A place listed on the 2nd spot
for world tourism. This article is about the city of Turkey known as Istanbul
famous for historically and Byzantium. However, Istanbul is the city having
highest population of Turkey. It is also the economic, historic and cultural center
of country. It separates the two big continents Europe and Asia through the Marmara
and Black Sea. Its rich historical culture is enough to attract visitors. Many
Hollywood and Bollywood movie shootings are performed at various parts of
Istanbul. This wonder city is having
number of places to visit and it’s hard to cover all places in this short note,
though we tried to cover maximum spots of city for you.
If we go through the history of this city
we will find it was renamed many times by different rulers of various
dynasties. In the last city was named as Istanbul during the ruling period of
Ottomans. Without waiting time we will discuss the spots for you. We don’t want
you to be bored with your long debate about the city.
So here comes the list of places you can
enjoy in the wonder land Istanbul:
City is having many places for travelers
and to make things easy we have divided the spots in 4 categories such as
Museums, Fun Eats, Experience and Sightseeing.
·
Museums
Hagia
Sophia Museum: The most beautiful and spot of Istanbul educating people about
the history of city. Entry is paid and you will be charged €12, though if you
have tourist pass of Istanbul, then entry is free. Hagia is 1500 years old and
it was served as imperial mosque ages before. Large number of people regularly
visits Hagia and if you have tourist pass it will be easy for you to enter.
However, if you buy the ticket at Museum, then it will take hours for you to
enter this beautiful museum. Remember you cannot transfer your ticket to others
and you will not be able to enter with your private guide in the museum.
o
Timings
for museum are different in winter and summer. From 1st October to
April 15th is considered as winter season in Istanbul. The timing of
this museum during such period is 9 am to 5 pm.
o
Summer
period starts from 15th April to 1st October and timing
to enter museum is between 9 am to 7 pm. In both seasons last admission is 1
hour before the closing time. Museum remains closed for half day on early days
of Ramadan and Sacrifice festival.
How
to reach Hagia?
Hagia
is located in Sultanahmet Square of city. You can avail T1 Tram Line to reach
Sultanahmet. If you are staying in hotel at old-town area, then you can get the
tram to Sultanahmet easily. Public transport is available in city for Hagia so
no matter if you miss or not able to get Tram you can use other public
transportation to reach Hagai.
Topkapi
Palace Museum: The most secreted place in history because it was the primary
residence of Ottoman rulers for not less than 600 years. Visit the museum and
learn the royal life Ottoman rulers used to live. It is the most visited museum
of Turkey. Yes! That’s fact and people who reach Turkey never miss to attain
Topkapi. You can enjoy the exhibitions and several events regularly conducted
at this museum. In 1924 this palace was converted to Museum, but some portion
of museum is still covered and visitors are not allowed to enter. Entry to
museum is paid and you will be charged €12, though condition is same for this
museum as well like Hagia. If you buy tourist pass of Istanbul through
authorized dealer, then your entry will be free.
o Timing during summer is from 9 am to 6:45 pm.
o
Timing
during winter season is from 9 am to 4:45 pm.
How
to reach Topkapi?
Museum
is closed on Tuesday every week so plan you trip accordingly. It is also closed
on religious festivals so get the details of museum before planning to visit. To
reach Topkapi museum follow the same route of Hagia as this museum is also
located closer to Sultanahmet Square.
·
Fun
Eats
Bosphorus
Dinner Cruise: Do you love to spend time at Cruise, then get the tickets of
Bosphorus Dinner Cruise. You can get the free admission, meals and show passes
if you buy Istanbul tourist pass or else you have to pay €60. It could be a unique cruise experience for you because lots
of events are conducted in Bosphorus Dinner cruise. Turkish musical performance
such Katibim is best example of that. You can also enjoy some mythological play
like Aşuk Maşuk, Tambourine Dance, ceremony of Henna, folk performance by Turna
team and some other shows. Belly dance performed by expert is also a part of
this trip. As it is the dinner cruise you are getting a chance to enjoy the
delicious Turkeys food.
o
Cruise will depart at 8:30 pm and
will return at 12 am isn’t that amazing? Now reaching the cruise is easy like
you can register for pick-up from your hotel to curise, but you have to reserve
your seat 1 day before the visit.
o
Timing
for Café is different on Sunday through Thursday and Friday to Saturday. From
Sunday to Thursday it opens at 12 pm and closed at 12 am.
o
On
Friday to Saturday café will open at 12 pm and close at 1 am.
How
to reach Hard Rock Café?
Located
at front of Galatasaray School next to Taksim square. M2 metro line is easily
available for Galatasaray School so no worries to reach the best café.
Bath
experience at Turkish: relax yourself with different style of Turkish bath,
though gate pass will cost you €26. If you buy the tourist pass the entry will
be free like other parts of Istanbul.
Show of Whirling Dervishes: Next experience that you can take in city is Dervishes show that will cost you €22 to enter. However, if you buy pass the entry will be cashless to Whirling Dervishes show.
SEA Life Aquarium of Istanbul: Next spot to experience in Istanbul is Sea Life aquarium and you have to pay €15 to enter the spot. Again if you buy the tourism pass you will get free entry to aquarium as well.
·
Top
Sightseeing Acts in Istanbul:
Whichever
place you plan for holidays the first thing comes into mind is the sightseeing
areas because every place is unique and having different features such as
climate conditions, food, hospitality, beauty of city and many more. Istanbul
is serving their visitors with top sightseeing activities in the city.
Hop-on Hop-off Boat Tour: Take the pleasure of boat tour at Bosphorus at very nominal price. You just have to pay €8 as entry fee, though it’s free with tourism package. Sailing in amazing boat at Istanbul city is going to be best experience of your life. This tour is not only about the beauty of Bosphorus it is also a travel to best National Palaces with no traffic. The best feature of this boating is you can hop-off at your favorite stop, enjoy the stop and get the other boat for hop-back at same spot for next stop. It’s around two hour tour if you have not taken any hop-off.
o
Route
of this boating starts from Kabataş Port. The next stop will be Besiktas, and you
can enjoy Dolmabahçe Palace at this place. Some lovely parks are also available
at stop such as Kucuksu Pavilion at Beylerbeyi Palace.
o
Timing
for Boating:
Ø
Kabatas:
Boat is available at every hour though duration is from 12:45 to 15:45.
Ø
Besiktas:
Boat is available at every hour though duration is from 12:55 to 15:55
Ø
Emirgan:
Boat is available at every hour though duration is from 13:35 to 16:35
Ø
Kucuksu:
Boat is available at every hour though duration is from 13:50 to 16:50
Ø
Beylerbeyi:
Boat is available at every hour though duration is from 14:10 to 17:10.
How to reach there?
You
can get the T1 line to reach Kabatas station. Start walking towards sea-side
and reach at Dentur Avrasya Port to avail your first boat.
Hop-Off
Hop-On Tour on Bus: The same way like hop-off and hop-on of boating you can go
for buses as well. If you will not buy the tourism pass, then you have to pay €33
to avail this offer. Magnificent view of city from the bus is best thing in
Istanbul. This tour starts at Sultanahmet Square and finishes at same as well. This
tour allows you to take pleasure of Istanbul’s top sights. Buses in such tour
are open from the top so you are getting a complete enjoyment package. The two
routes of this tour offer different vital landmarks of historical sites. First
route is named as Red Route that is taking visitors to the Old City, Galata
Bridge, Taksim Square and Bosphorus. Second route is known as Blue Route that is
offering the visit of beautiful Golden Horn and the cultural journey of diverse
civilizations in Istanbul. The package includes free Wi-Fi at bus so stays
connected with your members through internet and share your bus experience
immediately. Timings for this route are different according to seasons. You
will get the list of timings from the tourism center or you can reach the bus
office to attain such information.
How to reach Istanbul?
Flight is the easiest way to reach Istanbul.
The biggest airport for Istanbul is Ataturk International. Most of the visitors from different nations
are reaching Ataturk Airport for Istanbul. The airbase is located at Yesilkoy
that is on the European side of city. Airport is only 28 km away the central city.
Next airport for Istanbul is Sabiha Gokcen Airport located at Kurtkoy. Food and
drinks at both airports will be higher so before order please check the prices.
Bus, taxi, tram and Metro or shuttle van are best mode of transport in city. Flights
for Istanbul are available from Germany, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Italy and Bulgaria.
You will get flights from Greece as well for Istanbul. Basically Middle East is
properly connected to Istanbul from various parts.
Note: Get the local map from location
stores in Istanbul. This will help you to locate the places easily and you will
not get missed as well.
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