Up to the Sky

Travel adventures. The places I have been and things others should do.

10 Must do things in Istanbul!

Istanbul Adventures

I went to Turkey for a total 9 days. The main reason that I went to Turkey was because my boyfriend is from Izmir, Turkey. The first two days of our adventure started in Istanbul. Everything that I recommend is what we did while in Istanbul. You can do Istanbul in two days, you will be tired but it is possible!

Things to do:

  • Day one:
    • Topkapi Palace: Palace of the Sultans from the Ottoman Empire; with many things to see, places to explore and plenty of spots for great pictures.
    • The Blue Mosque: was undergoing renovations during my trip and we were unable to go inside but it is still amazing from the outside and a must see.
    • Hagia Sophia: One of the Ancient Wonders of the World; located right across the walkway from the Blue Mosque. TIP: The line to enter is very long you can pay a guide (there is plenty roaming around the area) that will help you skip the line and give you a tour of the Mosque. If you are a female, you will have to cover your hair to enter.
    • Basilica Cistern: One of my favorite places we explored located right next to Hagia Sophia. It is an underground cistern built during the Byzantium Empire by Emperor Justinian for use as a water source for royalty. Like the Hogia Sophia you can get a guide to help you skip the line and give you a tour of the building. (We scheduled a tour online through an online American company but could not find the guide so we just found a guide that was in front of the building). If you do not get a guide it cost about $17 dollars or 300 lira.
    • Grand Bazaar: Walking distance from the the Basilica Cistern, with endless shops to explore and bargain for products.
    • Turkish Football (soccer) game: Incredible atmosphere. Turkish fans are very passionate about their teams. It is a huge process to get tickets. Check How to get into a Turkish Soccer Game to learn the process.
  • Day Two:
    • Bosphorus Tour: The Bosphorus is a waterway that separates the European and Asian sides of Turkey. There is multiple different boat tours that will take you to explore. The one I took showed me multiple different castles that lines the waterway, went down to the Black Sea and lasted for about three hours.
    • Galata Tower: A beautiful 360 view of Istanbul, with plenty of restaurants and cafes nearby. There was a long line so be prepared.
Hagia Sophia
Basilica Cistern
Topkapi Palace
Soccer game
Topkapi Palace
Bosphorus Tour
Galata Tower
Grand Bazaar

Place to stay:

Hotel Amira: 10/10 recommendation for this hotel. The service was amazing, they gave us an itinerary of what we should do the whole time we were there with a map. The breakfast spread was very impressive. The location of this hotel is perfect! It is walking distance to everything I listed above besides the soccer game (depending on the stadium).

Price: about $180 per night

Look at there website

Where to eat?

  • Garden 1897: the food is very good and the staff was so nice they gave us free baklava. The restaurant has and in door and out door seating section. The restaurant has great vibes.
  • Konyali: we just had their dessert which were amazing. Its right beside Topkapi Palace, great place to relax after walking around the palace.
  • The Nespresso cafe: right beside the Galata Tower. One of my favorite desserts I had the whole trip was there.

Extras in Istanbul:

Roof Top Photos

There are multiple areas and people that are offering to take your picture. The pictures that you see online you can have done in Istanbul.

To get one of these photos taken I walked down one of the streets right beside Galata Tower and found a man holding an iPad showing these type of pictures and others going across the screen. We talked to him and he lead me to the roof where they take your pictures and video.

It cost $30 for the photos and about $30 to rent the dress. They take all the pictures on your phone. You can have them use real camera but it is more.

Roof top photographers
  • The Istanbul card was like a metro card you can put money on to help you get on the ferries which we use to get to the soccer game. If using the ferry make sure to check the time of last returning fare. We had to take a taxi back after the game since we missed the last ferry.
  • Remember there are two different airports in Istanbul so when booking flights just make sure you are at the correct one.