Places to Visit
Mosques, palaces, Byzantine monuments and neighbourhoods of the Historic Peninsula.
23 places
Hagia Sophia
Byzantium's greatest cathedral, now a mosque. Its vast dome is a landmark of world architecture.
Blue Mosque
Known as the "Blue Mosque" for its six minarets and more than 20,000 İznik tiles.
Topkapı Palace
Home of the Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years: the Harem, the Treasury and the Sacred Relics.
Basilica Cistern
A dimly lit underground reservoir with 336 columns and the famous Medusa heads.
Süleymaniye Mosque
Mimar Sinan's masterpiece: Suleiman the Magnificent's complex on a hill above the Golden Horn.
Istanbul Archaeology Museums
A three-building museum complex home to the Alexander Sarcophagus and the Treaty of Kadesh tablet.
Hippodrome (Sultanahmet Square)
Byzantium's chariot-racing arena, home to the Egyptian Obelisk and the Serpent Column.
Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
World-famous carpets and manuscripts inside the Palace of Pargalı İbrahim Pasha.
Gülhane Park
Topkapı's former outer garden — a shady break, famous for its spring tulips.
Rüstem Pasha Mosque
A small mosque raised above shops, with some of the city's finest İznik tiles.
New Mosque (Yeni Cami)
Eminönü's landmark — a Valide Sultan complex that includes the Spice Bazaar.
Little Hagia Sophia
A calm, elegant Byzantine church built shortly before Hagia Sophia.
Chora (Kariye Mosque)
Home to some of the finest mosaics and frescoes of Byzantine art.
Theodosian Walls
5th-century land walls that guarded the city for a thousand years, from the Marmara to the Golden Horn.
Valens Aqueduct
A giant Roman-era aqueduct spanning Atatürk Boulevard.
Cistern of Philoxenos (Binbirdirek)
A quieter, many-columned Byzantine cistern than the Basilica Cistern.
Column of Constantine
A porphyry column from 330, the year the city became the capital.
Fener & Balat
Colourful houses, churches and synagogues in the city's most multicultural quarters.
Sirkeci Station
The 1890 terminus of the legendary Orient Express.
Galata Bridge & Eminönü
The iconic Golden Horn bridge, famous for its anglers and views.
Great Palace Mosaic Museum
Mosaics from the Byzantine Great Palace showing hunts and daily life.
Beyazıt Square
A lively square with Beyazıt Mosque, Istanbul University's gate and the Book Bazaar.
Fatih Mosque
The first great complex built after the conquest, and resting place of Sultan Mehmed II.