the trip were the spice varieties and made sure to stock up before leaving. Don’t worry, all the vendors will keep a vacuum sealer as they know most people will be visitors. We bought several custom mixed spices, saffron, teas, and Turkish delights. One of the things I really like to do when I travel is support the local businesses since most people are rushing to the large bazaars. It allows you to get better deals but also helps out the people that are earning a living day to day.

Conclusion

Some final thoughts…we wanted to keep a healthy buffer in our trip for activities and ran through some of the early day items quickly to get a sense of our belonging early on. That helped revisit the places where we felt like we wanted to spend more time getting to know. The tram and ferry docks will stop operating around midnight as well so making sure to have enough time while returning to the hotel is important. This also allowed us to include 1-2 restaurants per day that we could unwind at. I will be covering those as well.

If you like history, food, exploration, adventure or want to branch out completely then you must visit Istanbul. Despite them being hit with much higher inflation in recent years, it is now priced relative that to dollars and euros so plan your budget accordingly. I made an article about tips and tricks we found useful if you want to read further.