Our tour starts early at the Blue Mosque where you’ll meet your small group of only 15 people or fewer and your expert local guide (a fluent English-speaker). As you wait for the mosque to open, your guide will teach you about the history and architecture of the building and the rituals that take place inside. Arriving early we’ll beat the worst of the crowds, to visit in relative piece, exploring the incredible interior.
We’ll walk the historic hippodrome to Hagia Sophia. Once a Greek Orthodox basilica, then a mosque, now a museum, it has so many stories to tell – not to mention the most beautiful, gold-laden interior. We’ve pre-reserved tickets here and, since you’re traveling with a licensed tour guide, you’ll get straight inside, past lines that often stretch for hours. Enjoy a guided tour of the building and ask all the questions you want, before we move onto our next stop – the Basilica Cistern. Again, a licensed guide means you’ll skip ticket lines to gain faster entrance. Built in the 6th century this huge ancient cistern is most notable for its carved Medusa columns, but its size and atmosphere will take your breath away.
The morning section of our tour also includes a walk past Topkapi Palace, where your guide will give you an introduction to the palace and its harem from outside. Then it’s off to lunch. To be sure you’re getting the best from every single moment of your day, we’ve pre-reserved our favorite local Turkish restaurant, where you’ll enjoy a huge spread of kebab meats (chicken, lamb and beef), sauces, hummus, rice, salad and borek pastries. And the best bit? We’ll take care of the bill; lunch is included in the price of your tour!
After lunch we’ll take a short walk to the Grand Bazaar, the incredible shopping hub of Istanbul. Here your guide will give you a tour of the huge bazaar (one of the largest covered markets in the world with 60 streets and 5,000 shops) telling you about Turkey’s famous jewelry, ceramics, carpets, fashions and quirks and teaching you how to get the best bang for your buck if you come back shopping later. We’ll take a walk then through the local shopping street, lined with stores selling beautiful hijabs and local fashions. We’ll take a quick detour up a flight of stairs to a special viewing point along the way – our own Aladdin’s rooftop, from where you’ll encounter incredible views over the Bosphorus and the city around it. Then it’s on to the Spice Bazaar to learn about Turkish flavors and how Istanbul’s varied spices are actually the greatest indicator of its long history.
A sure highlight of our tour is our private Bosphorus cruise. Your group may combine with one other group of 15 for this part (plus their guide), but that’s it! For one whole hour you’ll have a private boat pretty much to yourselves as you cruise the waters separating Europe and Asia.
We finish our tour on the other side of the bridge, with a walk through the local fish market and the stock market (as it’s known locally, although it doesn’t look anything like you’d expect) before making our way uphill to the Galata Tower. Rather than climbing the tower, which is crowded, we’ll find the same views nearby in a more relaxing spot at a private café. Feel free to treat yourself to a Turkish coffee or a beer while admiring the view – after all, you’ve just seen Istanbul in a day.
Demasiados visitantes se quedan en la superficie de la gastronomía de Estambul. Además de los famosos kebabs y hummus, la cocina turca ofrece excelentes productos. Descubre la cara más desconocida de la cultura gastronómica de Estambul con un tour guiado en grupos reducidos por el barrio de Kadikov.
Destacamos
- Sumérgete de lleno en la gastronomía turca
- Visita puestos de comida, restaurantes y mercados locales
- Degustación de mejillones rellenos, kebabs, albóndigas turcas, yogures, quesos, y mucho más
El tour comienza en la parte europea de la ciudad, donde abordarás un ferry que navega por el Bósforo. Disfruta de una taza de té y excelentes vistas de la ciudad mientras tu guía te explica cómo indagar en la historia de Turquía a través de sus alimentos y sus particulares especias.
Ya en el lado de Asia, haremos lo que hacen los lugareños, pasear por un mercado de pescado fresco y verduras. Aquí tu guía te mostrará cuáles son los alimentos originarios del país y te explicará los comestibles que no reconozcas. Además, visitaremos tiendas de especias locales para conocer por qué el azafrán es más caro que el oro, qué es el metze y qué costumbres tienen los turcos a la hora de comer en casa o restaurantes.
La aventura culinaria continúa a través de las calles de Kadikoy. Visita los mejores establecimientos y restaurantes de metze, kebabs y pizza turca y ¡come como los turcos! Degustarás algunas delicias locales como mejillones rellenos, bolitas de lentejas y albóndigas turcas (Köfte). También tendrás la oportunidad de probar el yogur con miel y una selección de quesos.
En la última parada disfrutarás de un rico café en una cafetería típica antes de regresar a la zona europea a bordo del ferry. Esperamos que no hayas hecho reservas para el almuerzo porque ¡puede que no tengas hambre hasta el día siguiente!
Idiomas
Inglés.
Topkapi Palace is as mysterious as it is beautiful: With its long history of sultans, eunuchs and concubines, it can seem impenetrable to those without intimate knowledge of Byzantine art and history. But it doesn’t need to be.
Explore Topkapi Palace with an expert local tour guide, hand-chosen for their passion, storytelling abilities and English-language skills. Traveling in a small group of 15 people or fewer, you’ll find your guide easy to hear and interact with: A good thing too, since it’s the history that makes Topkapi Palace such a wonderful visit.
You’ll tour the best sights of the palace, including areas only recently opened to the public. Like the palace kitchen, where up to 800 cooks dished up 6,000 meals a day during busy periods. Or the foot soldiers barracks, where a beautiful pipe room, private baths and the ornate prayer room may convince you to join their ranks.
Enjoy a half day guided group tour of the Asian Side of Istanbul which is the most charming part of the city of Istanbul and visit the most popular Beylerbeyi Palace.
Upon our pick up from the hotel firstly we drive across the Bosphorus Bridge which is the first intercontinental one of the world to connect EUROPE to ASIA. We head for the summit of Camlica Hill on the Asian side to enjoy an amazing panoramic view of the city of Istanbul.
We visit the Beylerbeyi Palace on the shore from the 19th century. With its marble exterior facade and mixture of European and Ottoman baroque interior decorations; curtains carpets furniture and chandeliers it is a reminder of the formidable Ottoman Empire. Our guide gives us an explanative tour in the corridors saloons the HAREM and administrative halls and the whole visit makes us aware of one of magnific.
Today we enjoy a prioritized guided group tour of the Dolmabahce Palace which will provide us the comfort of not waiting in the queues.
Upon our pick up from the hotel firstly we visit the magnificent Dolmabahce Palace which in the 19th century was the principle residence and the administration center of the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
With its splendor baroque exterior and mixture of traditional and European interior decorations; curtains carpets furniture and chandeliers it is a reminder of the formidable Ottoman Empire. Our guide gives us an explanative tour in the corridors saloons and administrative halls and the whole visit makes us aware of one of magnificent empires of our world which ruled Asia Africa and Europ".
Upon our pick up from the hotel firstly we visit the Dolmabahce Palace which in the 19th century was the principle residence and the administration center of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. With its splendor baroque exterior and mixture of traditional and European interior decorations it is a reminder of the formidable Ottoman Empire. Our guide gives us an explanative tour in the corridors saloons some of the HAREM administrative halls and the whole visit makes us aware of one of magnificent empires of our world which ruled Asia Africa and Europe continents in health and peace.
Then we drive across the Bosphorus Bridge which is the first intercontinental one of the world to connect EUROPE to ASIA. We head for the summit of Camlica Hill or Yeditepe on the Asian side to enjoy an amazing panoramic view of the city of Istanbul.
Explora la cara menos conocida del Gran Bazar que a menudo pasa desapercibida ante los ojos de los turistas. Desde tejedores de alfombras, a herreros, pasando por diseñadores de joyas y pintores de cerámica. Conoce a los grandes protagonistas de la tradición artesanal turca y sube a los tejados de uno de los mercados más grandes y antiguos del mundo.
DESTACAMOS:
* Descubre los rincones más interesantes y auténticos del Gran Bazar acompañado de un guía local
* Conoce a algunos de los mejores artesanos de Turquía
* Toma asombrosas fotografías de la ciudad desde los tejados del Gran Bazar
No te pierdas un recorrido entre bastidores por el Gran Bazar y descubre un lado oculto del histórico mercado que se ha mantenido inmóvil durante cientos de años. Pasea por un laberinto de calles y visita los talleres de grandes artesanos antes de dirigirte a los tejados del Bazar para disfrutar de algunas de las vistas más impresionantes de Estambul.
Acompañado de un guía local, recorrerás los rincones menos frecuentados del mercado hasta llegar a los talleres artesanales, donde encontrarás una variedad de artesanos dedicados a la producción y venta de joyas, telas, cerámica, azulejos de Iznik y mucho más. Visita una pequeña fábrica de producción de alfombras, donde se ubica el último telar del Gran Bazar, y aprovecha la ocasión para interactuar con los artesanos, que compartirán contigo su pasión por el oficio y responderán amablemente a cualquier duda que te pueda surgir.
Pero el tour no termina en las trastiendas o en los estrechos callejones. El Gran Bazar está lleno de salidas a los tejados que ofrecen espectaculares vistas de la ciudad. Llega hasta ellas con la ayuda de tu guía y visita la azotea que fue escenario de una de las escenas de persecución de la película "007: Operación Skyfall". Al finalizar el recorrido comprenderás lo que realmente significa el Gran Bazar.
A tour around the metropolitan city where East meets West crossing one of the suspension bridges over the Bosphorous to the Asian side affording amazing sights of the Asian and European continents. Crossing the Golden Horn Bay bridge opposite the Old City, former Constantinople, on return, capture photos of the picturesque high minarets of Ottoman mosques, Byzantine relics and high walls followed by a short shopping break in a famous leather factory together with a chance to taste Turkish Delight and tea before return to hotel.
A visit to Istanbul is never complete without a boat cruise along the Bosphorous Strait which divides the city into two continents, Asia and Europe. Views from the cruise include the famous Rumeli Fortress, Ottoman Palaces and Mansions and modern villas together with other fascinating historical and natural sights on both shores.
Dolmabahce Palace: One of the best visited places in the city, Dolmabahce Palace was built by Sultan Abdulmejid in the mid. 19th century. Considered by many to be the most splendid and prosperous palace in the world, it contains about 40 tons of gold and silver and is adorned with priceless European Bohemian crystal chandeliers.
The tour also passes Istanbul's ancient city walls which date from the Roman period and the world famous Golden Horn, the city's primary inlet of the Bosphorous Straits and where these waters meet the Marmara Sea forming a natural harbor used by trading vessels for thousands of years.
A visit to the World's oldest and largest remaining Ottoman Palace, where Ottoman Sultans ruled their Empire for more than four centuries. Amongst its' many superb attractions, there are fabulous collections of crystal, jewellery, armoury and a Holy Islamic section of Prophet Mohamed containg relics brought from Mecca and Medina.
The tour also visits Istanbul's Hippodrome, the sporting and social centre of the city during ancient times and now known as Sultan Ahmet Square and the Fountain of Wilhelm II, constructed at the end of the 19th century in honour of the German Emperor's visit to Istanbul.
Afternoon tour of the ancient city of Istanbul known as Sultanahmet, that includes visiting the famous Hagia Sophia - a unique structure which during ten centuries was recognized as a church and during five centuries as a mosque and was put on the register of UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 6 minaret Blue Mosque and culminates in a shopping bananza at the Grand Bazaar.
St Sophia: Built by Justinian in the 6th century and once the largest church in the world, this impressive building is considered by many as the 8th Wonder of the World and the best example of Byzantine architecture anywhere (closed on Monday).
Blue Mosque: Absolutely the most famous Ottoman mosque built in the 17th century by Sultan Ahmet and famed for its' 6 minarets and interior decor of beautiful, blue Iznik tiles.
Grand Bazaar: The world's biggest covered historical bazaar, known as a shopping paradise with almost 4,500 shops selling jewelry, handmade carpets, leather goods and various souvenirs (closed on Sunday).
Visiting some of Istanbul's top attractions, this full day tour includes Hippodrome Square dating from the Byzantine period when amongst many of its' uses, it was a chariot racing track and is now known as Sultan Ahmet Square; the Blue Mosque or Sultan Ahmet Mosque, built in the early 17th century and recognisable for its' 6 minarets; Hagia Sophia (St Sophia Museum) - a unique structure that during ten centuries was recognized as a church and during five centuries as a mosque and was put on the register of UNESCO World Heritage Site. After lunch we go to the biggest and the most famous palace of the Ottoman rulers - the Topkapi Palace where you can see collections of watches, weapons, clothing, portraits, thrones and decorations of the Ottoman Sultans, as well as sacred relics brought from Mecca and Medina. Our tour will be finished at the biggest bazaar of Istanbul - the Grand Bazaar.
After enjoying a relaxing cruise through the Marmara Sea to the Princes' islands, a tour by horse drawn carriage around the biggest island, far away from the city's noise and pollution and with panoramic views of the island's beautiful old and modern wooden villas and gardens, followed by a break for shopping or walk around before heading back by boat to Istanbul Port. Includes: Bus and sea transportation from and to hotel, guide, horse drawn carriage tour and all related fees.
Dinner at a typical tourist restaurant with an impressive show programme of famous oriental dances, Anatolian folkore and various songs. On the way to the venue, enjoy an evening drive through this atmospheric city past floodlit mosques and Ottoman palaces. Al lthat is necessary is to sit back and be entertained by be-jewelled belly dancers and a top class Anatolian folk dance troupe with traditional musical instruments and Turkish singing styles. Two soft or canned juice drinks are included.