Things to Do in Istanbul

Opened in 2004 as Turkey’s first museum of modern and contemporary art, the Istanbul Modern Art Museum relocated in 2018 to a temporary space in the Asmalimescit neighborhood while a new building is constructed. The city’s preeminent modern-art museum features contemporary works by Turkish artists and rotating temporary exhibitions. 

With a collection of modern and contemporary work by Turkish artists and an innovative program of temporary exhibitions, Istanbul Modern is a cultural must-see. Stroll through the white-walled galleries to view the collection, which includes photography, sculpture, digital art, and installations.

Guided tours in English of the Istanbul Modern Art Museum can be arranged on-site for a fee. Most small-group and private tours combine a visit to the museum with a broader exploration of culture and food in the surrounding neighborhood, including Galata, Karakӧy, and Taksim Square. Hop-on hop-off bus tours also stop at the museum.

 

 

Temporary located in the Beyoğlu district, the Istanbul Modern Art Museum is close to the Tunel funicular, not far from the pedestrian boulevard Istiklal Caddesi. To get there by public transportation, take the M2 metro line or a bus to Şişhane. 

The Istanbul Modern Art Museum is closed on Mondays and stays open into the evening on Thursdays. It is closed on New Year’s Day and on the first day of religious holidays. Arrive early in the day to beat the crowds and explore the museum's collection at your own pace.

The Istanbul Modern Art Museum’s permanent collection includes works by highly regarded Turkish modern and contemporary artists. Highlights include Fahrelnissa Zeid’s large-scale colorful abstract canvases and selections from the artist Sarkis, who works in neon.

Maiden’s Tower, or Kiz Kulesi, is an ancient site in Istanbul located on a tiny islet in the Bosphorus Strait that has a history of both practicality and folklore. The origins of the tower aren’t completely known, leading to legends such as one attesting that it was built to lock away a princess after it was prophesized she would die from a snake bite on her 18th birthday – hence the name Maiden’s Tower.

The origin of Maiden’s Tower is believed to date back over 2,000 years, though the tower itself has changed over the centuries. Originally built of stone, a wooden tower was added in the 12th century after the Ottoman Turks conquered the area. This led to the tower’s downfall when a fire ravaged it in the 1700s. The tower was rebuilt in stone and in the 1800s a light was also added to the top. During this time, Maiden’s Tower also switched from being used as a defense tower to being intermittently used as a lighthouse and as a quarantine facility for those affected with cholera.

Today, Maiden’s Tower is home to an upscale restaurant and bar. The bar is located on the top floor and has a romantic vibe with an outdoor balcony you can enjoy your drink on.

The Grand Bazaar isn't the only market you'll want to visit in Istanbul. Kadikoy Market, also referred to as Kallavi Kadikoy, is a large street market that is located on the Asia side of Istanbul. Though many visitors to Istanbul stick to the famous site-heavy European side of Istanbul (where the Grand Bazaar is), foodies and shoppers should definitely also make the short trek across the Bosphorus Strait to check out Kadikoy Market.

Kadikoy Market has everything from fruits to pizza and ceramics to linens. It only operates on Tuesday and Fridays and on those days you'll find thousands of stalls selling a variety of wares and cuisine. Great deals are for the taking and haggling over price is perfectly acceptable.

Visitors often enjoy having a meal at Kadikoy Market as there are many cafes and stands selling to-go food and hot meals mixed in among the produce and fish you can purchase, but will have to cook on your own. Keep an eye out for Lahmacun, or Turkish pizza as it's sometimes called, to try in between your haggling bouts.

Deemed the best dinosaur museum in the world by many, Jurassic Land is not only a place to enjoy dinosaurs but also to learn about them in a whole new way. Dinosaur bones were uncovered during the construction of the shopping mall inside which Jurassic Land is located; the rest is history. These magnificent and extinct beasts come alive at Jurassic Land thanks to the life-size, moving models of over 70 dinosaurs linked to each other through a witty and clever scenario. Various exhibitions tell the story of dinosaurs, their features, their abilities and their daily life, as well as their sudden and tragic disappearance through interactive displays and 65-million-year-old skeletons. Jurassic Land also boasts a massive six-dimension cinema with special effects that takes guests on extreme air, underwater and land journeys, a special cave where kids can dig for bones and be rewarded with a “Explorer Paleontologist” certificate, a gift shop, and a relaxing garden. Dinosaur bones were uncovered during the construction of the shopping mall inside which Jurassic Land is located; the rest is history.

Famous for the castle-like rock formation looming 90 meters high above the town, Ortahisar, or Middle Castle, is, well, right in the middle of the Cappadocian towns of Goreme, Urgup, Uchisar, and Neveshir. 

Though it is becoming more popular with visitors, Ortahisar is still a quiet farming town that’s sleepier than many of the other Cappadocian hotspots that are today bursting with boutique hotels. Life in Ortahisar is based around the cobbled streets which extend from the central square, and wandering the streets lined with stone houses is a great way to get a taste of life in a traditional Cappadocian town. 

The town is also known for the Culture Museum Restaurant, where a series of dioramas in the upstairs room displays traditional life in Cappadocia, while downstairs the restaurant isn’t a sideline next to the gift shop, it’s in the actual museum. Just a few kilometers is a museum of another kind, Goreme Open Air Museum. You can walk there from Ortahisar if you have good hiking legs! Also, 1km northeast of the town center, you can visit Hallacdere Monastery where intriguing animal heads are sculpted on the walls. 

The Istanbul Sea Life Aquarium educates visitors about the world’s various aquatic habitats in a fun, hands-on environment under the guidance of trained aquaium professionals. The aquarium is divided into zones, including The Shoal, Tropical Reef, Shipwreck, Ocean Cave, Clownfish Alley, Rainforest and Stingray Bay.

Colorful starfish and horseshoe crabs make their home in the Rockpool, and guests can encounter one of the world’s oldest animals, green sea turtles, in the Turtle Hospital. The aquarium is also home to 61 sharks — Europe’s largest collection — representing 15 different species. A special area for kids lets little ones draw their favorite sea creatures, scan them into a computer and watch them swim in a digital aquarium.

See how the royalty of Istanbul’s past lived centuries ago with a visit to Kucuksu Palace, also referred to as Kucuksu Pavilion or Kucuksu Kasri. Built in the mid-1800s after being commissioned by Sultan Abdulmecit, Kucuksu Palace was used by Ottoman sultans as a summer palace where they headed for some hunting and relaxation.

Kucuksu Palace is smaller compared to other royal summer residences in Turkey, but still has an impressive façade and interior that blends together both European and Ottoman styles from the time period with intricate carvings along the exterior and gilded accents inside. Both history and design buffs will enjoy visiting the palace and learning more about life within its walls and outdoor gardens. The palace still reflects a stately Turkish home from the 19th and 20th centuries with traditional furniture along with a large collection of artwork. The lower level is where the servants and kitchen staff of the sultan lived and it is interesting to walk through to see their way of life as well.

Despite its name, Istanbul’s New Mosque (Yeni Cami) is an Ottoman-era building dating to 1663. With its prominent location on the water—in Eminonu Square, at the end of the Galata Bridge and near the Egyptian Spice Bazaar— as well as its swooping domes and large courtyard, the New Mosque is a prime example of Ottoman architectural splendor.

 

Commissioned by the mother of Sultan Mehmet III but not completed until after his death, the spectacular New Mosque has 66 exterior domes and semidomes, two minarets, and an ornate courtyard decorated with blue Iznik tiles. Green, white, and blue tiles adorn the interior walls of the mosque’s prayer space.

Some small-group and private tours combine a visit to the New Mosque with other Ottoman buildings nearby, including Suleymaniye Mosque, the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, Eminonu Square, and Dolmabahce Palace.

 

The New Mosque is located in Eminonu Square, which is a transit hub and easily reachable by many forms of transportation—take a taxi, bus, ferry, or tram to the Eminonu stop. It’s also walking distance from the historical neighborhood of Sultanahmet. Eminonu Pier is one of the city’s main ferry piers, making the square and mosque easily accessible from the Asian side of Istanbul.

 

The New Mosque is a popular Istanbul sight, so beat the crowds by arriving early in the day. The mosque is closed to non-Muslims during prayer times, which change daily and are longer on Fridays; check times online. Muslim and Turkish holidays can affect opening hours as well.

 

To enter a mosque in Istanbul, it is necessary to dress appropriately. All visitors must remove their shoes and cover shoulders and knees; women need to cover their heads as well. The mosques provide scarves for covering. Plan ahead and bring your own scarf—or wear long pants or a long skirt and something on your shoulders—to visit the mosque more easily and efficiently.

Konya’s Mevlana Museum is in a former monastery constructed around the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, the peace-loving Persian Sufi poet and mystic who founded the bizarre sect known as the ‘whirling dervishes’ and lived between 1207 and 1273. It is one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations in Turkey, with more than 1.5 million people visiting each year. The highly ornate monastery was built in the 16th century around the 13th-century tomb of Rumi and has slender minarets, several domes and a bright-turquoise tiled tower, which is one of the landmarks of the city. The complex includes prayer rooms, a library stocked with thousands of rare ecclesiastical books and Koran manuscripts, the monks’ cells and kitchens, all situated in manicured gardens full of shrubs, roses and a blue-and-white marble fountain. At the heart of the monastery lies the sarcophagus of Rumi, accompanied by the tombs of his wife, children and several of his followers; it stands in the marble mausoleum built to a design by architect Behrettin Tebrizli in 1274. A small museum is found in the semihane, the hall where the dervishes performed their wild, whirling dances; highlights include a collection of ancient musical instruments, priceless prayer rugs and robes worn by Rumi.

Known for their therapeutic properties since Roman times, the thermal waters at Pamukkale flow into white travertine formations that rise out of the surrounding plains. Nearby are the ruins of Hierapolis, an ancient city that grew up around the springs. The thermal pools and petrified waterfalls create an otherworldly landscape at Pamukkale, which means Cotton Palace.

 

Most visitors come to soak in the Pamukkale pools and then head uphill to the extensive Hierapolis ruins, which include an amphitheater, a basilica, and a large Roman bath. These two sites, which together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are often combined on full-day tours from Bodrum, Antalya, Izmir, and even Istanbul.

 

 

The pools at Pamukkale are walking distance from the town of Pamukkale, but most visitors will likely be coming from another city. From nearby Denizli or other regional centers, buses travel to Pamukkale, and taxis are also available. Most day tours include transportation to and from the site.

 

Pamukkale is open year-round, 24 hours a day. Summer is the most popular time to visit, despite the thermal waters and the heat from the sun reflecting off the white limestone. During the Turkish holidays, Pamukkale can be crowded with locals. Arrive early in the morning to avoid the crowds during these times.

The sprawling ancient city that overlooks the pools retains many recognizable structures. The Hellenistic-era settlement includes a large amphitheater, a monumental arch, thermal baths, a necropolis, and examples of early Christian structures. The theater is still used for performances. Though the site is protected, most structures are open to exploration.

Created by the Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and opened in 2012, Istanbul’s Museum of Innocence is the world’s first museum to be based on a novel. Centered around Pamuk’s 2008 book of the same name, this is the tale of upper-class Istanbulite Kamal who falls in love with his distant, poorer cousin Füsun in the 1970s. Though they make love he can’t be with her, and, growing increasingly infatuated, over a period of eight years Kamal collects a museum’s worth of objects dedicated to Füsun and his love for her.

Set in a 19th-century house in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district, the museum has over 1,000 artifacts collected by Pamuk over a period of more than a decade. As you walk in, you’ll see a huge glass case containing 4,213 cigarette butts, each said to have been smoked by love interest Füsun. Everything from the collection of salt shakers to the old lamps evokes a past era, and over the museum's four floors you’ll see what bourgeois Istanbul society "used, wore, heard, saw, collected and dreamed of, all meticulously arranged in boxes and display cabinets." 83 display cabinets, to be exact, each one corresponding to the novel’s 83 chapters. According to reviews, and Pamuk, just as you don’t need to visit the museum to enjoy the novel, you don’t need to have read the novel to check out the museum.

Absolutely the go-to shopping destination in Istanbul, Istinye Park is the most prestigious mall of the city’s retail scene. This sleekly designed one-stop shopping center is home to more than 300 high-end stores, including famous designer names such as Prada, Armani, Chanel and Dior and stylish high-street brands such as Max Mara and Zara. With 917,623 ft2 (85,250 m2) of retail space over four floors, the mall has glossy undercover shopping arcades, an entertainment center topped with a glass dome, a traditional Turkish food market and an outdoor eating area centered around a garden with fountains that are illuminated at night.

It’s easy to spend a happy family day out at the mall, as it offers the city’s first IMAX movie theater plus a multitude of cuisines in its 40 cafés and restaurants. Istinye Park has four floors of free underground parking and there are daily activities to entertain youngsters while their parents scour the shops.

Istinye Park can be visited on a full-day private tour of Istanbul’s premier retail outlets — including Istanbul Cevahir — with lunch as part of the package.

Built in the sixth century by Emperor Justinian I as the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus, the Kucuk Ayasofya (Little Hagia Sophia) later took its name from its resemblance to the larger Hagia Sophia, which was built nearby a few years earlier. After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, the church was converted into a mosque.

The Kucuk Ayasofya has a distinctive irregular octagonal shape. After a restoration in 2006, the mosque’s interior was returned to its Ottoman-era decoration, though some aspects that date to Byzantine times are still visible. Kucuk Ayasofya still functions as an active place of worship.

Some small-group and private walking tours combine a visit to Kucuk Ayasofya Mosque with other sights nearby, including Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and the Chora Museum.

 

Located in the Kumkapi neighborhood, the Kucuk Ayasofya is walking distance from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in Sultanahmet Square. It is easily accessible by bus and from the Sultanahmet tram stop.

The Kucuk Ayasofya is open daily from the morning until evening. Arrive early to beat the crowds. The mosque is closed to non-Muslims during prayer times, which are longer on Fridays; check times online. Muslim and Turkish holidays can affect opening hours as well.

To enter a mosque in Istanbul, it is necessary to dress appropriately. All visitors must remove their shoes and cover their shoulders and knees; women need to cover their heads as well. Most Istanbul mosques provide coverings if you need them, but plan ahead and bring your own scarf—or wear long pants or a long skirt and something on your shoulders—to visit mosques more easily and efficiently.

A private arts museum based in the historic 19th-century building that was once home to the Hotel Bristol, the Pera Museum opened in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district in 2005. On the outside, it's all Victorian flourishes and pillars. Inside it's a hyper modern space with three acclaimed permanent collections: Orientalist Paintings, Anatolian Weights and Measures, and Kütahya Tiles and Ceramic.

The Orientalist Collection features work by artists including Suna and Kıraç who were inspired by the 17th- to 19th-century Ottoman Empire. It's here on the second floor that you'll see Osman Hamdi Bey's most famous artwork, The Tortoise Trainer, painted in 1906, which satirizes the Ottoman Empire’s slow attempts at social reformation. In the Anatolian Weights and Measures Collection on the first floor, discover over 10,000 pieces, both prehistoric and modern. And the Kütahya Tiles and Ceramic Collection displays over 800 pieces with a particular focus on Kütahya crafts from the 18th-20th century. The Pera Museum also hosts rolling exhibitions on its fifth floor, and artists whose collections have been on show here include Goya, Rembrandt, and Diego Rivera.

Commissioned in the 16th century by Suleiman the Magnificent for his daughter, the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in Edirnekapi was designed by the celebrated Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. The mosque is dappled with windows that let sunlight into the space and is topped by a monumental dome. Unlike most imperial mosques, it only has one minaret.

The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, with delicate touches of mother-of-pearl and abundant light, is located near the ancient Theodosian Walls, not far from the historic city center. The mosque was badly damaged in earthquakes in the 18th and 19th centuries, so much of what you see is reconstructed from the original design.

Private and small-group tours of Mihrimah Sultan Mosque often visit nearby historical sites, including the Chora Museum, the Byzantine Walls, and the remains of Jewish and Greek heritage in the Fener, Balat, and Edirnekapi neighborhoods.

Located in the Edirnekapi neighborhood, Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is accessible by bus from Eminönü or Taksim Square. The mosque is also walking distance from other Edirnekapi sights, such as the Chora Museum. 

The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is open all day, but it is closed to non-Muslims during prayer times, which are usually listed in front of the mosque. Friday prayer times are longer, so time your visit to avoid these if possible. 

Across the water in the Asian-side neighborhood of Üsküdar is another Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, built by the same architect, Mimar Sinan. Supposedly, the sun and moon line up with the two mosques during the spring solstice. Legend has it that Mimar Sinan was in love with the princess Mihrimah Sultan and built the second mosque to show his devotion.

Originally built as the Church of the Holy Savior in Chora during the Byzantine era and converted to a mosque during the Ottoman rule of Istanbul, the Chora is now a museum with colorful, well-preserved frescoes and stunning mosaics. Located outside the Old City in the Edirnekapi neighborhood, art-filled Kariye is well worth the trek.

The Kariye Museum was constructed as a church in the fifth century and then partially destroyed by an earthquake in the 12th century. The vibrant frescoes and mosaics that cover its walls were mostly created during its post-earthquake reconstruction. Though the frescoes were covered during its stint as an Ottoman mosque, they were uncovered and preserved when the building was converted into a museum in 1948.

Small-group and private tours often combine a visit to the Kariye Museum with other attractions around the Golden Horn, including Pierre Loti Hill, the Eyup neighborhood, the Ecumencial Orthodox Patriarchate, the Walls of Constantinople, and more.

The Kariye Museum is located in Istanbul’s Edirnekapi neighborhood and is accessible by city bus. Take a taxi directly to the museum, or take a ferry from the city center up the Golden Horn to Eyup, then a short taxi or bus ride to the museum.

The Kariye Museum is open daily from 9am with seasonal closing hours; check ahead for a current schedule, which can also be affected by major national and religious Turkish holidays.    To avoid the crowds, arrive early in the day. 

The walls of the Kariye Museum are strewn with gorgeous gold-speckled 14th-century frescoes and mosaics, restored when the building was converted into a museum after centuries as a church and mosque. Look out for the major biblical stories that are depicted, including the birth of Christ and the journey of the Magi, as well as major events in the life of the Virgin Mary.