How Many Days in Istanbul? — Trip Planner

What first-timers get wrong in Istanbul

Buy an Istanbulkart for 165 lira and load it, since single journeys are 46,20 and the card covers trams, metro, ferries and the Marmaray. Refuse the shoeshine whose brush conveniently falls in front of you, and never follow a friendly stranger to a bar. The Museum Pass excludes the Cistern and Dolmabahce. Mosques close to visitors at the five prayer times and longer on Friday midday.

What's actually worth your time in Istanbul

Hagia Sophia now charges foreign visitors 25 euro for the upper gallery, while the ground floor stays a working mosque you can enter free outside prayer times if dressed appropriately. Topkapi with the Harem is 2,750 lira and closed Tuesdays. The Basilica Cistern is 1,950 by day and 3,000 after dark. The Blue Mosque and Suleymaniye cost nothing, and Suleymaniye has the better terrace.

Istanbul's museums, and which one to pick

The Istanbul Archaeological Museums, at 15 euro, hold the Alexander Sarcophagus and a cuneiform copy of the Treaty of Kadesh, and are nearly empty compared with the queue outside Topkapi fifty metres uphill. Kariye, formerly the Chora church, has reopened as a mosque with its fourteenth-century mosaics visible and costs 20 euro. Dolmabahce is 2,000 lira, shuts Mondays and is not covered by the Museum Pass.

Istanbul with kids, realistically

The Rahmi M. Koc Museum on the Golden Horn lets children climb inside a decommissioned submarine and a ferry hull. The 1875 Tunel funicular and the red nostalgic tram on Istiklal are short, cheap and popular with small passengers. Princes' Islands ferries take an hour to car-free Buyukada. Sultanahmet's cobbles and gradients punish pushchairs, and metro lifts are inconsistent.

When the weather turns in Istanbul

Rain here is a February and March affair and the city is built for it. The Grand Bazaar's four thousand shops are entirely roofed and the Spice Bazaar continues the shelter down towards Eminonu. A hamam fills two hours, whether Cemberlitas from 1584 or Kilic Ali Pasa in Tophane. The Basilica Cistern is underground, and its queue moves faster when the weather is bad.

When to go to Istanbul

The month to avoid is January — around 10°C (50°F) with roughly 12 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: October is the sweet spot, January the month most people skip.

Pack for peak season: Layers — t-shirts under a light jacket or sweater, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.

Where to base yourself in Istanbul

• Sultanahmet — Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi — the historic core.
• Beyoğlu — Istiklal Avenue, Galata Tower, modern nightlife.
• Karaköy — Galleries, third-wave coffee, hip galleries.
• Kadıköy — Asian side, food markets, Moda promenade.