Istanbul

Top Istanbul landmarks

Istanbul Highlights! Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and More!

Badge of ExcellenceIstanbul, Turkey

8 to 9 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Explore the highlights of Istanbul in a day with this small group tour. Delve right into the history and culture of the city with a guide. Start your tour with a visit to the old Hippodrome, then continue to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Museum and the Grand Bazaar amongst other places. Enjoy some delicious Turkish food during your included lunch.

Explore the Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Museum amongst other sites
See all the highlights of Istanbul in a day with a small group
Learn about the local history and culture with a guide
Taste some Turkish food with an included lunch

What's Included

Lunch
All Fees and Taxes
Guidance in English
Coffee and/or Tea
Bottled water
Postcards as gifts

Air-conditioned vehicle
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

German Fountain
Binbirdirek, At Meydanı Cd, 34122 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye
German Fauntain is just by Blue Mosque and 2 mınutes walk from Sultan Ahmet Tram Station

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

German Fountain

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Blue Mosque

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hagia Sophia Mosque

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Obelisk of Theodosius

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Serpent Column

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hippodrome

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Nakkas Oriental Rugs & Textiles

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Grand Bazaar

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Tamara Restaurant

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Topkapi Palace

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Hagia Irene Museum

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (Turk ve Islam Eserleri Muzesi) (Pass By)

Column of Constantine

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Nuruosmaniye Camii

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Jewelry Market

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Sogukcesme Sokak

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Divanyolu Street

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Topkapı Sarayı Harem Dairesi

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Infant seats available
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

351 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 351 reviews

Extremely interesting and varied day

Kathleen_L, Apr 2024

We found Oguzhan to be an outstanding tour guide. He was very considerate of each member of the group and was careful to match the information he gave us to the group's interest in history. His knowledge really is outstanding and the information was delivered in such a relatable and interesting way. The day was packed with a range of activities and visits to different places but somehow didn't feel rushed at all, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch. The tour was great value for money. All of us would thoroughly recommend it. Big thanks to Oguzhan for a great day.

Istanbul highlights tour

ernesha_P, Apr 2024

Loved this tour! Ozzy was wonderful! His knowledge was outstanding. He was courteous, kind and helpful. Enjoyed the tour and highly recommend.

Insightful

Moses_D, Apr 2024

The tour guide was very informative and knowledgeable. I like his explanations. It was very thoughtful and clear on every sight we stopped.

Istanbul classic walk

Florence_L, Apr 2024

Both the interiors and exterior looks of the Blue Mosque are fantastic. Mr Oguzhan is a great guide giving interesting details of all the place.

Our guide Ougzhan was...

Aishwarya_K, Apr 2024

Our guide Ougzhan was very knowledgeable. He gave quite detailed information about the historical places . He was very friendly and nice!

Very friendly and informational

Steven_M, Apr 2024

Oguzhan was our tour guide. We’ve never had such an informative guide before. We went to Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar amongst other places. He was very knowledgeable about the history of all of our stops. Also, he was very personable, friendly and communicative. Highly recommended as a guide.

Personalized, informative and perfect for a full day

Mahmooda_K, Apr 2024

Oguzhan was amazing!!! He personalized and tailored the tour for our small group. We did not feel rushed at all and it flowed so smoothly. He has such diverse background with regards to history and art. I would recommend a tour with him. The amount of information we got, the time and the personalized attention. The tour to take if you are short on time.

Best tour!

Kit_C, Apr 2024

Oguzhan was a great guide, very knowledgeable and friendly. The tour was very well organised, a small group of 4 became very flexible with a nice easy pace which everone enjoyed. Oh and the lunch was great too.

A wonderful experience!

rakesh_s, Apr 2024

It was very good. Our Tour guide Oguzhan was so knowledgeable and patiently tour us every where. I would definitely recommend him.

Be careful with purchases.

Noemis_E, Apr 2024

We toured with Ozzie (Oğuzhan Ceylan). Ozzie is very knowledgeable and gives an excellent tour and at the end of the tour you will know a lot of history of all the places they toured. I have to warn that although the guide Ozzie is very good at explaining the history, he is not so good at taking care of his clients from the gangsters in the Grand Bazaar and another Carpet store that he took us to (apparently he is connected to the owners of those stores to charge tourists 5 or 6 times above the normal price, he should warn tourists to be careful when buying in those places and he doesn't), I have no complaints about the tour but my day after The fact that we passed through The Grand Bazaar changed me (The tour guide did not warn us and took us to those places knowing what would happen to us).

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hello greetings from Istanbul Türkiye! Thank you for the heartwarming words about your impressions about the guidance of the day. It was a complete privilege and honour to meet you and be your guide for the tour. Grand bazaar is a complex with 4 thousand shops and yes unfortunately there are some unreliable businesses but in a day trip that we had covered so many other sites there is never a sufficient time to all over bazaar! We try to stay with highlights on tours and introduce, must to see and hidden gems but never bad companies. Because we don’t even know them no one will show licensed tour guides their real face. In that case we only stay with the ones we rely on our self like the shop that you have made a big shopping and when you want to return some products back they were so kind and helpful! I’m glad to hear such nice words about guidance service for the tour! I wish you a great journey back home and hope to meet again and explore more. Best regards.

Worth every penny for sure!

MAJA_S, Apr 2024

Our guide Ozi was absolutely fantastic! Knowledgeable, approachable and ready to help with anything. My husband, myself and our 10 year old daughter had a wonderful day on this tour and learned and saw so much about Istanbul. Don't hesitate and book this tour because it is worth every penny for sure!

Great Tour, but DO NOT BUY ANYTHING!

Rebecca_G, Apr 2024

We took a tour with Ozzie (Oğuzhan Ceylan). Ozzie is extremely knowledgeable and gives great tours. However, I wish he had done more to protect us from predatory sales people at Grand Bazaar and Nakkaş carpet store. It was nice he took us to these places but he should have warned us about how the prices in Nakkaş and Grand Bazaar are much, much higher than smaller stores in old city. Also the quality of the carpets at Nakkaş is not as high as they claim it to be (they will ask $1600 (US dollars) for a carpet worth $300), so DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING on this guided tour! The sales people will try hard to sell to you by showing you hospitality and talking, but prices are greatly inflated. Perhaps before you set out on the tour, decide as a group that you will not make purchases and this will move things along faster. We saw all the major highlights during this tour (Topkapi, Hagia, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Nakilbent Cistern, etc.), and Ozzie shared a lot of historical knowledge with us. I think Ozzie is an excellent tour guide, but should advise people against purchasing items during his tour of the Bazaar and Nakkaş. Many Turkish friends told me guides receive commission for bringing tourist to these shops. We all have seen this on tours before, but if you’re unfamiliar with pricing in Türkiye, you may think you’re getting a bargain, but definitely not the case. I recommend Ozzie as a tour guide for his knowledge, but I do not recommend purchasing anything at the stores he takes you to visit.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hello greetings from Istanbul Türkiye! Thank you for the heartwarming words about your impressions about the guidance of the day. It was a complete privilege and honour to meet you and be your guide for the tour. I understand your concern about the carpet you have bought for $1.400 which was an award winning design and mounts of labor. Please do not compare government subsidised companies with corner shops. Because on those places machine made carpets are sold for $300 dollars and claimed to be hand made! I’m clearly sure that you have send me a message and ask if it’s okey to return items back. Which was never a problem before and wasn’t an issue with your purchases either. (Tour guides do not get commission. Tips that are given by the guests only if they wish to are extra income and that’s it) I would have wished not to be misunderstood. Hence I’m glad to hear that you had a good day! Best regards.

Superb day with Ozzie

Karen_P, Apr 2024

Where to start?! Ozghan was a fantastic guide. Incredibly knowledgeable and humourous. He quickly made us feel like we were his friend. His knowledge of everything was outstanding: from knowing the best time to visit sites to avoid the crowds, to answering our questions. We highly recommend this tour and are sure you will not regret it! We are Ozzie’s number 1 fans!

Lived up to and surpassed the hype and recommendation.

Jacob_B, Apr 2024

This tour and Oguzhan came highly recommended from another couple I met the day previously and he did not disappoint. Smooth, polished and a wealth of information and history all with a delightful sense of humor and great patience. So much history to take in and he has a great style and way of breaking the various "layers" of the past down and incorporates visuals from a tablet to augment which was a welcomed touch. The hours flew by and a great and pleasurable day all by foot which I appreciated and would highly recommend both the tour and Oguzhan himself for anything about this fine city. Just strolling around the day after the tour, the city has a whole different feel and connectedness just from the time spent on this particular tour.

A perfect day

EmmaJane_A, Apr 2024

What an amazing day we have had - so relaxed, hugely knowledgeable guide and feels like we can appreciate this amazing city even more !

Top Notch Tour Guide!

Roberto_M, Mar 2024

Our knowledgeable tour guide Oguzham made this experience worth it, I recommend this tour without a doubt.

Magnificent tour guide provides copious insights into Istanbul's remarkable history

SHONAGH_A, Mar 2024

Our guide, Oguzhan, provided a non-stop fascinating commentary of each unique site we visited. The tour covered many of the "greatest hits" of Istanbul. Each site was vividly brought to life by Oguzhan's animated chronicling of the socio-political history behind what we could see giving us a dynamic x-ray view of the long invisible arc of Istanbul's history.

Excellent guide

Susanne_E, Mar 2024

Our guide, Oǧuzhan, was friendly, positive, with very good and clear English. He had a huge knowledge of history and it was a pleasure to be guided around the old city of Istanbul. He was open for challenging question, but it was hard to find any at the end. Again, thank for a wonderful day!

A great tutorial of Istanbul's history

Saurabh_D, Mar 2024

Our guide Oguzhan was fantastic and really knew his stuff. It was a miserable rainy day but he made it memorable. Wonderful lesson and the history and culture of Istanbul and Turkey. Highly Recommended!!

Great way to see highlights of Istanbul

Hannah_C, Mar 2024

So glad I booked this tour. Oguzhan was a great tour guide - really knowledgeable and professional. We got to see the Blue (Sultanahmet) Mosque, the old Hippodrome with the columns and German fountain, a cistern (not the Basilica cistern), a carpet workshop, the Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Irene and the Hagia Sofia (ticket price not included for Hagia Sofia). He shared a lot of interesting details at each place and plotted a route which ensured we weren’t at the places when they were most crowded (although it’s impossible to avoid crowds entirely in Istanbul). I would have preferred to spend less time in the Grand Bazaar and carpet workshop, but this also depends on whether other people on your tour want to shop at these places. The Grand Bazaar prices were ok, but do keep track of how much you’re buying as the cost can quite easily rack up to hundreds of $$$ if you’re not careful. Lunch was good too - allows you to try a couple of different kebab types and pide.

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