Istanbul is the most vibrant and colourful city. The only city in the world to straddle two continents, Istanbul is such a unique place and absolutely has to be on your Turkey bucket list. Here are my recommendations on how to spend 3 days in Istanbul.
Sofia Corner Hotel is an affordably priced hotel in Istanbul. It is centrally located and has a gorgeous rooftop terrace with views of the neighbouring mosque and Bosphorus Strait. We stayed here and found it to be affordable and basic.
Alternative options for affordable accommodation include Ligos which is located 600m from the Hagia Sophia. Decor is modern and clean.
Taksim Bi Center Suites is also affordably priced and the rooms look lovely. I book all my trips through Booking.com
You can purchase an Istanbulkart from the machines next to the Sultanhmet tram station. The card will cost you 70 Turkish Lira. You can use one card for multiple travellers. So we bought one card and loaded on 220 Turkish Lira. This was enough for two of us to use trams and buses for 3 days to get around the city. Public transport is very easy to use in Istanbul and a great way to get around this big city. I would recommend downloading the app Citymapper to see the best way to get from A to B with up to date transport timings etc.
The Sultanahmet Square area is a lovely place to go for a morning or evening stroll. You can grab a snack of a simit, which is a pretzel/bagel- like bread popular in Turkey, and wander around this pedestrianised area. The gardens in front of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque are a great spot to sit on a bench and enjoy a summer evening people-watching. You can walk around the area and get stunning views of both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, both of which are stunning architecturally. This is the perfect way to spend your first evening in Istanbul where you can soak up the vibe of the city and get your bearings. It is free to enter the Blue Mosque and you must just ensure you dress appropriately to be allowed entry (no shorts allowed and women must wear headscarves). You also cannot visit during the prayer times so make sure you go outside of prayer times. You’ll pay around €35 to get tickets to the Hagia Sophia where you can marvel at the beautiful mosaics inside and learn more of the building’s rich history. Buy your tickets here.
The Galata Tower is located in the New Town part of Istanbul across the Bosphorus Strait from Old Town. To get here you can catch the tram T1 from Sultanahmet Square to Karakoy Station. You can then walk up the hill to Galata Tower. You can go up the Tower at a cost of €37 (buy your tickets here) to see gorgeous views over the Bosphorus. We didn’t go up but wandered around the surrounding colourful streets and took some photos of the tower. Apparently going up to the top at sunset is absolutely incredible.
After you’ve explored Galata Tower you can catch a bus over to the Balat neighbourhood for a wander around the most colourful streets. The prettiest (and most iconic) spot is Kiremit Caddesi and there is even a pin on Google Maps called, ‘Colourful Houses of Balat‘ which is the exact location.
After you’ve taken your photos you can walk back down toward the Bosphorus and catch a tram to Eminönü station. From here you can walk up the rainbow stairs and visit Nova Santiye Cafe for a great lunch spot with views of the Bosphorus and Süleymaniye Mosque (which is deemed to be one of the most beautiful in Istanbul).
The Egyptian Spice Bazaar is close to Eminönü station so you can pop in here after your lunch depending on your energy levels. Alternatively, the food tour meeting point is at the Egyptian Spice Bazaar so you can do it before the tour starts the next day.
The Egyptian Spice Bazaar is packed with stands selling piles of colourful spices, rows of different teas, dates and Turkish Delight. For me the stalls outside the main spice bazaar building were my favourite. It was in the side streets that the character oozed and you saw strings of sundried tomatoes hanging from stalls and stands overflowing with colourful Turkish Delight. The rent is also so high in the actual building that you’ll get better prices in the side streets. We bought the most delicious Turkish Delight at 140 Turkish Lire for 500g – so cheap!
Our favourite restaurant in Istanbul was Casa de Madera which was located close to our hotel. It was really affordably priced, had the most delicious lamb casserole (topped with melty cheese!) and such friendly service. We were also given mezze on the house to start and finished off with complimentary Turkish tea and baklava. If you’re looking for authentic Turkish without the price tag then definitely check out this spot!
We joined a foodie tour in Istanbul and it was an absolute highlight! We tasted so many different traditional Turkish foods and learnt plenty about the history of the city from our guide. We also loved doing this tour at the start of our Turkey trip as it exposed us to so many different parts of the cuisine and gave us the vocabulary we needed for reading menus for the rest of the trip as we had tried so many of the dishes before and knew if we liked them or not. The tour began in Old Town at the Egyptian Spice Bazaar where we picked up cheeses, fresh bread and olives to go along with our Turkish breakfast. Breakfast was set up for us in a gorgeous side street cafe where we began the food tour strong with different spreads, fruit, dips, olives, bread, cheese and an egg dish called menemen (which resembles shakshouka), all washed down with Turkish tea of course.
After our hearty breakfast we made our way across the Bosphorus Strait to the Asian side of the city on a public ferry. Here we sampled traditional Turkish Kahve (coffee) which is unfiltered and brewed over hot coals, lahmacun (a flat bread with minced meat and parsley), mussels stuffed with rice and the original Doner kebab. We caught the ferry back to the European side of the city this time exploring the New Town area sampling Cig Kofte which is a ‘raw meatball’ made from bulgur wheat, a traditional fish wrap and finally ending off with Kunefe which is a dessert made from pastry, cheese, honey and pistachio.
We booked this Istanbul Guided Food Tour of Street Food and Markets through GetYourGuide and can 10/10 recommend it as a unique way to explore the city. We thoroughly enjoyed sampling so many different dishes and loved seeing the city through a unique lens and it was the perfect way to end our 3 Days in Istanbul.
Istanbul is such a vibrant city filled with different colours, smells and sights. We loved starting our trip to Turkey here and hope this guide to How to Spend 3 Days in Istanbul helps you plan your trip to Turkey. After spending 3 days in Istanbul we picked up a car and enjoyed a week long road trip down the Turkey’s Turquoise Coast.
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