The Eminönü waterfront with the New Mosque and the Süleymaniye at sunset, seen from the Galata Bridge
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Istanbul in 2 days

  • 2 days
  • 7.6 km on foot
  • 17 stops
  • Audio guide

Two days let you separate the Istanbul of bazaars from the Istanbul of sultans and, at last, step inside a museum without watching the clock. Day one brings together the classics, archaeology and the legends of dusk; day two belongs to Ottoman power and the water. The pace is demanding but doable, with long breaks for eating.

Day 1Bazaars, treasures and legends

In the morning, “From the Blue Mosque to Galata Tower”: Grand Bazaar, Süleymaniye and Spice Bazaar, finishing over the Galata Bridge. Tram back to Sultanahmet and have köfte on Divanyolu. The afternoon is free: the Archaeology Museums and Gülhane Park fit in without rushing, a few minutes from Hagia Sophia. At dusk, “Talismans, Medusas and weeping columns” takes you from the Serpent Column to the Basilica Cistern and Hagia Sophia's sweating column. Have pistachio baklava for dinner in Karaköy.

  1. Morning

    From the Blue Mosque to Galata Tower

    Mixed · 3.9 km · 2 h 30 min

    1. The Blue MosqueSix minarets, more than twenty thousand tiles and the ambition of a twenty-year-old sultan.
    2. The Grand BazaarMore than sixty covered streets and thousands of shops: the market Mehmed II founded after the conquest is still haggling.
    3. The Süleymaniye MosqueSinan's masterpiece crowns Istanbul's third hill and holds the tombs of Suleiman, Hürrem and the architect himself.
    4. The Spice BazaarA market paid for with Egypt's taxes, still smelling of cumin, coffee and pistachio three and a half centuries on.
    5. The Galata BridgeAnglers above, restaurants below, and a Leonardo da Vinci design that was never built.
    6. Galata TowerA Genoese tower from 1348, an Ottoman fire lookout and the setting for a legendary flight over the Bosphorus.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Sultanahmet köfte at Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi Selim Usta. Divanyolu Caddesi, 12, Sultanahmet

  3. Afternoon

    Istanbul Archaeology Museums

    Three museums beside Topkapı Palace, with sarcophagi such as the Alexander Sarcophagus, sculpture and clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia. A perfect follow-up to the morning: it explains what you saw from the outside. Check the weekly closing day.

    Directions

    Gülhane Park

    The former outer garden of Topkapı Palace, now the quietest park in Sultanahmet. Old trees, shade and benches for a rest after the museum. The lower end looks over the Bosphorus, and the tram stop is close.

    Directions

  4. Early evening

    Talismans, Medusas and weeping columns

    Mysteries & legends · 1.7 km · 1 h 35 min

    1. The Serpent ColumnThree intertwined bronze serpents that celebrated a Greek victory and ended up as a charm against snakebites.
    2. The Binbirdirek CisternThe "cistern of a thousand and one columns" spent centuries forgotten beneath a neighbourhood that had no idea what lay underfoot.
    3. The Burnt Column (Çemberlitaş)A porphyry pillar clasped by iron hoops, beneath which, tradition says, Constantine hid the holiest relics of the ancient world.
    4. The Basilica Cistern and its MedusasA sunken palace of 336 columns, two Medusa heads set the wrong way round and a column that, so they say, weeps.
    5. Hagia Sophia and the sweating columnA damp column credited with cures, and a priest who, legend says, walked into the wall in 1453 and will one day return.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  5. Dinner

    Try Pistachio baklava at Karaköy Güllüoğlu. Kemankeş Caddesi, Karaköy

Day 2Sultans and the Bosphorus

Begin at the Hippodrome with “From Byzantium to the Sublime Porte”: the Milion, Hagia Sophia, the Imperial Gate and the Sublime Porte, ending at Sirkeci station. It's only two kilometres, but every stop deserves time. For lunch, go down to Eminönü for a Turkish coffee at Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi, beside the Spice Bazaar, with something savoury. In the afternoon, climb to Topkapı through the same Imperial Gate you saw this morning, then finish with a boat trip on the Bosphorus from Eminönü.

  1. Morning

    From Byzantium to the Sublime Porte: fifteen centuries of power

    History · 2 km · 1 h 45 min

    1. The Hippodrome and the Obelisk of TheodosiusWhere families now stroll and simit sellers call out, a hundred thousand spectators once roared for their charioteers, and one day a massacre took place.
    2. The Milion, the empire's mile zeroAn almost invisible stump of stone marks the point from which every distance in the Byzantine Empire was measured.
    3. Hagia Sophia, from basilica to mosqueFifteen centuries under one dome: imperial church, sultan's mosque, museum and mosque once more.
    4. The Imperial Gate and the Fountain of Ahmed IIIThe entrance to Topkapı Palace, built by the Conqueror, and the most elegant fountain of Istanbul's Tulip Era.
    5. The Sublime PorteA gate with a sweeping canopy that gave its name to an entire government and witnessed the coup of 1913.
    6. Sirkeci StationThe end of the line for the Orient Express, an 1890 building that imagined the East through European eyes.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Turkish coffee at Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi. Tahmis Sokak, 66, Eminönü

  3. Afternoon

    Topkapı Palace

    Home of the sultans for almost four hundred years: courtyards, pavilions, treasury and views of the Bosphorus. Set aside at least two hours, and check the closing day and whether the Harem is ticketed separately. Enter through the Imperial Gate.

    Directions

    Bosphorus boat trip

    Boats leave the Eminönü piers to sail the strait between Europe and Asia, past palaces, fortresses and wooden mansions on both shores. It's the best way to end the trip, especially in the soft light of late afternoon.

    Directions

The map

Istanbul in 2 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed Mysteries & legends History Extra sight

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Before you go

Tips for Istanbul in 2 days

  • Split the days by area: the first ends in Galata and Sultanahmet, the second stays on the historic peninsula. You lose almost no time on transport.
  • Museums usually close one day a week, and it differs by museum; check Topkapı and the Archaeology Museums before settling the order of your days.
  • In summer, do the essential route first thing: by midday the Grand Bazaar and the slopes of Süleymaniye are tiring and the heat comes off the stone.

Questions

Istanbul in 2 days: your questions

Are two days enough in Istanbul?

For the essentials of the European side, yes. You'll see the three big historic areas, a couple of museums and the Bosphorus. There won't be time for the Asian shore or neighbourhoods like Balat, which is what a third day is for.

How far do you walk in the 2-day plan?

The routes add up to about 7.6 km: 3.9 essential, 1.7 mysteries and 2.0 history. With the museums, the palace and walks to meals, expect 8 to 10 km a day, mostly flat around Sultanahmet.

Which day is best for Topkapı Palace?

The second, after the history route, since that ends a few minutes from its gate. It closes one day a week and queues are longer at weekends; if you can, try a weekday morning and book ahead.

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