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Offered languages
- German
- English
- Italian
- French
- Spanish
Istanbul's old city on your own schedule, without a group or a guide to keep up with.
A self-guided audio tour from Hagia Sophia to the Grand Bazaar through the heart of Sultanahmet. 14 stops, about 4 km, roughly 1 hour 35 minutes at an easy pace.
You pass Hagia Sophia, Hagia Irene, the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and its Serpent Column, the Byzantine Great Palace, Nuruosmaniye Mosque and the gates of the Grand Bazaar.
Buy once and the tour is yours for good. Audio plays by itself as you reach each stop, using GPS. Download before you set off and it works offline, with no roaming charges. In English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.
No fixed start time, no guide to find. An outdoor walking tour that does not go inside the attractions, so there are no admission fees.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (public domain) and Unsplash.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Meet outside the main entrance of Hagia Sophia, on Ayasofya Square in Sultanahmet. Nearest rail station: Sirkeci (Marmaray).
The tour finishes at the Nuruosmaniye gate of the Grand Bazaar, so you can carry straight on into the bazaar.
Itinerary
-
1Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque
Start at Hagia Sophia, the great domed building that began as a cathedral, became a mosque, then a museum, and became a mosque again in 2020. Hear how every power that ruled this city made it speak for them.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
2Hagia Irene Museum
The red-brick church of Hagia Irene, whose name means Holy Peace. It sits just beyond Hagia Sophia and keeps an older layer of Byzantine Constantinople that most visitors walk straight past.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
3Basilica Cistern
Above the Basilica Cistern, the vast underground reservoir that could hold 80,000 cubic metres of water for Constantinople. Hear how the city prepared for siege beneath its own streets.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
4Blue Mosque
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque, built between 1609 and 1617 by the young Sultan Ahmed I as his answer to Hagia Sophia across the square.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
5Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque
A quiet masterpiece by the imperial architect Sinan, built in the early 1570s for the grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
6
A compact domed mosque from the 1490s on Divan Yolu, the ceremonial avenue that has organised Istanbul's public life for centuries.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
7Nuruosmaniye Camii
Nuruosmaniye Mosque, finished in the 1750s, whose curving Baroque-inspired lines show Ottoman architecture learning a new language from Europe.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
8Grand Bazaar
The tour ends at the gates of the Grand Bazaar, a covered quarter of 61 streets and more than 4,000 shops.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
Additional info
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- 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.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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