Mid-range · 6-hour walk · Istanbul
Sultanahmet in six hours
Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the cistern, the sultans' palace, and the covered market at the end.
Four of the most visited buildings on earth are within a few hundred metres of each other here, which makes the walking trivial and the queuing the whole problem. Book everything that can be booked, start at opening, and take the mosques in prayer-time gaps. Topkapi alone deserves ninety minutes and most people give it forty.
The route, stop by stop
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Hagia Sophia
Cathedral for 916 years, mosque for 481, museum for 86, and a mosque again since 2020. Upper gallery ticket for visitors.
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Blue Mosque
Working mosque, free, closed to visitors during the five prayers. Shoulders and knees covered, shoes off, scarves lent at the door.
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Basilica Cistern
A 6th-century underground reservoir on 336 columns, two of them resting on Medusa heads. Cool, dim and timed entry.
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Topkapi Palace
The Harem is a separate ticket and the part worth the extra. Four courtyards and a terrace over the Bosphorus.
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Grand Bazaar
Four thousand shops on sixty streets under one roof, trading since 1461. Closed Sundays.
45 min here Walk here →
More in Istanbul
Every walking route in Istanbul, or the full Istanbul guide for where to stay and what a day costs.