Stories · Turkey
3 days in Istanbul
Told the way I’d tell a friend, step by step.
Istanbul is the only city where I took a ferry to change continents before lunch. The mosques, palaces and bazaar live up to their legend; but it is the tea in a tulip glass, the gulls over the Bosphorus and the call to prayer rising from both shores that stay with you.
Day 1 · The icons
Early in the morning, I make my way to Suleymaniye Mosque. Take the time to walk all the way around it; the best views are rarely at the entrance. Everyone goes; everyone is right. 4.9 out of 5 across 67,715 reviews: few places are this unanimous. Practical: how to get there, and if you’d rather skip the queue, book your visit or go through Tiqets.
Late morning, meet me at Visit Istanbul. It’s the kind of place that makes you go quiet for a moment, even when you thought you knew it all. To get organised: the public-transport route; skip-the-line get your tickets in advance, otherwise compare on Tiqets.
Lunch without a plan: the first noisy room you pass is often the right one.
After lunch, it’s Egyptian Bazaar. You’ve seen it a hundred times in pictures; in person it is bigger, closer, more alive. Unmissable, and for good reason. Travellers give it 4.5 out of 5 (193,530 reviews) and I won’t argue with them. Practical: here is the route by public transport, and if you’d rather skip the queue, book your tickets or also check Tiqets.
Keep the evening free. Istanbul is a city that tells itself better at night.
Day 2 · The icons
In the morning, head to Dolmabahçe Palace. Bring water, shoes that hold, and no watch. Unmissable, and for good reason. Travellers give it 4.7 out of 5 (96,539 reviews) and I won’t argue with them. To get organised: how to get there; skip-the-line book your visit, otherwise go through Tiqets.
Around noon, meet me at Ebm. Tuor Kabataş Bosphorus Tour Point. Take the time to walk all the way around it; the best views are rarely at the entrance. To get organised: here is the route by public transport; skip-the-line get your tickets in advance, otherwise compare on Tiqets.
For lunch, trust the rooms full of locals rather than the menus translated into six languages.
In the afternoon, meet me at Colourful Buildings of Cihangir. It’s the kind of place that makes you go quiet for a moment, even when you thought you knew it all. Practical: the public-transport route, and if you’d rather skip the queue, book your tickets or compare on Tiqets.
In the evening, Historic hammam: A sixteenth-century hammam, the warm marble, the scrub: you come out new. Go at the end of the day, after the walking. Practical: the public-transport route, and if you’d rather skip the queue, get your tickets in advance or compare on Tiqets.
Day 3 · Day trip
To start, I make my way to Princes’ Islands. An hour by ferry, no cars, wooden houses and bicycles: Istanbul’s breathing space. Getting there: here is the route by public transport. To get a feel for it: what visitors say.
If you’re still hungry
Other places I wish I could have fitted in: The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, Sultanahmet Square, Galata Tower, Gülhane Park and Basilica Cistern. Slip them in wherever a day feels light.
My advice
The Istanbulkart works on trams, metros, buses and ferries: top it up at the machines.
A Turkish breakfast is a whole meal: have it late and skip lunch.
In mosques, shoulders and knees covered, a scarf for women: wraps are lent at the entrance.
Safe travels. And get lost at least once; that is where Istanbul begins.
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