How to Enjoy a Day in Istanbul: Top Sights and Tips

A Day in Istanbul

If you have just one day for enjoying various sights and monuments and you want to have maximum enjoyment of this time, then follow the suggestions stated below to make the best of your time. Here we go—

The first and foremost important thing to be kept in mind is never just rush from one spot to another to visit maximum places. It is rather good to just choose and decide to visit four or five destinations to be covered in a day’s time. Only then you can have an enjoyable time. If you want to save your time, go for hiring a taxi or a cab to spend your time judiciously.

Begin your day’s journey by first visiting a traditional coffee house in the city. Try The Pudding Shoppe in Sultanahmet or the Pierre Loti Café in Eyup for enjoying the best coffee in Istanbul. The city has been the hub of coffee trade between east and the west for almost centuries.

The next destination should be the picturesque Topkapi Palace and enjoy the nature’s bounty in its splashing gardens and of course the traditional harem. To enjoy the glory of the city, take a voyage through the waters of the Bosphorus.

The Grand Bazaar ought to be the next favored destination if you want to grab some unforgettable souvenirs along with you while you return back home. The huge bazaar at Carsikapi Cadessi has been established in the 15^th century and has about 4000 shops selling everything from beautiful pashminas, leather good, Turkish carpets to antique and exquisite gold and silver jewelry.

A visit to Istanbul is simply incomplete without enjoying some of the famous delicacies of this city. Try lokum, a Turkish delight at Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir in Eminonu. Lokum was a Turkish delicacy enjoyed by the sultan. You can’t help enjoying the unique taste and the flavor especially along with mint tea at the Sirkeci Station just a few yards away.

Finally, we come to our final destinations for the day, some famous historical monuments, namely Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. The good thing about these two religious buildings is that they are located in close proximity with each other in Sultanahmet, despite being associated with different religions.

These two monuments are reminiscent of the history, tradition and the culture of the period to which they belong. As you walk inside, you can actually visualize the colorful culture and the rich tradition of the era when these monuments were built. The Blue Mosque has blue tiles on its roof and hence got its name, the Blue Mosque. The Hagia Sophia has been now converted into a museum exhibiting religious relics.

If you want to have dinner, the best place is to head for the Golden Horn, which can be easily reached by taking a boat. This romantic monument is located in the middle of the beautiful Bosphorus and functions as a restaurant since a decade. It was built as a lighthouse in the 18^th century.

Comments (0)
Trackbacks (0)
( subscribe to comments on this post )

The Delights of Istanbul »
« Istanbul’s Haghia Sophia: Angel’s Face Uncovered

aya sofya
basilica cistern
blue mosque
Bookshop
Bosphorus
Byzantine
Byzantium
Cagaloglu bath
Cemberlitas Hamam
Constantinople
Divanyolu
Dolmabahce Palace
Egyptian Spice Bazaar
eminonu
Four Seasons Hotel
Galata Tower
Golden Horn
Grand Bazaar
Hagia Sophia
hamams
hippodrome
hippodrome old city
historic peninsula
Istanbul
Istanbul 2010
iznik tiles
Mimar Sinan
Misir Carsisi
Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Period
Spice Bazaar
Suleymaniye Mosque
sultan ahmet
sultanahmet
sultanahmet istanbul
sultanahmet square
sultan istanbul
The İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture
The Hippodrome
Topkapi Palace
Turkey
turkish baths
turkish delight
turkish hamams