3 days in Istanbul: an itinerary round the closed days, with a third day on the Asian side, the Princes' Islands or Fener and Balat

💡 The Short Version: Day 1, Sultanahmet: the Hagia Sophia gallery (€25), the Blue Mosque (free, from 14:30 on Fridays), the Basilica Cistern and Topkapı Palace (₺2,750, closed Tuesdays). Day 2: Dolmabahçe Palace (₺2,000, closed Mondays), a Bosphorus cruise from €7.90, the Spice Bazaar, the Galata Tower and İstiklal Caddesi. Day 3, one of three: Kadıköy on the Asian side by ferry, the Princes’ Islands, or Fener and Balat with a guide. The €105 Museum Pass leaves out Hagia Sophia, the Cistern and Dolmabahçe, so it does not pay. Or book a tour: the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern small-group tourad is from €49 for 3 hours.

Before you go: what to book

Fitting the plan to your dates

• Monday: Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul Modern, the Pera Museum, Rumeli Fortress and the Galata Mevlevi Lodge are closed. Make it the Sultanahmet day.
• Tuesday: Topkapı Palace is closed. Make it the Dolmabahçe day.
• Wednesday: Yıldız Palace is closed. Topkapı and Dolmabahçe are both open.
• Friday: the Blue Mosque opens to visitors from 14:30, the Hagia Sophia gallery pauses around midday and Chora is open for worship only. The Pera Museum is free from 18:00 to 22:00, so it is a good evening.
• Sunday: the Grand Bazaar is closed.
• Bayram days: on 9 March and 16 May 2027 Dolmabahçe Palace, the Pera Museum and Istanbul Modern are closed: see Ramadan in Istanbul 2027. They also close on 1 January.
• 1 January 2027: Topkapı joins the National Palaces’ ticket system.

Day 1: Sultanahmet

The sights are a few minutes apart, and the T1 tram stops at Sultanahmet: see the Sultanahmet walk for the stops in order.

Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia gallery €25 · the Blue Mosque free

Hagia Sophia first, for the gallery route; the ground floor is for worship, the visit area asks for silence and allows no guide narration, and there is scaffolding in the dome. The Blue Mosque is a working mosque and closes to visitors from 30 minutes before the midday and afternoon prayers until 15 minutes after, and on Fridays until 14:30. Dress as for a place of worship, and see Hagia Sophia tickets, visiting the Blue Mosque and what to wear in Istanbul’s mosques.

The Basilica Cistern and Topkapı Palace

Cistern online or at the gate · Topkapı ₺2,750 · closed Tuesdays

The Cistern is an underground Byzantine reservoir a block from Hagia Sophia, down 50 steps. Topkapı Palace, beside Gülhane Park, takes the afternoon, and the Harem needs its own ticket if you do not buy the combined one. See Basilica Cistern tickets and Topkapı Palace tickets.

Evening, a ceremony or a bath

Hodjapasha at 19:00 · from €28.56

The whirling dervish ceremony is near Hagia Sophia: see whirling dervishes in Istanbul. For a bath, see hammams in Istanbul; the Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamamı starts at €110.

Day 2: the Bosphorus, Galata and Beyoğlu

Dolmabahçe Palace

₺2,000 · e-ticket valid 90 days · closed Mondays

Take the T1 tram to Kabataş, the end of the line, and walk along the shore road. The ticket covers the Selamlık, the Harem and the Painting Museum. See Dolmabahçe Palace tickets.

The facade of Dolmabahçe Palace. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

A Bosphorus cruise and the Spice Bazaar

From €7.90 · boards at Eminönü, Kabataş and Karaköy

Boats pass the palaces and the waterfront mansions of the strait: see the Bosphorus cruise guide. The Spice Bazaar is beside the ferry piers at Eminönü. The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays: see the Grand Bazaar.

The Süleymaniye Mosque above the Golden Horn waterfront. Photo: Ray Swi-hymn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Galata Tower and İstiklal Caddesi

Galata Tower 08:30 to 18:30

Cross the Galata Bridge to Karaköy and climb to the Galata Tower; the free views are in the best views in Istanbul. From the Tünel funicular, İstiklal Caddesi runs up to Taksim Square, with the Pera Museum on Meşrutiyet Caddesi and Istanbul Modern at Tophane. See Galata Tower tickets and Istanbul’s museums.

Evening, Karaköy or a meyhane

Karaköy has the Michelin one-star Neolokal and the Bib Gourmand Karaköy Lokantası, and Nevizade Sokağı in Beyoğlu is the street of meyhanes: see where to eat in Istanbul. Use a registered taxi after dark and decline invitations from strangers to a bar: see Istanbul scams.

Day 3: choose one

Kadıköy and the Asian side

Ferry from Karaköy or Eminönü · 65.21 TL a boarding

Cross the Bosphorus on a Şehir Hatları ferry; no cash is taken on board, so use an Istanbulkart, a contactless card or a ticket. Kadıköy has the fish market, and Çiya, the restaurant named by the most lists, is in the same fish-market district: see where to eat in Istanbul. The ferry food tours go this way: the Guided Food Tour with 20+ Tastings on 2 Continentsad is from €120.50, and the Europe to Asia Food Tourad is a guided walk at €33.92 with food bought as you go. See Istanbul food tours.

The lighthouse off Kadıköy, on the Asian side. Photo: Jorge Franganillo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

The Princes’ Islands

Şehir Hatları boat from Kabataş · 151.23 TL a boarding for a visitor

The main boats serve Kınalıada, Burgazada, Heybeliada and Büyükada. On a weekday the 08:00 boat from Kabataş reaches Büyükada at 09:45, and the island minibuses charge a visitor 158.35 TL a ride. The Full-Day Princes Island Tour with Lunchad is from €14.25 for 7 hours. See the Princes’ Islands day trip.

The square by the ferry landing on Büyükada. Photo: Jorge Franganillo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Fener and Balat

Guided half-day · from €16.85

The old neighbourhoods on the Golden Horn, with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and a Bulgarian church, where the dress code for churches applies. The Fener Balat Half-day Guided Walking Tourad is from €16.85 for 3 hours, and the walking tours are compared in Istanbul walking tours. The Süleymaniye Mosque, free to enter, is a 15-minute walk uphill from the Spice Bazaar.

Further out

Bursa, Edirne, Gallipoli and the rest need a full day or more: see day trips from Istanbul. Cappadocia and Ephesus need a flight.

Where to sleep and what next

Where to stay in Istanbul compares the areas, and hotels near the Blue Mosque lists the hotels within 650 m of the mosque. The best time to visit Istanbul gives the weather by month, and Ramadan in Istanbul 2027 the dates that change opening hours. For the way in, see Istanbul airport to the city and Istanbul public transport. Is Istanbul safe? covers the governments’ advice, and free things to do in Istanbul the free sights. Istanbul in one or two days is the shorter plan, and the full list of bookings is in what to book before you go to Istanbul.