5-day Istanbul Itinerary: Our Perfect City Break

DAY 2 | MODERN İSTIKLAL CADDESI, SPICE BAZAAR AND ASIAN ISTANBUL

AM /Start this morning at Taksim square and amble down Istiklal Caddesi, grabbing brunch at Café Ara. Check out the Pera Museum which has a permanent art collection featuring Osman Hamdi Bey’s ‘The Tortoise Trainer’ on the first floor, and three further floors of rotating exhibitions. Soak up the atmosphere in Beyoğlu, popping into other galleries, especially the Museum of Innocence, which has a quirky display by Nobel prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk. Amble down the hill and across the Galata Bridge for lunch at Hamdi’s, a local Turkish institution.

PM /Head into the magnificent sights and smells of the Spice Market before exploring the warren of streets that stretch in every direction around it. Hopefully, you will get luckier than us at the Rüstem Pasha Mosque and the New Mosque both of which were covered in scaffolding on our visit.

As late afternoon approaches take the ferry from Eminönü to Kadıköy and explore the produce food market on the Asian side of Istanbul. End with dinner at Ciya Sofrasi in the heart of the market. It serves excellent southeastern Turkish food, and if the menu is too incomprehensible then a bit of pointing does the trick.

Pera Museum /10:00 – 19:00 Tue-Sat; 12:00 – 18:00 Sun; Price: ₺20. More information here

Museum of Innocence /10:00 – 18:00 Tue-Sun; 10:00 – 21:00 Thur; Price: ₺25

DAY 3 | BRUNCH IN ORTAKÖY, DOLMABAHÇE PALACE & WHIRLING DERVISHES

[Please note this day needs to be on Sunday]

AM /Jump in a taxi and head to Ortaköy, a short ride north of the centre of Istanbul. Head to Firini Street, and join the locals for Sunday brunch. Café Zemheri had excellent food and friendly service. The back streets have a flea market atmosphere on a Sunday with a covered market near the waterfront. Pop inside the stunning Ortaköy Mosque, shimmering against the Bosphorus.

Walk 30 minutes to Dolmabahçe Palace (closed Monday and Thursday). While the queue can still be a bit onerous the awful guided tour has been replaced by a good audio guide that clicks in and out as you enter the various rooms, as if by magic. The palace is split into two sections, the Harem (Sultan’s family’s private quarters) and the Selamik (official palace rooms). In our opinion it’s worth paying for both. The showstoppers are the Blue Hall, Crystal Staircase and Grand Ceremonial. Allow 2 hours or so to wander around.

Surprisingly, lunch at the on-site café is pretty decent. It’s also one of the few places in Istanbul where you can dine right next to the Bosphorus.

PM /Walk to Kabatas, take the tram to Tofane and stroll up to the Galata Mevlevi Museum. Here the Sema takes places every Sunday: the religious ceremony where the Whirling Dervishes do their whirling. Tickets need to be collected and paid for the day before (Saturday) from a man sitting at a table outside the entrance to the Museum.

After the whirling, skip the horrendous queues at the Galata Tower and the busyness of Bar 360 making a beeline for SNOG Roof & Bar. You’ll be giving up some of the views, a venue with a credible name and star quality, but you’ll get a seat, reasonable drinks and good service.

Explore the area around İstiklal Caddesi and stop for dinner at Sahrap tucked in the streets next to Sishane Metro.

Dolmabahçe Palace /9:00 – 17:00 Each day (closed Mon & Thur); Price: ₺60 for both Harem and Selamik.

Sema at Galata Mevlevi Museum /17:00 every Sunday. Buy tickets outside the museum the day before and arrive by 16.30 for a decent seat; Price: ₺70

DAY 4 | ANCIENT CITY WALLS, CHORA CHURCH AND COOL ART IN KARAKÖY

AM /Start your day at the Panorama 1453 Museum, a short walk from the Topkapı Metro Station. Speed read your way through the verbose information boards explaining the mighty Ottoman victory over the Romans and head up to the dome. The 360-degree painted panorama, complete with sound effects, won us over thanks to its delightfully tacky depiction of the battle scene.

From the museum you can walk along the walls, but it’s better to head back to the metro station and hop on the tram to Edirnekapi which follows the wall anyway. Exiting the tram, walk through the walls and down to the Chora Church. This is the best-preserved Crusader Byzantine Church and the frescoes and mosaics inside are exemplary.

Wend your way down the hill for 20 minutes through a modern Turkish neighbourhood to the ferry stop at Ayvansary. The ferry only runs once an hour so try to time your arrival with the timetable below, but you are rewarded with a relaxing ride along the Golden Horn as views of Istanbul slide by.

PM /Hop off at Karaköy, ignore the awful restaurants under the bridge and grab lunch at Akin Balik, a great seafood restaurant tucked into the fishing village just upstream of the bridge. For desert grab some delicious baklava at Karaköy Güllüoğlu. The baklava itself was one of our top 10 moments in Istanbul.

Spend the afternoon in the cool district of Karaköy, popping into excellent modern art, either at the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art or at the Tophane-I Amire Culture and Art Centre, between grabbing coffee and dinner at the many cafes and restaurants that line the pretty streets.

1453 Panorama Museum /8:00 – 17:00 every day; Price: ₺15; For more information to help plan your visit, see here.

Chora Church /9:00 – 18:00,15th Apr– Sep; 9:00 – 16:00 Oct –14th Apr; Price: ₺15. Free with museum card and more information can be found here.

Ayvansaray Ferry /Check their latest timetables to plan your trip back to Karaköy.

Istanbul Museum of Modern Art /Closed for refurbishment while were there, but we have been before, and it is excellent. Check their website for re-opening updates.

DAY 5 | SÜLEYMANIYE MOSQUE, GRAND BAZAAR AND TOPKAPI PALACE

AM /Start the day at Valens Aqueduct built by Roman Emperor Theodosius. Next amble along Veta Caddesi in the Molla Husrev neighbourhood to the magnificent Süleymaniye Mosque. After exploring inside, head down the hill to Aga Kapisi for tea or coffee on its rooftop with great views over the city and back over the Mosque.

Next, stroll further down the hill and into the Grand Bazaar. Test out your bargaining skills before grabbing lunch at Carsi Kebab, a great local kebab stall in the north-west corner of the bazaar.

PM /After lunch, go past Constantine’s column on the way to the Topkapı Palace, remembering to skip the queues with your museum card. You can easily spend around 2 hours 30 minutes exploring the palace from which the Ottoman Sultans ruled their massive Empire. For dinner return to wherever you thought was best and have a drink to Istanbul and celebrate the end of your 5-day Istanbul Itinerary.

Grand Bazaar /8:30 – 19:00; Price: Free<

Topkapı Palace /9:00 – 18:00 15th Apr-Sep; 9:00 – 16:00 Oct –14th Apr; Price: ₺40 + ₺25 more for the Harem.  Free with museum pass. Further information, see here.