How To See All The Major Tourist Sites in Istanbul in Three Days

I knew when my family came to Istanbul that I would be their tour guide.

My family’s trip abroad to see me was two weeks long. That’s more than enough to see all the fabulous things in Istanbul—in fact, the first time I came here as a tourist, I ended up staying for nearly two weeks and saw all of the major tourist attractions. Anything I missed, I caught up with during my successive visits. Really, the only big draw I hadn’t done at all was a visit to the islands, but that was easy to add to my family’s itinerary.

But then we decided to take a weekend trip south, to Antalya. And then they decided to extend their layover in Amsterdam to a whole weekend trip to a country we’d never been to. (Which of course turned into a much longer trip, for me.)

So when I started planning my family’s Istanbul itinerary, I realized that of those two weeks abroad, only seven days were in Istanbul.

And two of those days involved traveling to or from other places.

And some of those days, I had to teach.

And one of those days, I had to go to the police station to get my resident permit.

A pickle, for sure.

So I decided to try to do as much as possible the first week, when we had four days in a row. One of those days (my birthday!) would be spent on the big island of Buyukada.

The other three would be Istanbul on speed.

It is possible to see most of the major Sultanahmet attractions in three days! It can be done! Here’s how we did it.

SUNDAY NIGHT: My family lands in Istanbul, after a full day of traveling from California. They are staying near Galata, down a long hill from the Tunel side of Istiklal Caddesi. After they settle into their hotel, we go out to dinner at a nice meze place called Sofyali 9, and walk around the Galata Tower at night.

MONDAY: We meet bright and early and walk from Tophane to Sultanahmet—about two and half miles. On the way, we stop at the Spice Bazaar near Eminonu, which my dad adores.

A few places in Sultanahmet are closed on Mondays, but not everything. We explore the Basilica Cistern, one of my favorite Sultanahmet sights. We go inside the Blue Mosque and people-watch in the courtyard. We investigate the visible ruins of the Hippodrome. We get lunch at the original Sultanahmet Kofteci, which has a limited but solid menu and is one of the more decent places to eat in that area.

Everyone is getting tired (jet lag is a drag, man) so on our way back, we stop at Gulhane Park. Gulhane is the former garden grounds of Topkapi Palace and is currently one of the nicer parks in the center of Istanbul. The city’s month-long tulip festival is still on, so the park is resplendent with flowers.

We walk back to Galata. For dinner, we go to a Georgian-Turkish restaurant in Taksim called Klemuri, where everything on the menu is delicious.

TUESDAY: Apparently it’s a holiday: Children’s Day. Turkish flags are draped from every building and the lines at the Hagia Sofia are long—but we wait, anyway. It’s worth it.  The church-turned-mosque-turned-museum is brimming over with fascinating history. We particularly loved studying the old excavated mosaics. It’s 25 tl to get in—one of the pricier tourist attractions—but skipping the Hagia Sofia should be a crime. This is an amazing building.

We try to get into Topkapi Palace, but it is closed for the holiday. Instead, we decide to walk to the Grand Bazaar. We get sucked into the maze of shops and cafes, with men calling to us to sell us rugs, Turkish delight, plastic tchotchkes. We spend most of the time ogling (and buying) pashmina scarves. We haggle, badly.

We walk back to the hotel and after a brief rest, we do a little shopping and exploring on Istiklal Caddesi in Taksim.

WEDNESDAY: After our regular morning walk to Sultanahmet, we go immediately to Topkapi Palace. It’s 40 tl per person (including the Harem), but worth it: the palace is old but still very beautiful, and the Harem is stunning. We spend a few hours here, and could have spent more.

When we’re done, we get on my beloved ferry and finally head to my neighborhood: Kadikoy! I take my family to my favorite lahmacun restaurant (Halil Lahmacun). Afterwards, we walk through the fish market. My family rests at my house while I go teach a lesson. Afterwards, we pick up my roommate and my friend Lucy, and we go to the best restaurant in Kadikoy: Ciya. After an epic and heavenly meal, we walk to Moda for a late night ice cream at Ali Usta, and stroll along the seaside by night. My family heads home on the last ferry.

Sure, there are things we missed in these three days. We didn’t go to Dolmabahce Palace. We didn’t get a chance to go to the Istanbul Modern, which was unexpectedly closed the following week due to the May Day holiday. Had we more time, I would have taken my family to Ortakoy, and Caddebostan, and Cihangir. But by doing ALL OF THIS in just three days, we had a little bit more flexibility for the rest of their time here. So when my resident permit appointment took up a whole day, it was okay.

Also, it’s easy to switch out some things. We had to go to Kadikoy, because I live there. If you aren’t planning on going to the Asian side, there is more time to explore the European side!

So if you’re only in Istanbul for three days, don’t fret! You can see so many things in that time, and still have time for a late night stroll with ice cream along the Moda Seaside.  It’s a beautiful thing.