E-voucher
English
Free Cancellation
Overview
Explore the highlights and hidden gems of Istanbul's Old City on a full-day small-group walking tour. Begin with visits to the iconic Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and Hippodrome. Then, learn about Istanbul's fascinating past and present from your knowledgeable guide as you stroll through the neighborhood's charming streets and alleys. Finally, with the help of your guide, navigate the labyrinth of stores at the Grand Bazaar.
Operated by
Istanbul on Tour City Tours
Ratings & Reviews
Average Rating
4.6
/ 5
111 traveller ratings
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Great experience… highly recommend
fedramoreno, Jun 2025
We had such a great time discovering the wonders of Istanbul during our tour! Highly recommend. Our guide was very attentive and knowledgeable about the sights. Loved the Hagia Sophia
Avoid, buy a guide book and use Google maps for a better experience
2014Jay2014, May 2025
Ok, the tour guide was nice and a lovely man so it's difficult to give a terrible review. However, as I value honest reviews from others, I will try and be balanced. The tour did not last all day. Actual tour lasted about 4 hours. Started late as it was a group of 13 with some late as joining instructions was changed last minute and there was a general sense of chaos to start. Tour started at 10 and at 11 we were told that we would have lunch earlier to then be out when queues were shorter. So lunch at 11am! We hadn't booked lunch but sat with others. Food looked decidedly average, but it usually is on these tours. We had some very overpriced drinks. Then tour resumed slowly. Another couple of stops and the tour ended. So essentially the guide was a bit like Google maps on legs Took us to some spots, gave a bit of Information and that was it. My advice is buy a guide book, use Google maps and do it yourself. You will regret paying for this tour. We did. Will have definitely preferred doing this at our own pace. Also prices for visiting the Palace, museums etc are much more than on this and other websites so outdated. Budget for about 40% more cost Read more about - Private Half-Day Guided Walking Tour in Marrakech - https://www.viator.com/tours/Marrakech/Marrakech-4-hour-tour-Discover-the-city-on-foot-with-a-guide/d5408-367690P4?mcid=56757
Great Guide but Organisation was Lacking
Liliana C, May 2025
Fatih was great guide, informative and friendly. We went to the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, had lunch and then went to the Topkapi Palace. For me the highlight was the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace but we had very little time ie maybe 1 hour at the palace due to too long spent at lunch (slow to bring the meal) I would have preferred to have gotten a takeaway wrap so that I could really see the Palace as the entrance fee is very high ($88aud). On exiting we were given the option to go to the Grand Bazaar or Hagia sophia or Basilica Cistern however all of these were meant to be included and I would have stayed on at the palace if the choices were given prior to leaving the palace grounds. I continued on by myself to the other sites as it was my only opportunity to go. I enjoyed the Basilica cistern but feel the Hagia Sophia while wonderful nit as amazing as the Blue Mosque. Also beware the ticket salesman pressed me to also buy a ticket for the Hagia Sophia museum. It was good but really I was too tired to enjoy it and felt a bit conned.
Worst Walking Tour we’ve ever done
ERH58Yorkshire, May 2025
We booked this trip via Trip Advisor a week before our trip to Istanbul. The full day walking tour was to include Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern. The info said admission prices were not included but indicated that admission fee to Topkapi Palace was 750 TL and Basilica Cistern was 450 TL. We arrived at the Ayasofya and met our guide. We queued (long queues) to pay and then queued again to enter the mosque. The tour guide was very informative and we went to the Blue Mosque after which was free to enter, then onto the Hippodrome, (also free) and from there the guide took us to a designated restaurant for lunch. After an hour we walked with our guide to Topkapi Palace where we discovered that the entrance fee was not 750 TL but 2000 TL (approx £50 pp). We therefore chose to opt out of this visit due to the fact that the admission fee was not only unexpected but extortionate! The guide advised that the tour of the palace would be 2 hours at least and afterwards he would be taking the rest of the group ( who had already paid admission fees included in their tour) to the Grand Bazaar and could arrange to meet us there. No mention of the Basilica Cistern. We went to the Grand Bazaar under our own steam and did not reconnect with our tour guide again. We paid £31.50 per person for the tour and were very disappointed with its quality and itinerary info. The guide was very good but the rest of the tour was not!!!!
Itinerary
Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque
Officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and formerly the Church of Hagia Sophia, is a Late Antique place of worship in Istanbul. Built in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) and the Eastern Orthodox Church, except during the Latin Empire from 1204 to 1261, when it became the city's Roman Catholic cathedral. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935 the secular Turkish Republic established it as a museum. In 2020, it re-opened as a mosque
1 hourBlue Mosque
Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, is an Ottoman-era mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A functioning mosque, it also attracts large numbers of tourist visitors. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed's tomb, a madrasah and a hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six minarets, and eight secondary domes. It sits next to the Hagia Sophia, the principal mosque of Istanbul until the Blue Mosque's construction and another popular tourist site.
45 minutesHippodrome
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social center of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultan Ahmet Square) in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with a few fragments of the original structure surviving.
Horse racing and chariot racing were popular pastimes in the ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras.
45 minutesTopkapI Palace
The Topkapı Palace is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans.
1 hourBasilica Cistern
On tuesdays only, as Topkapi Palace museum is closed on tuesdays and we will visit Underground cistern instead of Topkapi Palace on tuesdays.
The Basilica Cistern, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The cistern, located 150 metres
45 minutesHagia Irene Museum
One of the oldest structures inside the Topkapı Palace, dating back to Byzantine Empire era of the Istanbul/Constantinopolis.
20 minutes
Experience
Highlights
Inclusions
- English Speaking Guiding
Exclusions
- Lunch
- Entrance Fees of Topkapi Palace Museum - (750 Turkish Liras)
- Entrance Fee of Basilica Cistern - 450 Turkish Lira
Additional Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays and exchanged with Underground cistern visit on Tuesdays
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.