Istanbul Weekend Holiday

To tour Istanbul's top sights, one day ( or two days/1 night) is a bit rushed (but possible); 3 days/2 nights is comfortable; 4 days/3 nights is wonderful!

This itinerary is designed to show you the top sights in Istanbul, and things to do, and to avoid weekly closings.

Day 1: Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia & Hippodrome (Thursday or Friday)Morning flight to Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport (IST), and transfer to your hotel. Have lunch in a simple local restaurant, then take a walking tour of Sultanahmet, the heart of historic Byzantium and Constantinople Istanbul: the Hippodrome, Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia), the Blue Mosque and Yerebatan Saray (Sunken Palace Cistern). In the evening, relax over a candlelight dinner in a nice restaurant.

Day 2: Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, Istiklal (Friday or Saturday)Get to Topkapi Palace before its doors open and go straight to the Harem to assure your place in the guided tour. After the tour, explore the rest of the palace/museum, perhaps having an early lunch in the palace's Konyali Restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara. In the afternoon, walk or ride the tram along Divan Yolu to the Grand Bazaar for shopping, or take a taxi to the Kariye Muzesi (Church of the Holy Savior in Chora) to see its splendid Byzantine mosaics. In the evening, stroll along Istiklal Caddesi (La Grande Rue de Péra) in Beyoglu to find a cozy cafe, bar or taverna for a drink, then dinner.

Day 3: Bosphorus Cruise (Saturday or Sunday)Hop aboard a ferry for a cruise up the Bosphorus to Sariyer near the Black Sea. After a seafood lunch, ride south stopping at the Sadberk Hanim Museum, Rumeli Hisar castle, and/or Yildiz Palace and Park. Stop in trendy Ortakoy for seaside tea and snacks, then taxi to Taksim Square for some strolling and window-shopping in Nisantasi or along Istiklal Caddesi.

Day 4: Lots of Possibilities! (Sunday or Monday)If there's time before your board your homeward flight, visit the Archeological Museums, the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, or the Egyptian Market (closed Sunday, but there's a big flea market outside on that day); or search for art and antiques off Istiklal Caddesi; or have tea at the Ottoman-Victorian Pera Palas Oteli; or hop aboard a ferry for the one-hour intercontinental round-trip/return cruise from Eminonu across the Bosphorus to Üskudar, Kadikoy or Haydarpasa.