ONE DAY IN ISTANBUL

ISTANBUL IN ONE DAY

Istanbul's top sights are grouped right around the Hippodrome in Sultanahmet Square, so you can visit them all on your first (or only) day.

MORNING

Topkapi Palace

(9-5, closed Tuesday; stay 2-3 hr). Get there at 8:45 am and go straight to the Harem, which gets overcrowded.

Ayasofya-Hagia Sophia

(9-4, closed Monday; stay 1 hr). Right next to Topkapi. Don't miss the best mosaics, on the upper level.

LUNCH nearby on Divan Yolu: more information about the istanbul's restaurants click here

AFTERNOON

Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii)

(stay 1/2 hr). Just across the park from Ayasofya, on the Hippodrome. The mosque is closed to visitors for 25 minutes after each call to prayer, and for several hours midday on Friday.

Byzantine Hippodrome

(stay 1/2 hr). Enjoy the monuments in the park

Sunken Palace Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayi)

(9-5; stay 1/2 hr). At the NE end of the Hippodrome beneath the little park.

Grand Bazaar

(9-5, closed Sunday & holidays; stay 1-2 hrs, longer if you're really shopping). Walk uphill on Divan Yolu from the Hippodrome and see the sights along the way, or take the tram along it to Carsikapi (CHAR-shuh-kah-puh).

EVENING

A Turkish bath (1-3 hr) can be amazingly refreshing after a long day!

Istanbul has dozens of excellent restaurants for dinner. information about the istanbul restaurants