Additional Sights Around Istanbul:


In addition to all of the main sights included in our walking tours there are a number of other sights and experiences worth checking out in greater Istanbul.


Prioritizing Your Time:

The attractions on this list are really neat, but it is important to prioritize your time as they are outside of the core of Istanbul.  Make sure the visit all of the main sights around Old Town and New Town plus the Bazaars and Chora Church before considering these sights.  As long as you have 4 full days in Istanbul you can start hitting up parts of this list.  Please consult our Suggested Itineraries For Istanbul for more tips.


Transportation Tips:

Unlike the main sights which are easy to get to from the compact center of Istanbul, some of these other sights are a little harder to get to.  Consult our map and the details for each attraction below on what is the best route.  For some it will be a ferry or tram, while others it is a bus or taxi.

Other Top Sights Around Istanbul:
1. Turkish Baths: One of the most authentic experiences you can get in Istanbul is visiting a Turkish bath house.  The therapeutic hot springs led to the Greeks and Romans settling the area which adds to the visit.

While there your waist down must be covered and you aren’t allowed to be completely naked, they provide traditional cotton and silk bath wraps called Peştamel, sandals are also provided.  may wear  a bikini, or swimwear  if you will feel more comfortable

Pick services, change in changing room private locker, then lock it.

Second room called the Sıcaklık (hot room) has göbek taşı” (central heated marble platform) where you seat or lay opening you pores for the bath.  Relaxing here is great and glass portals send beams of colored light down from the dome.  Then after relaxing and sweating you move to the sides of the room to a basins cubby to wash with beautiful smelling Çemberlitaş Hamamı soaps and water poured from copper pots.  Instead of washing yourself you can instead get a soap scrub and massage from an attend for an extra fee which lasts 15-30 minutes. no nudity waist down.

Sarnic Cistern – behind Aya Sophia by the Baths is from the 400s and converted into a restaurant.  on Sogukçesme Sok against the palace walls

Yeralti Camii – underground mosque in New Town near the Baths

Sarabi Wine Bar – upper New Town inside an aqueduct from the 1800s

Drink lots of water before and after as the steam will dehydrate you

is a quite and peaceful experience

Kilic Ali Pasa Hamam

Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamam

Soap Scrub and massage lasts about 30 minutes can stay in the steam as long as you like


2. Fortress of the 7 Towers (Yedikule):


3. Binbirdirek Cistern:
Built by Constantine in 330AD to hold water.  Ottomans later emptied it an turned it into a caravanserai (traveler inn) for people traveling through with the silk trade.

224 columns (16 rows x14 columns), 112 remain
Open daily 9am-7pm, only 6pm in Winter. Closed during special events.<

Ihlamur Kasrı


4. Yıldız Palace:


5. Haydarpaşa Train Station:


6. Traditional Shows:

Whirling Dervishes – http://www.hodjapasha.com/sema_ceremony_desc.aspx, Shows Friday-Monday & Wednesday at 730, 50TL per person

Turkish Dance Show – http://www.hodjapasha.com/dance_show_desc.aspx, Tuesday & Thursday, 50TL per person

Janissary Band – at the Military Museum near Taksim Square, performances are at 3pm Weds>Sun

Pammakaristos Church / Fethiye Mosque, also known as the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos