İstanbul: Full Day Guided Old City Tour

Istanbul Old City Tour with Art Historian Tour Guide Experience Istanbul's timeless sights on a full-day tour of the city's stunning historic places. Listen for the ancient echoes of pounding hooves and charioteers at Hippodrome Square and spot the distinctive tiles of the Blue Mosque. See the Byzantine mosaics and minarets of Hagia Sophia, then follow in the footsteps of powerful sultans, courtiers, and generals at Topkapi Palace. Continue your tour in the vibrant Grand Bazaar, browsing bright displays of handicrafts, carpets, and souvenirs. We will visit Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia Museum, Blue Mosque, Grand Covered Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Sultan Tombs. End of the tour we will drop you off at your hotel. Let's start to explore Istanbul. The first visit is to Ancient Hippodrome. It was the center of sports activities in Constantinople. Blue Mosque, as known as the Sultanahmet Mosque, is a breath-taking building is one of the most majestic Ottoman mosques in all of Turkey.

1. 1

   Hippodrome

   30 min

   The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with a few fragments of the original structure surviving.

2. 2

   German Fountain

   10 min

   The German Fountain is a gazebo styled fountain in the northern end of old hippodrome, Istanbul, Turkey and across from the Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed I. It was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of German Emperor Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898.

3. 3

   Obelisk of Theodosius

   10 min

   The Obelisk of Theodosius is the Ancient Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III re-erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century AD.

4. 4

   Serpent Column

   10 min

   The Serpent Column, also known as the Serpentine Column, Plataean Tripod or Delphi Tripod, is an ancient bronze column at the Hippodrome of Constantinople in what is now Istanbul, Turkey

5. 5

   Column of Constantine

   10 min

   The Column of Constantine, also known as the Burnt Stone or the Burnt Pillar, is a Roman monumental column constructed on the orders of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great in 330 AD. It commemorates the declaration of Byzantium as the new capital city of the Roman Empire.

6. 6

   Blue Mosque

   45 min

   Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a historic mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. It remains a functioning mosque, while also attracting 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.

7. 7

   Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

   1 hour

   Hagia Sophia is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Built in AD 537 in the Middle Ages, it is famous for its massive dome. It was the world's largest building and an engineering marvel of its time.

8. 8

   TopkapI Palace

   3 hours

   The Topkapı Palace, or the Seraglio, 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.

9. 9

   Grand Bazaar

   1.5 hours

   The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m², attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily.

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.