Travel through time on a full-day tour of Istanbul, and see the main monuments from the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.
Following a pick-up from your hotel, head to the Hippodrome, the site of major political life and sports activities during the Roman and Byzantine Empires. Marvel at the last remaining monuments at the complex, including the Obelisk from Egypt and the Serpentine Column from Delphi. Next, go to the Mosque of St. Sophia and listen to your guide giving you all the information about the site from the garden side, you won't enter inside. Also known as the “Church of Holy Wisdom” and “Hagia Sophia” the former church and mosque is one of the world's architectural masterpieces. Now it is a museum of artefacts from Byzantium.
Continue to the Blue Mosque to see the city's icon up close. Famed for its stunning Iznik tiles, the building's graceful minarets can be seen from many points in the city. Next, explore the narrow lanes of the Grand Bazaar, the oldest and largest covered market in the world. Discover decorative jewellery, leatherwork, souvenirs and carpets in more than 4.000 shops. Your next stop will be Topkapi Palace, the former residence of the Ottoman sultans, now home to an exquisite collection of crystal, silverware, and Chinese porcelain, as well as robes worn by the sultans, and the jewels of the Imperial Treasury.
Transfer (only from city center hotels on the European side of the city)
Drinks at lunch