Istanbul Classics Tour

Enjoy a half-day tour of Istanbul and explore the Byzantine and Ottoman heart of the Old City. See Istanbul icons such as the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and Hippodrome, and Grand Bazaar

About this activity

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Duration 3.0 hour

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Live tour guide

English,German,Spanish

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Details on this Activity

Itinerary

Take a 3.5-hour tour of Istanbul’s "Sultan Ahmet Center," and discover the heart of the Old City, the seat of the former Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. During the guided tour, you will visit some of Istanbul’s major icons, including the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and the Hippodrome Hagia Sophia, one of the greatest marvels of architecture, constructed as a basilica in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian. Opposite the Hagia Sophia lies the Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultanahmet Mosque, famous for the stunning blue İznik tiles that furnish its interior. Its 6 minarets stand proudly over the horizon, and can be seen from all across the city. You will also visit the ancient Hippodrome, center of chariot races, athletic events, and political activities in ancient times. See the Serpentine Column, the Obelisk of Theodosius, and the German Fountain of Wilhelm II, among other superb monuments. Use your free time to head into the crowds at the Grand Covered Bazaar, Istanbul’s most attractive shopping center, and the largest souk in the world. Explore more than 4,000 shops selling everything from antiques, to jewelry, to gold, carpets, leatherware, and souvenir items. Try your hand at haggling and see if you can walk away with a bargain!

Highlights

Visit the monumental Hagia Sophia
See the splendid Blue Mosque, icon of Istanbul
Go to the Hippodrome and follow in the footsteps of chariot races and athletic events
Stroll through the lively Grand Covered Bazaar and pick up a souvenir bargain
Enjoy complimentary pick-up from all centrally located Istanbul hotels

Know before you go

• The Grand Covered Bazaar is closed on Sundays - on this day of the week it will be replaced with a visit to an authentic shop • On Friday mornings before 1:00 PM, the Blue Mosque is only visited from the outside because of the noon prayer • Please note that there may be long waiting times for entry to the Blue Mosque • Pick-up is only available for centrally located Istanbul hotels • Free shuttle pick-up is offered between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM (depending on the location of your hotel), and takes 45 to 60 minutes • Please note that on the afternoon tour you will visit other authentic shops instead of the Grand Bazaar • Hagia Sophia is closed on Mondays. On this day of the week, this part of the tour will be replaced by a visit to the Yerebatan Cistern. Hagia Sophia is not closed on Mondays on high season

Includes

Tour guide Air-conditioned transportation Pick-up service from centrally-located Istanbul hotels

Reviews from other travelers

Jana - Germany

3 /5

(Written on 2023-03-05)

We had a very dedicated tour guide in advance, but when I spend a long time looking for something in German and then only get English, it's not nice. It's also not nice when the Blue Mosque is adverti (Read More)sed and is not accessible at all. What we saw was good, but only 75% fulfilled. A pity

Ines - Argentina

5 /5

(Written on 2019-06-30)

Umut es uno de los mejores guías que he tenido el placer de conocer en esta guía y en mi crucero por el Bósforo. Una persona rica en cultura y simpatía con la cual es un placer recorrer la ciudad y em (Read More)paparse de ella.

GetYourGuide traveler - Germany

2 /5

(Written on 2023-05-29)

The tour started about 1 hour late. The tour, which was specially booked in German, was only carried out in English and Spanish. Apparently the guide had an accident, what a coincidence. I had this ha (Read More)ppen once on a tour when the guide was supposedly ill. If you believe it... the main thing is that the tour has been booked. In the Hagia Sophia we had to go to the end of the long queue, even though the description said that we would be guided past the queue and not have to wait. The tour should go to the big bazaar. About 500m before we were left standing on a street corner and told that we should walk straight ahead. Overall, we could have visited everything on our own with an Istanbul book. Then at least we could have learned something interesting from the book written in German and saved €100 for the two of us. But it didn't make any sense.

Thomas

4 /5

(Written on 2023-04-30)

The guide explained a lot to us about the religion and the way of life of the Turks. That was really good. Considering that you pay 50 per person to visit sights (Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia (Read More), Bazaar), which are freely accessible and therefore you don't get faster admission, the tour is really overpriced! If you can speak a little English, you will get the most important things. We cannot recommend the tour as such.

elsa

2 /5

(Written on 2019-09-23)

The guide did not speak Spanish well nor was he well prepared, we lost a lot of time in transfers and in the places of interest he explained the package very briefly and very expensive for what he tau (Read More)ght us

Rik

2 /5

(Written on 2019-02-24)

Quick and summary, not excellent guide. Monuments with few descriptions, laughable museum approach. Rather disappointed by the Blue Mosque. Aghiasophia deserves but poorly visited.

GetYourGuide traveler - Argentina

5 /5

(Written on 2023-07-05)

Our guide, Eray, was kind and friendly, answered our questions and guided us through what we needed. He clearly knows his stuff and likes what he does. The shop we went to, since the Grand Bazaar is c (Read More)losed on Sunday, had high quality and affordable products. It was not of interest to us given the little time we had left in Istanbul.

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