Istanbul 4-Day Itinerary: Old City, Bosphorus, Balat and Kadıköy

Four days in Istanbul lets you split the Old City over two unhurried days, give a full day to the Bosphorus and Dolmabahçe Palace, and spend the last day in Balat, the Chora mosaics and the Asian side. That is the plan below. Compared with a 3-day trip, the extra day means Topkapı Palace gets a morning of its own instead of a tired afternoon, and you have time for the neighbourhoods most short visits skip. Each day stays within one or two areas, so you spend your time in places, not in traffic. For four days with the hotel, transfers and guided days already arranged, see our Istanbul tour package for 4 days.

Four days at a glance

Day 1: Sultanahmet at a slower pace

With four days you can leave Topkapı for tomorrow and see the square properly.

Begin at Hagia Sophia when it opens. Foreign visitors pay €25 and walk the upper galleries, where the Byzantine mosaics are. Cross to the Blue Mosque, free to enter between prayers. Then walk the length of the Hippodrome, where chariot races were held for centuries, past the Egyptian obelisk and the Serpent Column.

After lunch, go underground at the Basilica Cistern, then finish at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (€17) on the Hippodrome, which has one of the world's major collections of early carpets. It is rarely crowded.

In the evening, a whirling dervish Sema ceremony takes about an hour. It is a religious ritual: no clapping, no flash photography.

Day 2: Topkapı Palace, the Grand Bazaar and Süleymaniye

Give Topkapı Palace the whole morning. The combined ticket (2,750 TL) covers the palace, the Harem and Hagia Irene, and three hours is a fair minimum. See the Harem first, before the crowd catches up, then the treasury, the sacred relics and the fourth-courtyard pavilions above the Bosphorus. Topkapı is closed on Tuesdays.

Walk ten minutes up Divanyolu, or take the tram to Çemberlitaş, and go into the Grand Bazaar in the early afternoon. It is closed on Sundays. Browse the inner streets and the old hans (caravanserais) around the edges, where craftsmen still work.

From the bazaar it is a ten-minute climb to the Süleymaniye Mosque. Go in the late afternoon, when the light over the Golden Horn is soft, and stay for the sunset from the rear terrace. The streets below have simple restaurants serving bean stew, the local speciality.

Day 3: Dolmabahçe Palace and the Bosphorus

Day three moves you out of the Old City. Take the tram to Kabataş, the last stop.

• Dolmabahçe Palace (2,000 TL, closed on Mondays). The 19th-century palace is the opposite of Topkapı: European in style, with chandeliers, a crystal staircase and the room where Atatürk died in 1938. Visits follow a set route; allow two hours.
• Bosphorus by boat. From the piers near Kabataş or Beşiktaş, take a cruise or a public ferry up the strait. You pass Ortaköy Mosque, the waterfront mansions of Bebek and Rumeli Fortress.
• Ortaköy. Back on land, stop for a kumpir (stuffed baked potato) by the mosque, right under the first Bosphorus Bridge.

In the late afternoon, take a taxi or bus to Karaköy and climb to the Galata Tower (€30) for the view over the old peninsula. From there, Istiklal Avenue is a short walk uphill.

If you prefer dinner on the water, a Bosphorus dinner cruise with a folk and belly dance programme fits this evening better than any other.

Day 4: Chora, Balat and the Asian side

Your last day shows the city's quieter side.

Morning: Chora and Balat. Start at the Chora mosaics in the Kariye Mosque (€20 for foreign visitors). The 14th-century mosaics and frescoes are among the finest Byzantine art anywhere. Walk downhill into Balat and Fener: coloured houses, antique dealers, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Bulgarian St Stephen church, made of prefabricated iron.

Afternoon: Spice Bazaar. Take a taxi or bus along the Golden Horn to Eminönü. Walk through the Spice Bazaar, which opens on Sundays too, and see the tiles in the nearby Rüstem Pasha Mosque.

Evening: Kadıköy and Moda. The ferry from Eminönü to Kadıköy takes about 20 minutes. Walk the food streets of Kadıköy, then the seafront to Moda for the sunset over the Old City. The ferry back after dark is a fine way to say goodbye.

Arranging the days around closures and the weather

The order above works on most weeks, but check the weekday you arrive.

Rainy days. Days one and two work well in rain: the cistern, the palace interiors, the museums and the covered bazaar. Keep day three for the best forecast, because it is mostly outdoors and on the water.

Arrival and departure. If you land in the afternoon, use the first evening for a walk around Sultanahmet Square and start day one the next morning. On the last day, leave about three hours from the Old City to Istanbul Airport for check-in and traffic.

Alternatives for day four. Swap Chora and Balat for the Asian-side palaces: Beylerbeyi Palace on the shore and the view from Çamlıca Hill. Or spend the day on the car-free Princes' Islands, about 90 minutes by ferry from Kabataş. Our Istanbul day trips page compares the options.

Tours that cover this

• Istanbul Tour Package: 4 Days / 3 Nights with Hotel and Bosphorus Cruise, from $699 per person. The full four days arranged for you.
• Istanbul Old City Private Tour: Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and Grand Bazaar, from $200 per person. Covers days one and two in one guided day.
• Dolmabahçe Palace Private Tour: Guide, Ticket and Optional Topkapı, from $150 per person. Day three with a guide.
• Bosphorus Dinner Cruise: Folk and Belly Dance Show, Transfers, from $90 per person.

For a fully private version with your own guide and car each day, see our Istanbul private tour guide page.

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