Day trip to İznik (Nicaea) from Istanbul: ceramics and the basilica

Updated on October 4, 2026

İznik, on the shore of the lake of the same name, was called Nicaea in Antiquity. It was here that the first ecumenical council met in 325, then the seventh in 787, and that the Nicene Creed was drawn up. The city later became a Seljuk and then an Ottoman capital, and in the 16th century grew famous for the tiles that adorn the mosques of Istanbul. It is surrounded by Roman and Byzantine walls that still stand. İznik is about 200 kilometres from Istanbul. By boat to Yalova and then a coach, it can be done in a day; it is also an easy stop between Istanbul and Bursa.

Highlights

The Hagia Sophia of İznik

This Byzantine church, rebuilt several times since Justinian's day, was the meeting place of the council of 787. Converted into a mosque in Ottoman times, it has kept traces of floor mosaics and frescoes. The town regards it as one of its major monuments.

The walls and their gates

The nearly five-kilometre circuit, built in Roman times and strengthened by the Byzantines, has several monumental gates: the Istanbul Gate, the Lefke Gate, the Yenişehir Gate and the Lake Gate. You can walk or cycle round them in an hour or two.

The Green Mosque

Completed in 1391, the Yeşil Cami is one of the first single-domed Ottoman mosques in Anatolia, with a minaret decorated with green, blue and yellow tiles, hence its name. It stands at the foot of the craftsmen's district.

The İznik Museum

Housed in the former soup kitchen (imaret) of Nilüfer Hatun, built in 1388, the museum gathers İznik ceramics and objects from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods. It is the best place to understand the history of the local tilework.

The ceramic workshops and the sunken basilica

Several workshops in the centre keep up the tradition of İznik tiles, with tulip, carnation and pomegranate-blossom motifs; you can watch the craftspeople paint. In the lake, a few dozen metres from the shore, the remains of a 4th-century basilica, discovered in 2014, can be made out from the bank in clear weather.

Infos pratiques

Tips

Admission fees, museum hours and boat and coach timetables vary by season: check them before leaving with the operators and on the spot. Mosques remain open to visitors outside prayer times; shoulders and knees covered, hair covered for women, shoes removed. Buy tiles from craftspeople's workshops rather than souvenir shops: İznik ceramics are recognised by their white quartz body, bright colours on a white ground and hand painting; printed copies are common. The main street in the centre is lined with small restaurants; try the lake fish and the regional specialities.

How to get there

Hagia Sophia, central İznik. From Istanbul the simplest option is the fast ferry to Yalova (departures from Yenikapı, with İDO), then a coach from Yalova to İznik, about an hour; direct coaches also link several Istanbul bus stations to İznik, with a longer journey. From Bursa, coaches make the trip in about an hour. More details in our guide to getting around Istanbul. To combine the two towns, see also our day trip to Bursa.