This guide of Istanbul in two days It will allow you to explore the main tourist attractions of an impressive city, bridge between Asia and Europe, which we are sure, will make you fall in love as soon as you arrive.
Although we understand that 2 days is a short time to get to know this city well, we assure you that if you optimize the routes on foot and by public transport, you can have a very complete view of Istanbul, where in addition to visiting the most emblematic points of interest such as mosques and Topkapi Palace, you can try the delicious Turkish cuisine, beyond the kebab, and enjoy the great atmosphere that is formed in markets and squares.
Based on the four days we spent in the city, after which we wrote this guide to travel to Turkey, we have made this itinerary of Istanbul in 2 days, making the most of time. We start!
Practical advice for Istanbul
This list of practical recommendations can help you get to know and understand the city faster:
- To learn more about the history and have a good first contact with the city, it is advisable to book this free tour of Istanbul Free! or if you are more people, book this private tour, both with a guide in Spanish.
- Buy the Istanbulkart rechargeable card to use in all public transport in the city.
- Avoid taxis as much as possible and if you use it, you better ask for it from the hotel or restaurant, knowing in advance the price of the trip.
- If in addition to knowing Istanbul you are going to make a route through the country, we recommend following this list of places to visit in Turkey essential
- Friday is a day of prayer and there are restrictions to access the interior of the mosques, keep this in mind if your visit coincides with this day.
- Shorts, tank tops, and women must cover their hair with a handkerchief to enter the mosques.
- Do not forget to take out good travel insurance to have the best medical care in the best hospitals in the city without paying anything. We always travel insured with Mondo And he has always been the best travel companion. For more information you can read this post about the best travel insurance for Turkey.
- Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can look for more recommendations in this post of tips to travel to Istanbul essential.
Where to sleep
As accommodation for this Istanbul in two days We recommend the Adamar Hotel, with fantastic views of the city from its terrace and The Million Stone Hotel, both located in the center, a few meters from the most symbolic places of the city such as Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia. In addition to its excellent location and good communication with the city's airports, both hotels have 24-hour reception and one of the best quality / price ratios in Istanbul.
How to get from the airport to Istanbul
The best options for transferring to the hotel from the two Istanbul airports (New Airport and Sabiha Gökçen) are:
- Meter: at the beginning of 2020 it will be active at the New Airport, the M11 subway line that will allow you to reach the center in a short time.
- Bus: Havabüs will leave you to Taksim Square from Sabiha Gökçen airport in 90 minutes for 2.5 euros. At the New Airport you have the IST-19 and IST-20 bus lines that will leave you at the Taksim and Sultanahmet stops in 80 minutes for 3 euros.
- Private transport: When booking this comfortable transfer here, a driver will wait for you at the arrivals terminal raising a sign with your name and will take you to your hotel in an hour, depending on traffic.
- Cab: The price of a taxi to the center from the Sabiha Gökçen is 25 euros and from the New Airport 30 euros.
For more information about the transfer you can consult this post on how to go from the Istanbul airport to the center.
First day in Istanbul
The route of the first day of Istanbul in two days Start arriving before 9 in the morning at the entrance of Topkapi Palace, the power center of the former Ottoman Empire, where when the doors open you will see incredible rooms such as the Treasury and the Harem, as well as fantastic views of the Bosphorus Strait , which separates Asia from Europe.
When leaving the palace you will pass in front of the Basilica of Santa Sofía, which you will visit tomorrow next to the Blue Mosque, to reach the Basilica Cistern, which you will visit today and where you will see a reservoir that could store about 100,000 m3 of water and where you can look for the famous jellyfish head hidden at the base of one of the 336 columns of the building.
Basilica Cistern
The next visit of Istanbul in 2 days It is the Constantinople Racecourse that has a 3500-year-old Egyptian obelisk and two commemorative columns. Less than 10 minutes walk from this square is the Church of San Sergio and San Baco known as Little Hagia Sophia, where you can see a beautiful Orthodox church that was transformed into a mosque during the Otomono Empire and is one of the places to see in Istanbul less known.
You can take advantage of the fact that you are in this area to eat good fish or Turkish food at La Romantica Turkish Kitchen, Istanbul Anatolian Cuisine or Three Partners, three of the best restaurants in the city.
The Istanbul route in two days continue in the afternoon going up to the Galata Bridge until you reach the Grand Bazaar, the most famous market in the city with more than 4000 stores. After buying some souvenir like the famous Turkish eye, you will walk to Süleymaniye, the largest mosque in the city, an Ottoman imperial building that is located on a hill and has in the garden, the magnificent Suleiman I mausoleums and its wife and an interior decorated with beautiful tiles is illuminated by the light that passes through its many stained glass windows.
Visit the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul in 2 days
When you go down the hill you will find yourself near the emblematic Galata Bridge, which has a fantastic atmosphere on its terraces and bars on the lower floor and where you will also see numerous fishermen with large rods and have views of the Süleymaniye Mosque. At the end of the bridge you can walk up or in the funicular of Tünel to the Galata Tower, which has excellent panoramic views of the entire city and is one of the essentials that you should not miss.
To end this first day you can take a pleasant walk to the Kabatas pier, where you can book this Bosphorus cruise at sunset with a guide in Spanish or this night cruise with show and dinner, since both offer one of the best experiences in Istanbul
For dinner we recommend the homemade Turkish food of the Galata Kitchen or the F&B Culture, located near the Galata Tower.
If you prefer to visit the city with a guide in Spanish to learn more about the history of each place, we recommend you book this tour through Istanbul in 2 days or this 7-hour tour that includes the Bosphorus cruise.
(Extended information of the first day here)
Map of the first day of Istanbul in 2 days
What to see in Istanbul in two days
The route of the second day of what to see in Istanbul in two days Start with the first hour visit of the Basilica of Santa Sofía, which opens at 9 in the morning, where you can enjoy an Orthodox basilica converted into a mosque and now a museum, which impresses with the huge dome and the Byzantine mosaics of its inside.
A few meters from Santa Sofia, crossing a garden, is another of the most emblematic buildings in the city, the Blue Mosque, with 6 minarets that have their interior decorated with blue Iznik mosaics that give you a magical atmosphere.
Blue Mosque
After these two visits, you can take a quiet walk through the Gülhane Park, which has great visits to the Asian part of the city. When you leave the park you can take advantage of the delicious Turkish dishes of Bitlisli or Seher Kebab Meat House.
In the afternoon, the Istanbul in 2 days Continue with the visit to the popular Spice Bazaar or Egyptian Bazaar, a covered market in which its stalls sell all kinds of species, Turkish sweets and nuts.
When you leave the market, you can walk half an hour or take a taxi to Istiklal Caddesi, a pedestrian shopping street full of shops that ends at Taksim Square for the walk to enter the Cicek Pasaji, a French-style gallery with several restaurants and a beautiful roof, which is highly recommended.
Istiklal Caddesi Street
Taksim Square is the nerve center of the most modern part of the city and the place where the most important manifestations of recent times have been made in addition to one of the places you can not miss.
After seeing the atmosphere of the square and being aware that you have been walking around the city for hours, we recommend you try one of the best Turkish baths in the city, the hammam Aga Hamami, a steam bath that includes a period of relaxation in which you go from a room heated with warm air to one of warmer, to finish with a full wash and a massage. You can book this bathroom in advance here.
If you are in the most touristic part of the city you can try the experience of the Turkish bath in the Hamam of Cemberlitas or in the one of Suleymaniye, the only mixed one of Istanbul.
After rejuvenating a few years, the route of Istanbul in two days continue by ferry across the Bosphorus to reach the Üsküdar neighborhood, located in the Asian part of the city.
In this neighborhood you can find the authentic Istanbul while walking through the streets and squares surrounded by ancient Ottoman buildings, entering mosques such as Yeni Valide or touring species and fish markets.
Before sunset it is obligatory to buy a soda or a Turkish tea in one of the kiosks of the Café de las Alfombras and look for a place in one of the carpets of the ground to see the best sunset in Istanbul.
Maiden's Tower
To return to the hotel you can take a ferry that will pass in front of the beautiful Maiden's Tower and leave you at the port of Eminönü, located near the Galata Bridge and from there walk to the area of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia to see them illuminated and have dinner at the Panoramic Restaurant or at the Mesopotamian Terrace Restaurant, both with spectacular views of this area.
If you have more time you can follow this Istanbul guide in 3 days.
Map of the route of the second day in Istanbul
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Istanbul guide in one day
Rent your car in Turkey at the best price here
The best offers of Flights to Istanbul here
The best hotels at the best prices in Istanbul here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Book the best tours and excursions in Istanbul in Spanish here
Book your transfer Airport⇆Istanbul here
Istanbul guide in one day
Rent your car in Turkey at the best price here
