People going to Istanbul for the first time usually give it three days, and on the third day they realise they got it wrong. This city is spread across two continents, every neighbourhood feels like a separate town, and crossing from Sultanahmet to Kadıköy is like changing country. There are dozens of flights a day from Baku, Azerbaijani citizens can travel on an ID card, and there is no language barrier — which is exactly why so many of us go so often. Below I have written the city neighbourhood by neighbourhood, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
Istanbul in brief
| Country | Türkiye; the city spans two continents, 16 million people |
| Language | Turkish; fully mutually intelligible with Azerbaijani |
| Currency | Turkish lira (TRY); cards everywhere, cash at the bazaar |
| Documents | Azerbaijani citizens: ID card on direct flights, passport on connecting ones |
| Best time | April–June and September–October |
| Flight | 2.5 hours from Baku, dozens of flights a day |
| How many days | Four at the very least, five to be comfortable |
The historical peninsula: a day in Sultanahmet
Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapı Palace are a hundred paces from one another. Start at Hagia Sophia at nine in the morning; entry is paid for foreign visitors. Then cross the square into the Blue Mosque — the door closes at prayer times and the hours are written on the board. Topkapı needs at least two hours, and the Harem section has its own ticket, which to my mind is worth it.
The Basilica Cistern is close by; it is cool and dark inside and children love it. It is a twenty-minute walk between the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar, and you pass the Nuruosmaniye mosque on the way. One warning: restaurant prices in this area are twice what they are in the rest of the city, so cross to Kadıköy or Karaköy for lunch.
Galata, Beyoğlu and the Bosphorus
The queue to climb the Galata tower gets long, so go early in the morning — otherwise photograph the tower from below and move on to the cafés of Karaköy. From there you walk up to İstiklal street, with the old tram running down the middle of it. İstiklal ends at Taksim, but the genuinely interesting places are in the side streets: Çiçek Pasajı and the Fish Market.
The Bosphorus ferry is the cheapest and the best excursion in this city. You take the Şehir Hatları boat from Eminönü up to Anadolu Kavağı and back, which takes a few hours. An evening walk along the shore at Ortaköy and Bebek is a pleasure of its own. Booking the Bosphorus tour and the Princes’ Islands boat programmes in advance saves you hunting for a ticket at the pier.
The Asian side: Kadıköy and Üsküdar
We usually stay in Laleli and Fatih, but the city’s daily life is on the Asian side. The Kadıköy market, the Moda shore and the little eating houses in the narrow streets are full of locals rather than tourists. In Üsküdar the Maiden’s Tower stands right in front of you, and from Çamlıca hill both shores fit into one frame.
Try taking a hotel in Kadıköy or Beşiktaş once. The ferry to the European side is twenty minutes, prices are lower, and the city looks entirely different in the evening. The Balat and Fener neighbourhoods, with their coloured houses, are a separate half-day.
Getting around Istanbul: the Istanbulkart and the ferries
The first thing to do is buy an Istanbulkart: the metro, the tram, the buses, the ferries and the funicular all run on it. The card machines are at every station. The Marmaray line joins Europe and Asia in four minutes and is the best-value undersea crossing in the world. The metro from the new airport to the centre takes forty minutes, the HAVAİST bus an hour. On the flying side, the prices of the daily flights to Istanbul vary seriously with the time of year, so buying as soon as your dates are fixed works out cheaper.
To call a taxi use BiTaksi or Uber; do not raise your hand in the street. Traffic is a serious matter in this city, so plan each day for one shore — Europe in the morning, Asia in the evening — or half the day goes on the road. If you are arriving on a late flight with a lot of luggage, ordering a transfer in advance is easier than looking for the metro.
What to eat: balık-ekmek, meyhane, kebab
The fish sandwich sold from the boats at Eminönü is a classic, it is cheap and the view is free. For dinner choose a meyhane: dozens of meze come to the table, then grilled fish. Kumpir at Ortaköy, stuffed mussels on every corner, boza in winter. For Adana and Urfa kebab go to the local grill houses of Kadıköy or Fatih and stay away from the tourist streets.
Breakfast here is a ceremony in its own right; a “serpme kahvaltı” fills the table and one portion is enough for two. Everything is halal. Tap water is not drunk, and bottled water is cheap.
Read more: A Türkiye travel guide: Istanbul, Antalya, Cappadocia, the Black Sea and the thermal resorts
Season and prices in Istanbul
April–June and September–October are the ideal months, with 18–25 degrees, and in April the tulip festival decorates the city. July and August are hot and humid, though the wind on the Bosphorus saves you a little. Winter is 5–10 degrees, rainy and windy, but the museums are empty and the hotels get cheaper. In January it sometimes snows and the city looks like something else entirely.
As for prices, a three-star hotel in Sultanahmet is 50–90 dollars, a boutique hotel in Beyoğlu 80–150, and an apartment in Kadıköy 40–70. Museum tickets are expensive for foreign visitors: Hagia Sophia and Topkapı together come to close to 80 euros. Lunch in a local lokanta is 5–10 dollars and an evening at a meyhane 20–40. The district you choose can halve the budget, so pick your hotel by the metro line. The official events and museum calendar is on the Go Türkiye portal.
Frequently asked questions about Istanbul
How many days are enough?
Four days is the minimum for the main sights. With five you can give one day to the Asian side and another to the islands or to Balat.
Which district is good to stay in?
On a first visit Sultanahmet or Sirkeci is convenient, since everything is walkable. If you are going a second time, Beşiktaş, Kadıköy or Karaköy show you a livelier city.
Can you travel on an ID card?
Yes — for citizens of Azerbaijan a new-generation ID card is enough on direct flights from Baku. A passport is needed on connecting flights and at land borders; the details are in our article on the Türkiye visa.
In closing
Istanbul does not fit into three days, which is why people keep going back. Anyone who splits the route by shore, buys an Istanbulkart and steps one stop away from the tourist streets sees the city both cheaply and properly. If you are travelling as a group or over a public holiday, looking at Granit AS tour packages saves time. To put the trip together with us, fill in the application form.
Note: the prices in this article are those at the time of publication and may change with the season.
