Three days is enough to see the essentials of Istanbul and to get a feel for a city that spreads across two continents. This plan keeps walking between sights short, uses trams and ferries rather than taxis, and works around the weekly closing days, which catch many first-time visitors out. Before you go, note that Topkapı Palace is closed on Tuesdays, Dolmabahçe Palace on Mondays and the Grand Bazaar on Sundays, and that the Blue Mosque does not admit visitors until 2.30pm on Fridays.
Before you start
Buy an Istanbulkart, the city’s travel card, from a machine at a metro station or ferry pier. A single ride on trams, metros, buses and funiculars costs 46.20 TL under the city’s July 2026 tariff, with cheaper fares when you change within two hours, and the card also works on commuter ferries. Carry some lira for small purchases. Dress for mosque visits every day: shoulders and knees covered, and a scarf for women.
Day 1: Sultanahmet
Start early at the Blue Mosque, which opens to visitors at 8.30am and is free. From October to March it closes to visitors at 5pm, and it shuts for the noon and afternoon prayers, so mornings work best. Cross the garden square to Hagia Sophia. Visitors pay €25 for the route through the upper galleries, where the Byzantine mosaics are, and the entrance is opposite the Sultan Ahmed III Fountain rather than on the main square. On Fridays the visitor area closes from noon to 2pm.
After lunch, walk the Hippodrome to see the Egyptian obelisk and the Serpent Column, then visit the Basilica Cistern, Justinian’s columned reservoir. Its operator changed in 2026 and hours were announced as 9am to 6pm from 15 November, but check that it is open on the day and confirm the price at the entrance. End the day with the Arasta Bazaar behind the Blue Mosque, or a sunset drink on one of the rooftop terraces nearby.
Day 2: Topkapı, the bazaars and the Golden Horn
Be at Topkapı Palace when the ticket offices open at 9am. The combined ticket for the palace, the Harem and Hagia Irene costs 2,750 TL for foreign visitors, and it is worth heading straight to the Harem before the tour groups. Allow three hours, then walk down through the palace grounds to the Istanbul Archaeological Museums (€15) if you have the energy, or take the T1 tram to Beyazıt for the Grand Bazaar, which opens Monday to Saturday from about 8.30am to 7pm.
From the bazaar, climb to the Süleymaniye Mosque, Mimar Sinan’s masterpiece, for its calm interior and its terrace over the Golden Horn. Then walk downhill through the market streets to the Spice Bazaar in Eminönü, which opens every day. Finish by crossing the Galata Bridge at dusk, when the fishermen are lined along the rail and the mosques are lit behind you.
Day 3: the Bosphorus, Galata and the Asian side
For the full Bosphorus experience, take the Şehir Hatları long tour, which leaves Eminönü at 10.35am on the winter timetable and returns at 4.40pm, with a long stop at Anadolu Kavağı near the Black Sea. Foreign passengers pay ₺640 return. If that is too long, the short tour leaves Eminönü at 2.40pm for ₺340, leaving the morning free for Dolmabahçe Palace, the 19th-century home of the sultans, where a ticket for the main rooms, the Harem and the Painting Museum costs 2,000 TL.
In the evening, go up the Galata Tower, which is open until 11pm with last entry at 10pm and costs €30. Arrive after 9pm to avoid the sunset queue. Walk up to İstiklal Avenue for dinner in Beyoğlu, or take a ferry from Karaköy to Kadıköy on the Asian side, where the market streets and meyhanes are busy until late.
Tips for the three days
Keep a copy of the day’s prayer times on your phone, as they decide when mosques are open to visitors. Ferries are the most enjoyable way to move around, and a commuter crossing costs little more than a tram ride. Book Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and the Bosphorus dinner cruises ahead in busy periods. Most of all, leave time to sit with a glass of tea and watch the city go by, which is half the pleasure of Istanbul.