Sightseeing tours of Istanbul

Highlights:

• Full-day Istanbul sightseeing with private guide, car and driver

• Visit Topkapi Palace, home of the Sultans

• Browse the Egyptian Spice Market, a fabulous antiques market and a flea market

• Visit Sirkeci Railway Station and watch the sunset from Galata Tower

Overview:

A distinctly different sightseeing tour of Istanbul, with the opportunity for great shopping and to explore Topkapi Palace.

Description:

Private shore excursion in Istanbul, explore Topkapi Palace and hidden markets

Meet your private guide, car and driver at your Istanbul hotel or the cruise ship terminal, and head to Topkapi Palace, once the home of the Ottoman Sultans and now transformed into a huge museum exhibiting the imperial treasury, Chinese porcelain, weapons, calligraphy and much, much more. The tour continues with a visit to the Spice Market. The large, old stone building includes a great number of shops selling spices, dried fruits, nuts, seeds and other edibles. The meandering lanes behind the Spice Bazaar lead eventually to the larger Grand Bazaar. These narrow and often bustling streets are full of shops with fascinating items for sale. Next stop is the Sirkeci Train Station, inaugurated as the terminus of the Orient Express. It is an excellent example of the architectural style known as Islamic Eclecticism.

For a completely unique shopping experience, we take you to Cukurcuma – the best and most atmospheric antique store in Istanbul. Our first stop will be Minyatur Deniz Eskisi, a shop which smells of the sea and is home to every type of naval antique, from diving suits and telescopes to wooden crates and compasses. From here we travel to the flea market where you can find everything from 100 year-old wooden furniture to tin toy cars and hand woven carpets. We will pass Galata Bridge on foot, it spans the Golden Horn and you can look west toward Europe and east across the Bosphorus to Asia. We will end this special day sipping cocktails as we watch the sunset from Galata Tower. The Tower has dominated Beyoglu’s skyline since 1348 and still offers the best panoramic views of the city.

Price includes:

• English speaking local guide
• Private vehicle and driver in Istanbul for full-day sightseeing
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off
• Entrance fees as mentioned above

 

Not included:

• Travel insurance, visas
• Entrance fees or meals not listed above
• Personal expenses
• Gratuities to driver, guide

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