Istanbul in 3 Days: The Lucalvry Itinerary

Day 1

Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet, Bosphorus sunset

1. 8.00am

   Hotel breakfast

   Hotel breakfast. Walk or taxi to Hagia Sophia for the 9.00am opening — be at the gate by 8.50am with your timed-entry ticket already in hand.

2. 9.00am

   Hagia Sophia — allow 75 minutes for the lower nave (the Justinian dome, the original Ch…

   Hagia Sophia — allow 75 minutes for the lower nave (the Justinian dome, the original Christian mosaics on the upper gallery now revealed again, the marble pavement) and the upper-gallery walk. The first hour is the only hour the basilica is genuinely uncrowded.

3. 10.30am

   Walk five minutes to the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) — currently in the final pha…

   Walk five minutes to the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) — currently in the final phase of restoration; the courtyard and the lower-level prayer hall remain open. Allow 30 minutes; remove shoes, women cover heads (scarves provided).

4. 11.30am

   Topkapı Palace — allow two hours including the Harem (the additional ticket is essentia…

   Topkapı Palace — allow two hours including the Harem (the additional ticket is essential, do not skip). Cover the Treasury (the Spoonmaker's Diamond, the Topkapı Dagger), the Sacred Relics Room and the Imperial Council chamber.

5. 1.30pm

   Lunch at Matbah at the Ottoman Hotel Imperial (the most ambitious Ottoman-historic menu…

   Lunch at Matbah at the Ottoman Hotel Imperial (the most ambitious Ottoman-historic menu in Sultanahmet, the kebab and the Sultan's beverage are the order) or, for a quicker meal, Hamdi Restaurant on the Eminönü waterfront for the canonical Turkish kebab counter with Golden Horn views.

6. 3.00pm

   Basilica Cistern — the Yerebatan Sarnıcı, the underground 6th-century reservoir with th…

   Basilica Cistern — the Yerebatan Sarnıcı, the underground 6th-century reservoir with the Medusa-head columns. Allow 45 minutes including the queue; book a timed-entry ticket the night before.

7. 4.00pm

   Reset at the hotel — if you are based in Sultanahmet, walk back; if on the Bosphorus, t…

   Reset at the hotel — if you are based in Sultanahmet, walk back; if on the Bosphorus, taxi or take the tram to Kabataş then funicular up.

8. 5.30pm

   Sunset on the Bosphorus — if you are at the Çırağan, the Four Seasons Bosphorus or the…

   Sunset on the Bosphorus — if you are at the Çırağan, the Four Seasons Bosphorus or the Peninsula Istanbul, the hotel terrace is the answer. If you are based in Sultanahmet, taxi up to Sunset Grill in Ulus for the canonical hill-view sunset over the Bosphorus.

9. 8.30pm

   Dinner at Sunset Grill & Bar in Ulus (three weeks ahead, the panorama is the reason; th…

   Dinner at Sunset Grill & Bar in Ulus (three weeks ahead, the panorama is the reason; the lamb is the order) or, if you are staying on the Bosphorus and prefer to remain at the property, Tuğra at the Çırağan Palace for the historic Ottoman menu inside the imperial palace dining room.

Day 2

Grand Bazaar, Spice Market, Karaköy evening

1. 9.00am

   Hotel breakfast

   Hotel breakfast. Walk or taxi to the Süleymaniye Mosque (Sinan's masterpiece, the most architecturally restrained imperial mosque in the city, free entry) for a 9.30am visit. Allow 30 minutes inside.

2. 10.30am

   Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) — the 15th-century covered market, 4,000 shops, 60 streets

   Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) — the 15th-century covered market, 4,000 shops, 60 streets. Allow 90 minutes for a slow walk-through; bargain on textile-and-jewellery purchases (start at 30 per cent of asked price). The Sevan Bıçakçı jewellery shop on Sandal Bedesteni and the Abdulla Natural Products store on Halıcılar Çarşısı are worth specific stops.

3. 12.30pm

   Walk down through the Mahmutpaşa lanes to the Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) — 30 minutes…

   Walk down through the Mahmutpaşa lanes to the Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) — 30 minutes for the Egyptian-spice-trade market, with stops at Malatya Pazarı for dried apricots and Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi for the canonical Turkish coffee.

4. 1.30pm

   Lunch at Hamdi Restaurant on Eminönü waterfront (the most reliable Turkish kebab lunch…

   Lunch at Hamdi Restaurant on Eminönü waterfront (the most reliable Turkish kebab lunch with Golden Horn views) or Pandeli inside the Spice Bazaar (the historic 1901 lokanta, the canonical post-bazaar meal).

5. 3.00pm

   Cross the Galata Bridge on foot — the 15-minute walk between the historic peninsula and…

   Cross the Galata Bridge on foot — the 15-minute walk between the historic peninsula and Karaköy is one of the canonical Istanbul transitions, with fishermen lining the rails on both sides.

6. 3.30pm

   Walk up Galata Tower for the panorama (allow 30 minutes including the climb)

   Walk up Galata Tower for the panorama (allow 30 minutes including the climb). The view is the best 360 of the city — Sultanahmet to the south, the Bosphorus to the east, Beyoğlu and the Golden Horn to the west.

7. 4.30pm

   Coffee at Walter's Coffee Roastery on Asmalı Mescit or the Karabatak coffee bar on Kara…

   Coffee at Walter's Coffee Roastery on Asmalı Mescit or the Karabatak coffee bar on Karaköy Caddesi.

8. 6.00pm

   Aperitivo at the rooftop of the Marmara Pera (the Mikla bar tier without the dinner res…

   Aperitivo at the rooftop of the Marmara Pera (the Mikla bar tier without the dinner reservation) or the 360 Istanbul rooftop on İstiklal Caddesi.

9. 8.30pm

   Dinner at Mikla on the Marmara Pera rooftop (the city's most influential modern Anatoli…

   Dinner at Mikla on the Marmara Pera rooftop (the city's most influential modern Anatolian programme, three weeks ahead — Mehmet Gürs's contemporary Aegean-Anatolian tasting menu is the order) or, if you can't get Mikla, Neolokal at SALT Galata for the equivalent contemporary heritage-Turkish tasting alternative. Cocktails afterwards at Soho House Istanbul or Banyan on Çıragan Caddesi.

Day 3

Bosphorus cruise, Beşiktaş, last evening

Three days is not Istanbul. But three days done in this order is enough to know whether you'll come back — and almost everyone does.

1. 8.00am

   Hotel breakfast

   Hotel breakfast. Walk or taxi to Eminönü ferry pier for the 10.35am Şehir Hatları Boğaz Turu (the official municipal Bosphorus ferry, the long six-hour version that runs to Anadolu Kavağı at the Black Sea entrance). The shorter 90-minute tourist cruises are inferior — the long ferry is the canonical experience.

2. 10.35am

   Bosphorus ferry — the slow cruise up the European shore (Çırağan, the Bosphorus Univers…

   Bosphorus ferry — the slow cruise up the European shore (Çırağan, the Bosphorus University, the Rumeli Hisarı fortress) and back down the Asian shore (the Beylerbeyi Palace, the Anadolu Hisarı fortress). Two hours up, ninety minutes for lunch at the village of Anadolu Kavağı, two hours back. The ferry is the most relaxed Istanbul half-day in the itinerary.

3. 12.30pm

   Lunch at Anadolu Kavağı village — Ozkurt Restaurant on the harbour (the canonical fishe…

   Lunch at Anadolu Kavağı village — Ozkurt Restaurant on the harbour (the canonical fishermen's-village fish lunch with Black Sea entrance views).

4. 4.30pm

   Return to Eminönü pier

   Return to Eminönü pier. Reset at the hotel for an hour.

5. 6.00pm

   Walk through Beşiktaş — the upper Akaretler row of restored Ottoman houses, the Maçka P…

   Walk through Beşiktaş — the upper Akaretler row of restored Ottoman houses, the Maçka Park and the Dolmabahçe Palace (the 19th-century European-style palace, the Bosphorus-side answer to Topkapı). If you skipped Dolmabahçe Palace, the 5pm closing means save it for a fourth day.

6. 7.30pm

   Sunset cocktails at Sait rooftop at the W Istanbul on Akaretler or the rooftop terrace…

   Sunset cocktails at Sait rooftop at the W Istanbul on Akaretler or the rooftop terrace at the Çırağan Palace for the Bosphorus-shore alternative.

7. 8.30pm

   A final dinner — Gallada at the Peninsula Istanbul (the most ambitious contemporary Ana…

   A final dinner — Gallada at the Peninsula Istanbul (the most ambitious contemporary Anatolian programme in town under Fatih Tutak, three weeks ahead) for the most polished serious dinner; Karaköy Lokantası (the canonical modern meyhane, the rakı-and-fish standard) for the less formal evening; or, for a return to the Bosphorus, Aqua at the Four Seasons Bosphorus for the on-water final dinner.

8. 11.00pm

   A nightcap at Soho House Istanbul, Banyan in Çırağan or the Çırağan Palace Le Fumoir ci…

   A nightcap at Soho House Istanbul, Banyan in Çırağan or the Çırağan Palace Le Fumoir cigar room. End the trip the right way.