The best things to do in Istanbul, from someone who plans them for a livingThe best things to do in Istanbul, from someone who plans them for a living

See the Old City monuments — before 10am

Sultanahmet holds the four sights almost everyone comes for: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque), Topkapı Palace and the Basilica Cistern. They sit within a ten-minute walk of each other, which is exactly why they are crowded by late morning.

Hagia Sophia is an active mosque again, so it closes to visitors during prayer times and foreign visitors now buy a ticket. The Blue Mosque is free but also pauses for prayers. Dress modestly for both: shoulders and knees covered, and a scarf for women. Topkapı Palace is closed on Tuesdays and deserves at least two to three hours, including the Harem.

• Start at the first opening slot and work outwards from the busiest sight
• Check prayer times the day before — Friday midday is the longest closure
• Pair Topkapı with the Basilica Cistern rather than with Hagia Sophia, to avoid two queues in a row

Watch the sun go down from the Süleymaniye Mosque

Mimar Sinan's Süleymaniye is many Istanbul residents' answer to 'which mosque should I see?'. It is larger and calmer than the Blue Mosque, and its garden terrace looks straight across the Golden Horn to Galata. Arrive an hour before sunset, then walk down through the old market streets towards Eminönü.

Get out on the Bosphorus

The strait between Europe and Asia is the city's main street, and the best way to understand Istanbul's scale. The cheapest version is a public commuter ferry; the most comfortable is a private boat at sunset or early morning. The long public Bosphorus tour runs all the way up towards the Black Sea with a lunch stop in Anadolu Kavağı.

We compare every option — public ferries, shared tour boats and private yachts — in our Bosphorus cruise guide.

Spend an afternoon in a hammam

A Turkish bath is one of the few experiences that has barely changed in five hundred years: heat on a marble platform, a vigorous scrub with a kese glove, then a cloud of soap foam. Istanbul has historic hammams designed by Sinan and plain neighbourhood ones that locals still use weekly. Which is right depends on whether you want architecture or authenticity — our hammam guide explains the difference.

Shop the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar — with a plan

The Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest covered markets in the world, with dozens of streets and thousands of shops. It closes on Sundays. Wander for an hour, but buy carpets, ceramics or jewellery only after comparing a few shops, and never under time pressure.

The Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) in Eminönü is smaller and easier. The streets around it, where locals buy coffee, cheese and dried fruit, are often better value than the bazaar itself.

Walk a neighbourhood people actually live in

Balat and Fener, on the Golden Horn, are steep streets of coloured houses, old churches and synagogues, antique shops and small cafés. Go on a weekday morning; weekends bring photo crowds.

Kadıköy, on the Asian side, is a twenty-minute ferry ride from Eminönü or Karaköy. Its market streets are where Istanbul shops for fish, pickles and produce, and the Moda seafront is the city's favourite place to sit at sunset.

Explore Galata and Karaköy

Across the Galata Bridge, the medieval Galata Tower rises above a tangle of design shops, galleries and coffee bars. Karaköy, down by the water, is good for a long breakfast or a late lunch, and puts you next to the ferry piers for the Asian side.

Eat the way Istanbul eats

Three meals define the city: a spread Turkish breakfast (serpme kahvaltı) that runs well past noon, a meyhane evening of cold meze, grilled fish and rakı, and quick street food — simit, midye dolma, a fish sandwich by the water. The difference between a good meyhane and a forgettable one is almost entirely about knowing which ones locals book.

Take a day out: the Princes' Islands or further

The Princes' Islands are a ferry ride from the city, with no private cars, wooden mansions and pine-covered hills; Büyükada is the largest. For a bigger trip, Cappadocia is roughly an hour and a half away by plane, best for one or two nights rather than a rushed day.

What you can skip

Not everything on the standard list earns its time. Rooftop restaurants chosen for the view rather than the food, carpet-shop 'tours' that end in a sales room, and the most photographed staircase cafés on a Saturday afternoon rarely live up to their reputation. Spend that time slowly in one neighbourhood instead.

Questions people ask