Istanbul Small-Group City and Secret Streets Tour with Guide
Free Cancellation
4.8 (205)
from
EUR 61.00

4 hours


E-voucher


English

Overview

See Istanbul’s most notable landmarks and secret backstreets on this small-group walking tour. Learn about the city’s Byzantine and Ottoman history from an English-speaking guide. Pass by Hagia Sophia, the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, and the Spice Bazaar. On this tour, learn about the attractions, but not venture inside. Discover where locals eat and drink.

Operated by

Tematique Tours

Ratings & Reviews

Average Rating

4.83

/ 5

215 traveller ratings

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City tour review

lynsarel, Apr 2025

The entire place felt serene, as if time slowed down just for me. It’s the kind of spot where you can wander for hours and still feel like you’ve discovered something new. The experience was even more great with the help of my tour guide named, Tolga.

Must do

Marc_S, Mar 2025

Zeynep (aka Dimple) was amazing!! Super friendly, personable and very knowledgeable. Wonderful perspective of the city and the rich history.. Would highly recommend.

It was a great and...

Asia_H, Mar 2025

It was a great and detailed tour. The tour guide knew the information well. I was really late to my tour and the tour guide waited. I really appreciated that.

This was a great tour...

Blake_S, Feb 2025

This was a great tour providing extensive information about the sites and history of Istanbul Turkey. I learned so much in a short period of time. Our guide Erol was very enthusiastic, passionate and personable. I highly recommend him and the tour!

Itinerary

  • Basilica Cistern

    This spacious Roman built cistern shows off impressive Roman engineering was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul has been backdrop for many movies over time. Its cavernous depths make a great retreat on hot summer days.

    10 minutes
  • Sogukcesme Sokak

    This is a small street with beautiful historic houses which are leaning against the wall of Topkapi Palace.

    10 minutes
  • Caferaga Medresesi

    The Caferağa Medresseh is a former medrese and now recognised as an important centre of Turkish classical arts where traditional Turkish handicrafts such as calligraphy, ceramics, jewelry and so forth are taught, made and sold.

    10 minutes
  • Ayasofya

    Began its life as a church in 532 AD, converted into a mosque after the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and now a museum since 1935. By general consensus, it is the most important Byzantine structure and one of the world’s great monuments built under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage site in Istanbul and famous for its lofty interior, stunning surviving mosaics and the massive dome...

    10 minutes
  • TopkapI Palace

    Imperial residence of Ottoman sultans is the subject of more colorful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful concubines and scheming eunuchs lived and worked here between the 15th and 19th centuries when it was the court of the Ottoman empire. About 24 sultans ruled from the Topkapı Palace for nearly four centuries during the Ottoman Empire's 600-year reign

    10 minutes
  • Sultanahmet District

    "Sultan Ahmet Center", the heart of the "Old City" from where the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires were ruled

    10 minutes
  • Walled Obelisk

    The Walled Obelisk or Masonry Obelisk (Turkish: Örme Dikilitaş) is a Roman monument in the form of an obelisk. It is situated at the southern end of the ancient chariot-racing track of Constantinople's central barrier, beside the Obelisk of Theodosius and the Serpentine Column.

    10 minutes
  • German Fountain

    Constructed as a present from German Emperor Wilhelm II in 1898, it represents one of the most beautiful monuments in Istanbul.

    10 minutes
  • Hippodrome

    The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social center of Constantinople. Today it is a square with a few fragments of the original structure surviving. Monuments decorating the Hippodrome include the 3500-year-old Egyptian Obelisk, Serpentine Column...

    10 minutes
  • Blue Mosque

    Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque by many tourists because of its bluish interior decoration( blue tiles surrounding the walls of interior design), is the most important mosque of Istanbul standing next to the Byzantine Hippodrome in the old city center..

    10 minutes
  • Serpent Column

    Also known as the Serpentine Column, Plataean Tripod or Delphi Tripod, is an ancient bronze column at the Hippodrome of Constantinople (known as Atmeydanı "Horse Square" in the Ottoman period). It is part of an ancient Greek sacrificial tripod, originally in Delphi and relocated to Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 324.

    10 minutes
  • Sultanahmet Square

    This beautiful square and a great place to make a stop, relax and take photos of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.

    10 minutes
  • Tahtakale District

    "Shop till you drop" in Tahtakale, a sub-district of Istanbul's Eminönü, where you can find anything and everything you are looking for, all for resonable prices.

    10 minutes
  • Misir Carsisi (Spice Market)

    No visit to Istanbul is complete without stopping by the atmospheric Spice Bazaar with roots dating back to 1660, this is one Istanbul's most famous bazaars. Vividly coloured spices are displayed alongside jewel-like lokum (Turkish delight) at this Ottoman-era marketplace, providing eye candy for the thousands of tourists and locals who make their way here every day. Stalls also sell caviar, dried herbs, honey, nuts and dried fruits.

    10 minutes
Meeting Point Map

Location

Address

Alemdar, Muhterem Efendi Sk. No:13 Zemin kat, 34122 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye

Open Google Map

Experience

Highlights

  • Spot Istanbul’s landmarks, including the Hagia Sophia and Grand Bazaar
  • Learn about the city’s history from your guide
  • Wander the city’s secret backstreets
  • Stop by Grand Bazaar and Spice Market
  • Inclusions

    • English Speaking Professional Guide
    • Small-group or private tour (depending on option chosen)

    Exclusions

    • Gratuities (Recommended)
    • Hotel pickup and drop-off

    Additional Information

    • Public transportation options are available nearby
    • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
    • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
    • There is a moderate amount of walking involved

    Guide Languages

    • English

    Cancellation Policy

    • A full refund will apply if you cancel more than 24 hours before the activity start time.

    • No refund is possible if you cancel less than 24 hours before the activity start time.

    from
    EUR 61.00