Old Istanbul Highlights: Top Sites Half-Day Tour

The best choice for any first timer, Top sites of Old Istanbul, is a half-day, small group tour. Discover what has made Istanbul such a majestic and historically significant city by hitting all of the hot spots and then some!

We will skip the ticket line at Cistern and Hagia Sophia

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Blue Mosque - Blue Mosque is closed for 3 months starting from 2nd January 2023 and will be replaced with Nuri Osmaniye Mosque or Suleymaniye Mosque.
  • Hagia Sophia Mosque - Hagia Sophia is one of the most impressive museums of Istanbul; built as a Christian church, then converted into a mosque, now serving as a museum.
  • Hippodrome - The…
What's Included
  • Professional guide
  • Tea or Turkish Coffee
What's Not Included
  • Entry fee to Basilica Cistern ( 900 TRY per person )
  • Entry Fee of Hagia Sophia is 25 Euros per person.
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Gratuities
Additional Information
  • Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays and will be replaced with Spice Bazaars
  • On Religious Fests Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar are closed and your guides can show alternative sites
  • Meeting Time for the small group tours are 10 am ( 2 pm on fridays ) and if you book private option, meeting time is up to you.
  • Tours Ends near Grand Bazaar
  • Comfortable…
Location
Pudding Shop Lale Restaurant
Divan Yolu Caddesi
The restaurant is located on the street where the tram lines run through Sultanahmet, approximately 1-minute walk from the Sultanahmet tram stop.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(252 Ratings)
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1 star
James_m
Nov 2, 2024
Best way to see the sites - So good. Friendly and knowledgeable guide Yasin new his stuff and made already impressive sites even more so. Highly recommend
Review provided by Viator
Andreaad1577zb
Oct 24, 2024
Great experience - The tour was a great experience, the tour guide Muhammed was very knowledgeable and passionate when explaining the history of each site we visited. Truly enjoyable and would recommend it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Liz_b
Oct 14, 2024
Great Guide!!! - Jason was an excellent guide. Very personable and engaged our entire group. We appreciated his vast knowledge on all of the sites we visited.
Review provided by Viator
Z8490hujamess
Oct 13, 2024
Great experience - The small tours are the way to go. Really maximizes your time. You get to see so much, Lots of information and skip the lines. Great experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
907mauricew
Oct 12, 2024
Insights to Istanbul - If you’re interested in going a bit off the beaten path, we highly recommend Muhammad. From amazing street food to meeting local craftsmen to “express” visits of the iconic sites of Istanbul, he answered all our questions about the Ottoman Empire and brought the history of this wonderful city to life. Thanks for the great tour brother!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fiona
Oct 11, 2024
Highlights of the Old City - Tour guide very knowledgeable. Visited the highlights in the Old City and avoided long queues at the Mosques and the Cistern. It would have been useful to know the additional charges and to bring a head scarf, our hats were not suitable to visit the Mosques.
Review provided by Viator
Alexandra_p
Oct 6, 2024
Great way to see the top sights - Many of the sights were really busy on the day of our tour and the guide was excellent at navigating our way into places without the queues. It would have taken so much longer to see all of these sights on our own so this trip is a great option if you are short on time in Istanbul.
Review provided by Viator
Marita_v
Oct 6, 2024
Exceptional - Exceptional experience! Our guide was very knowledgeable and very attentive. He shared great insights about history and modern life in Istanbul. He was patient and he made the experience both fun and educational. Thank you Onder for everything!
Review provided by Viator
Katie
Oct 4, 2024
Half day walking tour - Amazing tour. Guide was entertaining and absolutely great. Skip the line entrance was perfect. Flexible walking tour to maximise time not standing in line
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Peterhx3501pd
Sep 29, 2024
Great tour very glexible - Fantastic. I had got our booking date mixed up but they were so kind and worked around my schedule. Our guide was great, very knowledgeable, friendly and easy to understand and get along with. We had previously done a tour of the old parts of the city so he changed his plan on the fly to show us different parts and include some shopping that my wife was hoping to achieve. Regarding the tour itself, the experience was very much like a family member showing you around his home town which made it special. I would certainly recommend this tour company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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