Things to do in Istanbul

Plans for any day: one historic morning, a ferry or a neighbourhood, and the other shore only if you give it hours.

The easy version is a walk while the light is on the water, then dinner somewhere you do not need a second bridge between courses.

• Galata Bridge at dusk

  Walk the bridge between Eminönü and Karaköy while the ferries are still moving. Eat on the Karaköy side or up toward Galata, not back in Sultanahmet unless that is where you are staying. The view is the plan. A fish sandwich stall is optional and the pitches move. Check what is actually there.

• Beyoğlu

  İstiklal is the avenue. The night is the side streets. You can walk, reject two menus and sit down at the third. Book if Saturday matters. Individual rooms open and close; trust the neighbourhood, then check the room.

• Karaköy

  The shore under the tower has become restaurants, galleries and the waterfront around Galataport. It is a different evening from a lane in Cihangir. Stay in one of them.

• Kadıköy if you are already there

  The market streets and Moda make a good evening when the day was the Asian side. It is a poor add-on after a Sultanahmet morning and a Beyoğlu show. Take the ferry back while they are still frequent, or stay.

• Ortaköy, if the traffic agrees

  The mosque under the bridge is a real picture, and the square fills on some evenings. It is a destination, not a stop on the way from the bazaar to dinner in Beyoğlu. Check the crowd and the ride home.

Several of the best hours do not need a palace ticket. Mosques are places of worship first. Dress modestly, take your shoes off where asked, and stay out of the way at prayer times.

• The Sultanahmet square

  The space between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque is public. You can stand in it and understand the city’s argument without buying anything. Entering the buildings is a separate decision, with rules that change. Check before you queue.

• Walk the Galata Bridge

  The lower deck has been for anglers and tea, the upper deck for crossing. Both are free to walk. What is sold there changes. The Golden Horn is the point.

• Gülhane Park

  The park below Topkapı, running toward the water, is the calm hour after the monuments. It is public. The palace above it is not free. Do not confuse the gate.

• Süleymaniye Mosque

  Sinan’s mosque on the hill above the bazaar, with a courtyard and a view. Visit as a guest, not as a backdrop. Prayer times clear the space. Check the day, and cover up.

• Moda coast

  The walk along the Asian shore beyond Kadıköy is free and local. It only makes sense after the ferry. Tea gardens change hands. The water does not.

Istanbul’s outdoors is water, hills and ferries. It is not a national park you can do between two museums. The Belgrade Forest and the islands are their own trips.

• Ferry to Kadıköy

  The short crossing from Eminönü or Karaköy is the cheapest way to see the city as a city. Give the Asian side the rest of the morning: the market streets, then Moda if you want the coast. Check the pier and the last convenient boat back.

• Galata and the tower, from the street

  The lanes up to Galata Tower are the walk. The tower’s viewing deck is timed and paid, and it has closed for works. Seeing the tower from a square is free. Going up is a booking. Check.

• A Bosphorus shore

  Bebek, Arnavutköy and the Ortaköy waterfront are villages swallowed by the city, still worth a walk when the monuments are done. Pick one. The road between them is not a stroll.

• Princes’ Islands

  Büyükada is the usual island: a ferry, no private cars in the way people expect, and a day of hills and wooden houses. It is a full day from the European shore. Check the ferry terminal and how visitors get around. Do not attach it to Topkapı.

• Balat on foot

  Steep streets, old houses and a working neighbourhood above the Golden Horn. Go to walk, not to stage a photo shoot in front of someone’s door. Combine it with Fener if you still have patience, not with the islands.

Istanbul rain is a reason to be indoors, not a reason to cancel the city. These places earn the wet walk, once you have checked the door.

• Basilica Cistern

  The underground cistern near Hagia Sophia is a paid visit and a good one when the square is miserable. It has closed for restoration in the past. Check tickets and whether it is open before you cross town for it.

• The Grand Bazaar

  A covered city of its own, traditionally quiet or shut on Sundays. Go to look, and buy only what you understand. It is not a museum with a single entrance narrative. Check the day, then get lost on purpose and find the same gate you came in.

• Istanbul Modern

  The contemporary art museum on the Karaköy waterfront. Exhibitions change, and the building itself is the rainy-day architecture. Confirm hours and whether the show you want is the one installed.

• Topkapı Palace

  The palace of the Ottoman court, above Gülhane, with courtyards that are still outdoors and rooms that are not. It is a paid half-day. The harem is often a separate ticket. Check both, and do not try to add the bazaar afterwards if you have already looked properly.

• Spice Bazaar

  The Egyptian Spice Bazaar at Eminönü is smaller than the Grand Bazaar and easier in the rain. It is also a shopping hall, not a tasting menu. Smell, ask, and do not treat a sample price as today’s price.

• A hammam you have chosen

  A bathhouse can be the right wet afternoon, and the ones aimed only at tourists vary from careful to careless. Pick a named hammam, read what is included, and skip any sample card that pretends to be a booking.

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