When is the best time to visit Istanbul? A month-by-month guide

Istanbul can be visited all year round, but the experience changes with the season. Spring and early autumn offer the best balance of mild weather and long days, summer brings heat, humidity and the biggest crowds, and winter is cool, grey and rainy but much quieter. This guide sets out the weather month by month using official data from the Turkish meteorological service, crowd levels, the religious holidays that change the opening hours of museums and bazaars, the major festivals and the accommodation tax. Information and prices checked in October 2026.

Istanbul's weather month by month

Istanbul has a transitional climate between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea: hot, humid summers, cool, wet winters and pleasant shoulder seasons. July and August are the hottest months, with average highs close to 30 °C and humidity that makes the heat feel heavy. December and January are the wettest, with close to 100 mm of rain and around fifteen rainy days a month. Snow falls in some winters, usually in January or February, and then disrupts transport.

The figures below are the 1950-2025 averages published for Istanbul by the General Directorate of Meteorology (MGM), the Turkish meteorological service. Sea temperature is the 1970-2025 average for the Sea of Marmara, published by the same service.

Month	Avg. high	Avg. low	Rain	Rainy days	Sea	Crowds
January	9.6 °C	4.2 °C	89 mm	16	9.3 °C	Low
February	10.2 °C	4.2 °C	71 mm	14	8.2 °C	Low
March	12.4 °C	5.5 °C	62 mm	13	8.7 °C	Low to moderate
April	17.4 °C	9.2 °C	48 mm	10	11.3 °C	High (tulips)
May	22.3 °C	13.6 °C	33 mm	8	15.4 °C	High
June	27.1 °C	18.0 °C	28 mm	5	20.2 °C	High
July	29.7 °C	20.5 °C	22 mm	3	23.4 °C	Very high
August	29.7 °C	20.8 °C	24 mm	4	24.2 °C	Very high
September	25.9 °C	17.6 °C	40 mm	6	22.3 °C	High
October	20.6 °C	13.7 °C	66 mm	9	18.8 °C	High
November	16.1 °C	9.9 °C	78 mm	11	15.2 °C	Moderate
December	11.8 °C	6.5 °C	99 mm	16	12.0 °C	Low, high at New Year

Crowd levels are a qualitative guide, based on figures from the provincial directorate of culture and tourism: in 2025, Istanbul welcomed about 1.2 million foreign visitors in February and in March, the two quietest months, against nearly 1.9 million in July and in October. Turkey stays on UTC+3 all year: in winter, night falls early, before 5pm in December. For grey days, keep our selection of things to do in Istanbul when it rains to hand.

Season by season: what changes on the ground

Spring (March to May): tulip season

Tulips and grape hyacinths in bloom in Gülhane Park

March is still cool and often rainy, but April and May are among the most beautiful months of the year: average highs of 17 to 22 °C, less rain and long days. In April, the city blooms for the tulip festival, with millions of bulbs planted in Gülhane Park, Emirgan Park and Sultanahmet Square. It is also the month of the Istanbul Film Festival. The downside: crowds rise sharply, and queues lengthen at Topkapı Palace and Hagia Sophia. Bring a jacket for the evenings, which are still cool by the water.

Summer (June to August): heat, the Bosphorus and festivals

Swimming beside the Bosphorus in summer

Summer is hot and humid, with average highs close to 30 °C in July and August and much higher peaks during heatwaves. This is the period of the biggest crowds and the highest hotel prices. Visit the Sultanahmet sights at opening time, keep the hottest hours for air-conditioned museums or a Bosphorus cruise, where the breeze cools you down, and go out in the evening. Istanbul residents escape the heat on the Princes' Islands and on the Black Sea beaches. On the cultural side, the İKSV foundation runs the Istanbul Music Festival in June (11 to 25 June in 2026) and the Jazz Festival between late June and mid-July.

Autumn (September to November): the best compromise

September keeps summer temperatures (an average high of nearly 26 °C) and a sea still at 22 °C, without the stickiness of August. October stays mild, around 20 °C, but the rain gradually returns. Crowds remain high until the end of October, then drop in November. The Istanbul Marathon, the only one in the world to link two continents by crossing the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, is run in early November: on Sunday 1 November 2026, see our Istanbul Marathon page. In 2027, the 19th Istanbul Biennial will run from 18 September to 14 November.

Winter (December to February): quiet, grey and cheaper

Stormy sky over Seraglio Point and the old city, seen from the Bosphorus

Istanbul's winter is cool (average highs around 10 °C), damp and often windy, with around fifteen rainy days a month in December and January. In return, queues are the shortest of the year and hotel prices drop, except over the end-of-year holidays. It is the ideal season for museums, hammams and cafés. Bring waterproof shoes: the steep cobbled streets of the old city become slippery in the rain.

Ramadan, religious holidays and public holidays

The Muslim religious calendar moves forward by about eleven days each year relative to the Gregorian calendar. According to the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), the 2027 dates are:

Ramadan: from Monday 8 February to Monday 8 March 2027. The city runs normally during the day; in the evening, the squares around the great mosques come alive at iftar, the meal that breaks the fast. Our Ramadan in Istanbul page explains the customs and gives tips for visitors.
Ramazan Bayramı (Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan): from Tuesday 9 to Thursday 11 March 2027.
Kurban Bayramı (Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice): from Sunday 16 to Wednesday 19 May 2027.

During these holidays, Ministry of Culture museums only open at 1pm on the first day, then keep their usual hours. The Grand Bazaar, already closed on Sundays, stays closed on the first day of each holiday. Many Turks go on holiday: transport and roads are busy, seaside resort hotels are full, and Istanbul's residential districts are quieter.

The national public holidays are 1 January, 23 April (National Sovereignty and Children's Day), 1 May, 19 May (Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day), 15 July (Democracy Day), 30 August (Victory Day) and 29 October (Republic Day).

Hotel prices and accommodation tax by season

Accommodation prices follow the crowds: they are highest from April to October, the period when the city receives the most visitors, and drop sharply from November to March, except over the end-of-year holidays. Book early for April and for the long weekends around the religious holidays. To choose your area, see where to stay in Istanbul.

Turkey charges an accommodation tax (konaklama vergisi), either included in the room rate or added to the bill:

Period	Accommodation tax rate
From 1 January 2023 to 30 April 2026	2% of the nightly rate
From 1 May to 31 December 2026	1% (presidential decree of 1 May 2026)
From 1 January 2027	2%, unless the reduction is extended again

Rates checked in October 2026. National museum prices, shown in euros for foreign visitors, are revised every year: the Ministry of Culture has already announced new prices for 2027. To estimate the cost of your whole stay, see our guide to the budget for a trip to Istanbul.

Our advice for your travel style

For the weather and long days: mid-April to early June, or mid-September to late October.
To avoid crowds and pay less: November, February and March, on weekdays, avoiding the religious holidays.
For the tulips: the second and third weeks of April.
For the sea and evenings outdoors: late June to early September, if you can accept the heat and the crowds.
For museums: winter, when queues are short at Topkapı Palace and the Archaeology Museums.