4 days in Istanbul 🇹🇷everything to eat/ see/ do + where to stay in istanbul for 4 days! i’ll give you recommendations + options for activities + prices for everything too! the city is big & spread out so follow this guide so you maximize your time!Authorswheretonexttt
DestinationsIstanbulItinerary

Where to stay

Acacia Mansion Hotel
mid range budget hotel located 5 minute walk from the blue mosque. We stayed here & loved it. the breakfast every morning is really good! it’s about $75 per night
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Book

food & drink 🤪

Hafiz Mustafa 1864
been around since 1864.. this is the best place to try alllll kinds of baklava! especially the ice cream baklava.. it’s SO delicious 🤤
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Turkish Kebab Fish Steak
really good turkish cuisine, they have big mixed grill platters for an affordable price
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Ziya Baba Türk Mutfağı Slow food kebap Dürüm wrap& Anatolian brekfast best cheap food
affordable & good authentic turkish food
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Begonville Cafe Restaurant
Turkish breakfast is a must try and this is a good cafe to have it at!
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Hidden Garden Restaurant Sultanahmet
authentic turkish food in a nice atmosphere
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Fish sandwich
a small stand on the side of the karakoy pier, all the guy sells are these this fresh fish sandwich wraps & it is sooo yummy
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Karaköy Güllüoğlu - Nadir Güllü
dessert shop! they have gluten free desserts too
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Tomtom Kebap
really good but also quick to go kebabs or wraps for lunch
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Gold Balat Restaurant
This cafe is in Balat and i highly recommend it while you’re wandering around this colorful, charming neighborhood. Get the turkish breakfast!! the spread is so filling and the food is so fresh & good
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Trip Highlight
some of the food we ate during our time here 🤤
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Day 1

The Blue Mosque
Iconic & worth the visit! free to enter & opens at 830am to tourists
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Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque
Also so beautiful! but now it does cost $26 to enter.. I only visited on the outside so it’s totally up to you
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Grand Bazaar
so fun walking. through here and seeing all the stuff they have to sell!
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Egyptian Bazaar
Egyptian spice market is close to the grand bazaar and also iconic to walk through here
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Seven Hills Restaurant
This is a restaurant but also on the rooftop this is where you can feed the pigeons! they give you scraps of food and a fork to hold up and the birds swoop down to take the food from you. super fun & cool pictures!
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Basilica Cistern
this is an ancient underground water storage system, located just a few minutes away from the Hagia Sophia there’s a ton of columns you can walk through and it’s so unique. the lights change colors and it’s so unique seeing all the different carvings and details ⏰Opened from: 9am-12am 💸Price: 9am-630pm= $26 730pm-12am = $41 It’s more pricy at night time but honestly it’s worth it… the lines during the day are Crazzyyy long and i honestly felt like at night it was such a vibe and looked even cooler bc of the lights & the architecture
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Day 2

Galata Tower
start your day here bc it gets crowded during the day
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Taksim Square
this is a great area to walk around for shopping and street food. you could spend the whole day in this area
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Karaköy Pier
walk along the bosporus for sunset 🌅 it’s so iconic
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Bosphorus
cross the bridge during sunset and see all the seafood markets feed the pigeons! they throw fish into the water and every evening you’ll see hundreds of birds swarming and flying in the sky to eat for the night
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Day 3

İncir ağacı kahvesi
on day 3, go to “Balat” in the morning. It’s a very colorful town and it’s so charming. this is a cute instagramable cafe you can walk too
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Kiremit Caddesi
colorful houses - super pretty to walk through
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Merdivenli Yokuş Evleri
another pretty street to wander around
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Cafe Dora
stop here for fresh juice made in front of you or authentic turkish cofffee!
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Suleymaniye Mosque
after you leave balat, visit this stunning mosque. it’s harder to get to so it’s not as crowded as blue mosque or hagia sophia, but it’s just as charming & free to enter
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Topkapi Palace Museum
Optional activity bc it costs money to enter but it’s so impressively beautiful
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Day 4

Grand Çamlıca Mosque
visit the LARGEST mosque in all of turkey and in my opinion, the most beautiful. it’s on the asian side of istanbul & it’s free to enter
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Beylerbeyi Palace
come here after çamlıca mosque. it only costs a few dollars to enter & it’s stunning!
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Yıldız Park
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