Before you go: closing days and mosque rules
Three weekly closures set the order of the days:
- Topkapı Palace: closed on Tuesdays. Day 1 should therefore not fall on a Tuesday.
- Grand Bazaar: closed on Sundays, and on the first day of religious holidays. Day 2 should not fall on a Sunday.
- Dolmabahçe Palace: closed on Mondays. Day 3 should not fall on a Monday.
The simplest option is to start on a Sunday or a Monday: the three days then avoid every closure as well as Friday. If you start on a Wednesday or a Thursday, one day will fall on a Friday: visit that day's mosques in the morning or after mid-afternoon, because the main Friday midday prayer closes them to visitors for longer than on other days.
The mosques (Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Süleymaniye, Rüstem Pasha, Ortaköy) remain places of worship and are free, except for the upper gallery of Hagia Sophia. They close to visitors during each of the five daily prayers, whose times change every day with the sun: allow for a break of about an hour around the call to prayer. The dress code is the same everywhere: shoulders and knees covered, hair covered for women, shoes removed at the entrance. The large mosques lend headscarves and long skirts at the entrance.
Day 1: the old city of Sultanahmet
If you only have one day in the city, our itinerary what to do in Istanbul in one day condenses this first day; here, you take your time at each site.
9am-12pm, Topkapı Palace. Arrive when the ticket offices open at 9am: the courtyards are still quiet and the queue for the Harem is short. The combined ticket for foreign visitors costs 2,750 TL and covers the palace, the Harem and the church of Hagia Irene; ticket offices close at 5pm. Allow three hours for the courtyards, the Treasury, the relics and the Harem. Route and tips in our Topkapı Palace page.
12-1pm, Gülhane Park. Leaving through the first courtyard, walk down into Gülhane Park, the former palace garden, free to enter, for a break in the shade of the plane trees. Then have lunch near Sultanahmet, a 10-minute walk away.
1:30-3pm, Hagia Sophia. Foreign visitors use a separate, paying entrance that leads to the upper gallery and its Byzantine mosaics; the ground floor is reserved for prayer. Tickets, hours and route are detailed in our Hagia Sophia page.
3:15-4pm, the Blue Mosque. It faces Hagia Sophia across the garden. Entry is free; if the afternoon prayer falls at that time, use the wait to see the Hippodrome and come back afterwards. Everything you need to know in our Blue Mosque page.
4-4:45pm, the Hippodrome. Right next door, Sultanahmet Square follows the outline of the Hippodrome of Constantinople: the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpent Column and the German Fountain can be seen for free in twenty minutes.
5-6pm, the Basilica Cistern. A 5-minute walk away, the Byzantine cistern and its Medusa heads end the day somewhere cool. Allow 45 minutes; tickets and evening sessions in our Basilica Cistern page.
Day 2: the bazaars, Süleymaniye and Galata
Our itinerary Istanbul in 2 days already covers the first two days in a tighter version; this day 2 spends more time in the bazaars and in Beyoğlu.
9-11am, the Grand Bazaar. The T1 tram stops at Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı, two minutes from the main gate. In the morning the alleys are quieter and the traders more willing to bargain. Map and haggling tips in our Grand Bazaar page.
11:15am-12:15pm, the Süleymaniye Mosque. Leave by the university side and walk uphill for about ten minutes. Sinan's great work is free to enter; arrive before the midday prayer, then walk around the terrace for the view over the Golden Horn. See our Süleymaniye Mosque page.
12:30-2pm, Rüstem Pasha and the Spice Bazaar. Walk down to Eminönü through the shopping streets of Tahtakale (15 minutes). The small Rüstem Pasha Mosque, built above the shops, is covered in Iznik tiles. Right next to it, the Spice Bazaar sells spices, Turkish delight and dried fruit; have lunch in the area.
2:30-4:30pm, the Galata Bridge and the tower. Cross the Golden Horn on foot over the Galata Bridge (15 minutes), then climb up to the Galata Tower through the lanes of Karaköy. The tower is open every day from 8:30am to 10pm (last entry), at €30 for foreign visitors. If the queue is long, come back at sunset.
End of the day, İstiklal Avenue. From the tower, Tünel Square and the start of İstiklal Avenue are 5 minutes away. Stroll the 1.4 km pedestrian street up to Taksim Square past covered arcades, churches and bookshops, then have dinner in Beyoğlu.
Day 3: the Bosphorus and the Asian side
9-11:30am, Dolmabahçe Palace. From Sultanahmet, the T1 tram takes about 20 minutes to its Kabataş terminus, a 5-minute walk from the palace. Ticket offices are open from 9am to 5pm, except on Mondays. The single ticket for foreign visitors costs 2,000 TL and covers the Selamlık, the Harem and the Painting Museum. Details in our Dolmabahçe Palace page.
12-2pm, Ortaköy. Follow the shore through Beşiktaş to Ortaköy: about 40 minutes on foot, or a quarter of an hour by bus or taxi. The Ortaköy Mosque, set on the water beneath the first Bosphorus bridge, can be visited for free outside prayer times. Have lunch on the square, known for its kumpir (stuffed baked potatoes).
2:30-4pm, Rumeli Hisarı fortress. Buses running north along the shore get there in 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. Built in 1452 before the conquest of Constantinople, Rumeli Hisarı fortress is closed for restoration, with no reopening date announced as of 1 October 2026: its towers and sloping ramparts can be seen from outside, from the seafront promenade, over a tea in one of the waterside cafés.
Cruise option. If you would rather see the Bosphorus from the water, replace Ortaköy and Rumeli Hisarı with the short cruise run by the municipal company Şehir Hatları, which leaves Eminönü in the early afternoon for about two hours. Public ferry or private boat: comparison in our Bosphorus cruise page.
5pm-sunset, Üsküdar and the Maiden's Tower. Take a bus back to Beşiktaş, then the ferry to Üsküdar, on the Asian side (a crossing of about fifteen minutes). Walk south along the Üsküdar waterfront to Salacak, opposite the Maiden's Tower: at sunset, the skyline of the old city stands out across the water.
Evening, Kadıköy. Kadıköy is about 20 minutes from Üsküdar by bus or taxi. Have dinner in the market streets or in Moda, described in our guide to Kadıköy and the Asian side, then return by ferry to Karaköy or Eminönü: a crossing of around twenty minutes, with the old city lit up.
Itinerary summary
| Day | Stops | Day to avoid | Main journeys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Topkapı, Gülhane, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Basilica Cistern | Tuesday (Topkapı closed), Friday midday (mosques) | On foot, under 10 minutes between stops |
| 2 | Grand Bazaar, Süleymaniye, Rüstem Pasha, Spice Bazaar, Galata, İstiklal | Sunday (Grand Bazaar closed) | T1 tram to Beyazıt, then on foot, Galata Bridge |
| 3 | Dolmabahçe, Ortaköy, Rumeli Hisarı, Üsküdar, Kadıköy | Monday (Dolmabahçe closed) | T1 tram to Kabataş, coastal bus, Beşiktaş-Üsküdar ferry |
A few admission prices
| Site | Price for foreign visitors |
|---|---|
| Topkapı Palace (palace, Harem and Hagia Irene) | 2,750 TL |
| Dolmabahçe Palace (Selamlık, Harem, Painting Museum) | 2,000 TL |
| Galata Tower | €30 |
| Blue Mosque, Süleymaniye, Rüstem Pasha, Ortaköy | Free |
Prices observed in October 2026. Prices in Turkish lira change often with inflation: allow some margin and check our pages for Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern.
To get around, a rechargeable Istanbulkart card works on the city's trams, metro, buses and ferries; how it works and fares in our guide to transport in Istanbul.
Further reading
To stay close to the stops on this itinerary, read our guide on where to stay in Istanbul: Sultanahmet for days 1 and 2, Karaköy or Beyoğlu for easy access to the Bosphorus. If you stay one more day, our Princes' Islands page describes the most popular ferry trip from Istanbul, and our guide what to do in Istanbul when it rains offers fallback options for a day of bad weather.
