Small Group Tour - Monuments of Istanbul (Morning or Afternoon)
Description
Tour Itinerary – Highlights of Old Istanbul Begin your journey in the very heart of old Istanbul: Sultanahmet Square. Once the grand hippodrome of Constantinople, where chariot races and imperial ceremonies took place, today it remains a lively square filled with history and charm. ✨ What You’ll See: Hippodrome of Constantinople – once the sporting and social center of the Byzantine Empire Serpentine Column & Obelisk of Theodosius – ancient monuments that still stand proudly German Fountain – a 19th-century gift from Kaiser Wilhelm II Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque) – an iconic masterpiece of Ottoman architecture Hagia Sophia – admire from the outside (inside visit optional with extra ticket) Grand Bazaar – one of the world’s largest and oldest covered markets (Optional) Stop at a local outlet store before the Grand Bazaar to compare prices This route combines Istanbul’s must-see landmarks with hidden stories of history, making it perfect for first-time visitors.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Hagia Sophia, also known as the Church of Divine Wisdom, is one of the world’s greatest architectural masterpieces. Originally built as a basilica in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian, it has served as a church, mosque, and museum throughout its remarkable history. Today, Hagia Sophia functions both as an active mosque and a visitor attraction open to tourists. Guests can admire its magnificent dome, impressive Byzantine mosaics, and unique blend of Christian and Islamic heritage, making it one of Istanbul’s most iconic landmarks.
Blue Mosque, facing Hagia Sophia, famous with its blue İznik tiles and unique with 6 minarets, built in the name of Sultan Ahmet.
Hippodrome, center of sportive events (chariot races, athletics) and political activities of the old city. Serpentine Column, Obelisk of Theodosius and German Fountain of Wilhelm II are the monuments decorating the Hippodrome.
Grand Covered Bazaar, most attractive shopping center and the biggest "souk" in the world with nearly 4000 shops selling antiques, jewellery, gold, carpets, leatherware and souvenir. (Art demonstration of handmade Turkish carpets upon request)
You will have the chance to visit a leather and Turkish carpet factory outlet for shopping before or after the Grand Bazaar.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will be picking up travelers if hotel is along the road but if in narrow streets, we recommend to go to the meeting point.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
- Please confirm your reservation for pick up time and your hotel details
- Grand Covered Bazaar is closed on Sundays and replaced with and authantic shops around Grand Bazaar
Reviews(34)
The call center was amazingly responsive when they learned that I was waiting for my tour. Within minutes, Ertugrul arrived and provided the most informative and heart-felt tour I have ever taken. Not only did he provide an abundance of historical data, he did so interactively and with an infectious love and appreciation for the blending of ancient cultures and events that make this current city so fascinating. I felt not only well-educated but looked after ( he taught me how to purchase the metro ticket) and graciously welcomed as a visitor. I’m so grateful!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review and for taking the time to share your experience. We are truly delighted to hear that our team was able to assist you quickly and that your tour with Ertuğrul became such a memorable part of your visit to Istanbul. His passion for the city's history, culture, and heritage is something we greatly value, and we are thrilled that this enthusiasm made your experience both educational and enjoyable. It is especially rewarding to know that you felt welcomed, cared for, and supported beyond the tour itself. At Local Experiences İstanbul, we believe that genuine hospitality is just as important as sharing the stories and monuments of our city. Your kind words will certainly be shared with Ertuğrul, who will be very happy to know that he helped make your stay in Istanbul so special. Thank you once again for choosing us. We hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you back to Istanbul in the future. Warm regards,
Our guide was very knowledgeable and provided detailed information on the history and architecture of the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. There were only 5 people on our tour so there was no trouble hearing the guide. The tour bus was half an hour late to the meeting point and Viator didn’t provide any alerts or explanation. We were almost ready to give up when the bus finally arrived. We had tried to contact Viator for information about the delay, but were unable to reach them. So 5 stars for the guide and 2 stars for Viator.
Hi, Thank you very much for sharing your feedback with us. We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed the tour and that our guide’s knowledge and explanations made your visit to Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque memorable. We sincerely apologize for the delay of the bus and for the lack of timely communication regarding this issue. Your comments are very valuable to us, and we will make sure to follow up with Viator to improve our coordination and customer support. We truly appreciate your balanced review and hope to welcome you again on one of our tours, where we will do our best to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience from start to finish
Complete tour of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque with a small group guide. We were cruising in Istanbul with MSC pick up and drop off very easy. Very easy communication and the whole organization was perfect to recommend without any worries. We met many Excursions in very large groups of our Boat, which were in the same places. On
Thank you for your valuable message, we are happy to assist you and your family we will be here for your future visits and requests all the best
Unfortunately, we had to change our tour from afternoon to morning because we were the only ones on the afternoon tour. We had to sit out the Agia Sophia tour because it wasn’t included on our tour. Also didn’t really need the visit to the shop…
Hi, Thank you for your valuable comment, all important for us, there is an option to buy the Hagia Sophia entrance ticket and yoru guide also explained about this option for our guests who buy the toıur without entrance fees, The tour you booked covers only guiding services, And about changing, because of operational reasons or not enought guests, sometimes changes and we always ask for our guests upon their possibility again thank you very mucg for beeing our guests and will take care about your comments
This was supposed to be a four hour tour. We were told it would start at 1 and we didn’t get started until 1:20. I was back to our hotel and showered before 5:00. We had to wait in lines to buy tickets even though the advertisement said skip the lines. The website said it was 8 euros to get into the Haga Sofia, it was 25 euros. Our guide rushed through every site and barely explained anything. We would have been better off just getting the audio tour of the Mosques. It would’ve saved us a lot of time and money. The information said there would be a one hour tour of the Grand Bazaar. Instead, we were taken to some department store and given a fashion show then subjected to extremely high pressure sales tactics. Then our tour guide stopped about 100 meters from the Grand Bazaar and said the tour was over. The tour left us feeling like we were taken advantage of and that we should’ve hidden the fact that we were from the United States. For this being our only day in the city, it left us with a less than favorable opinion of the city of Istanbul. We were really looking forward to seeing this city’s jewel monuments and are very disappointed overall.
Hi, Thank you being one of our guests in İstanbul We understand the situation you experienced We provide skip the line tickets if you buy the entrance tickets from our guide, optherwise all guests need to use the lines of entrance About Hagia Sophia entrance ticket, government determined which is Euro 25.- / per person now Grand Bazaar, we never enter the bazaar with our guests because of their comfort when sopping, There is no obligation to visit the store and this is offered to you as an option by our guide, whoever wants to go into the store or spend time in the Grand Bazaar We look forward to see you in İstanbul
Sorry no memorable parts, warm day, once again not enough information provided Then to be taken into a retail store to be sold too was not on the list when booked
Hi, Thank you beeing our guest in our tour, about weather unfortunately we cannot do it anything, but the other parts of the tour provided successfully, about retail store, that is an optional thing to visit and no obligation to visit or buy anything, you could easly go directly and visit grand bazaar and look forward to see you again
I enjoyed the tour guide on this tour. He was very knowledgeable and always took time to answer people's questions. The tour also includes a fifteen minute fashion show at a specific retailer.
Thank you, we are happy when we receive good reviews that make us to improve our services look forward to see you again in our tours
Very organized. Met at meeting point and all was ready. Guide was friendly and extremely knowledgeable and passionate about history of the monuments and of Istanbul. Pace was good, neither rushed nor too long. Guide was very attentive about where members of his group were at all times. Definitely recommend this tour.
Thank you we are trying to be the best for our guests Look forward to see yoıu in İstanbul again
Very upset and disappointed. The tour guide didn’t arrive, and when I contacted him 20 minutes AFTER the tour should have started (we arrived 15mins early- so had been already waiting more than 30mins), he said it was because we were the only people to book that tour for the day. There was no prior notice or contact to tell us it was not happening. Absolutely appalling and upsetting. He said our options were that we could wait at that spot for another few HOURS and he will send a tour guide to us, or do a completely different tour in a completely different district, or reschedule - all very inconsiderate options for travelers who don’t have the luxury of time. We were very upset and disappointed. Plus we are still waiting for our refund. Do not recommend booking this.
Hi, Sorry for the things happened to you, sometimes this kind of things happen because of not enough people on the tour, we offered options to you but you did not accepted any of them, additionally you do not need to write these kind of bad e-mails to any providers for your requests which we dont accept as well. we cancelled and you will get refund If you will be here again, we will be happy to provide services for you All the best
Ii loved our guide, he was knowledgeable, patient, and loved his countr.y. The weather was perfect N N N
Thank you for your nice e-mail we do our best to make guests happy
