Istanbul in a Day Tour with Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque

Free CancellationNew Tour

Discover the city’s rich history and iconic sites, with Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace & more

5.00

(9)

7 h

Max 15 Guests

Short on time but don’t want to miss the amazing highlights of Istanbul? We’ve got you covered! Make your day a breeze with hotel pickup and a local guide who knows this city better than anyone, and explore incredible sites like the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, and much more! Along the way, learn about life in the city, enjoy an authentic local lunch, and follow a story that spans over 2,500 years and some of the great empires of human history.

Starting early, you’ll be picked up from your central Istanbul hotel and along with a small group you’ll begin your jam-packed tour of the city. Your guide is a true local expert and they’ll lead you on a fascinating walking tour to visit Istanbul’s most famous sites, beginning at the Hippodrome and ending at Topkapi Palace.

Your guide will explain the history of the great Byzantine and Ottoman empires who once called this their capital, and you’ll also savor a traditional lunch (price ...

Select participants and date

Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance!

Hotel pickup in central Istanbul

Guided walking tour of the city’s most famous sites

Visit the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Sultan Tombs, and more

Learn the city’s rich history and great empires

Enjoy an authentic Turkish lunch (price not included)

Friendly and knowledgeable English-speaking guide

Maximum group size of 15

Entrance fees

Lunch

The best of Istanbul in a day!

The best of Istanbul in a day!

Hippodrome

This was once an impressive chariot racing arena that was at the center of life in the city for almost 1,500 years, spanning both the Byzantine and Ottoman eras.

Blue Mosque

Intended as a show of the Ottoman Empire’s power, its six minarets (towers) were controversial at the time since only Mecca itself had that number.

Stunning Turquaz Blue iznik tiles

The first thing you'll notice inside are the priceless tiles that adorn the walls, giving the building its nickname Blue Mosque.

Hagia Sophia

Step inside to see the wonderful craftsmanship of this grand old building, and let your guide tell its unique and fascinating story.

For Reference Only. Itineraries are subject to change

You'll be picked up from hotels in central Istanbul. Please contact us after booking with your hotel name for pick-up. We'll reach out with an alternative meeting point if your hotel isn't covered.

This tour is primarily a walking tour, so we recommend wearing comfortable shoes, clothes to suit the weather, and a bottle of water. Your chest and legs will need to covered to enter the mosques, and women are required to wear a head scarf (these can be provided at the entrance to the mosque if you don’t have your own).

5.00

9 Ratings

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Sean Reardon

Verified Review

February 14, 2025

Great tour with incredible guide

Abbey Scurio

Verified Review

November 20, 2024

I had a wonderful tour of many of Istanbul’s main attractions with tour guide Aisha. She was able to tailor the tour specifically to sites I wanted to see and adjusted when I wanted to skip some locations that I had already visited. She was knowledgeable and pointed out several details I would have missed with just a guide book or without a guide. I highly recommend this way to explore Istanbul for at least a portion of your visit.

Kathryn Delatorre

Verified Review

June 21, 2024

Kim Brebner

Verified Review

June 16, 2024

Istanbul

Sandra Rudisill

Verified Review

June 08, 2024

Loved our tour! Very informative, excellent guide.

loved it

Anthony Field

Verified Review

July 19, 2023

I am so happy we did this tour. Our guide was fantastiic and could not have been a better fit for us. We learned so much history and stories about the main sites and mosques. The food was incredible.

Delightful

Erica Wright

Verified Review

July 18, 2023

We had a great time on the Istanbul in a Day tour. You really need the tour in order to do all of these things in one day and the tour guy was a great choice.

Istanbul in a day

Hilary McKenzie

Verified Review

July 17, 2023

We had a great day in Istanbul with a wonderful guide. So fun. Istanbul is truly a feast for the senses and the sights, sounds and tastes (amazing lunch!!!) are so unique. We never would have been able to see all of these places in one day if we had tried to do this on our own. I'm so happy we booked and we can't wait to do more tours just like this one on our next vacation.

Perfect Day in Istanbul

Daniel Stewart

Verified Review

July 14, 2023

We decided to stopover in Istanbul for a couple days after our trip to the Greek Islands and I'm so happy we did! We previously did the rome in a day tour with Tour Guy so we were excited to see that they offered an Istanbul in a day tour as well. Istanbul is much more loud and chaotic than Rome is so I'm especially happy that we had a guided tour there instead of trying to do all of this ourselves. The food is out of this world! We had a great group and a great tour guide and we just loved seeing Istanbul this way.

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