Holidays in Istanbul

General information

Istanbul - the largest city in Turkey, the most important economic and cultural center of the country. Contrary to the grossest misconception, this is not the capital of Turkey. The capital of the country is Ankara. Istanbul is located on the border of two parts of the world-Europe and Asia, being in both at once (Istanbul on the map. The city is divided into European and Asian parts by the Bosphorus Strait, connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and the outside world.

Brief History of the city

Istanbul is a city with a rich history. It began in the VII century BC with the foundation of the Greek city of Byzantium. Subsequently, the city changed its name to New Rome and Constantinople, and in the XIII century the Arabs began to call it Tripoli. It is believed that later this name was gradually fixed in a distorted version as Istanbul or Istanbul, and finally and officially the city was renamed Istanbul only in 1930.

During its existence, the city became the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman empires. Each of these periods has left its mark on architecture and culture, making it now one of the most interesting cities for tourists in the world, and definitely the most interesting for lovers of attractions in Turkey.

Holidays in Istanbul

Rest in Istanbul is mainly sightseeing. They go here to get acquainted with the sights reflecting the rich and diverse history of the city. These are ancient ruins and temples-museums of the Byzantine period, mosques of the later Ottoman period, and various attractions and museums of modern history. At first glance, when you get acquainted with the list and description of the sights of Istanbul, just your head is spinning from their variety, and it seems that not even a month will be enough to see everything here. But in fact, to get acquainted with the most important thing, 2-3 days will be enough. That is why Istanbul is usually visited in the form of a short independent trip, in the form of excursions from the beach resorts of Turkey, or a ready-made package tour from 5 days from the regions of the Russian Federation. It is also convenient to combine a trip to Istanbul with visiting other sightseeing places in this part of the country: Bursa, Edirne, Ankara, etc.

Istanbul is a very colorful and at the same time modern city. Traditional narrow streets in old residential areas coexist with modern skyscrapers and a developed transport system in new areas. At the same time, historical areas are not inferior to modern trends, and, to the delight of tourists, they retain their identity.

It's also a nightlife hub. There are many nightclubs, bars, restaurants. True, it is worth objectively saying that spending time visiting clubs and bars here is inexpedient, and even unsafe.

Theoretically, there is also a beach holiday in Istanbul. One of the areas of the city is a group of 9 Prince or Adalar resort islands, which have wonderful nature and beaches. They are located 30 kilometers from the tourist center of the city, and you can visit them during the day on the city ferries. However, it is worth considering that the beach season lasts only from May to September, the other months are too cold.

Infrastructure in Istanbul

Istanbul has a very developed urban and tourist infrastructure. Urban public transport allows you to get from airports and move around the city without using a taxi at all. Everywhere there are shops, markets, banks, currency exchanges, indexes and names of institutions are usually duplicated everywhere in English, in some places you can find Russian.

Tourist infrastructure is mostly concentrated in the tourist areas of Sultanahmet and Buyoglu. There are attractions and museums, pedestrian zones and embankments, travel agencies, shops and markets aimed at tourists. Especially for tourists there are Tourist Information Centers Tourist Information.

Many sellers and guides, staff of hotels and guest houses today tolerably understand the basic phrases for communication in Russian, so even without knowledge of English, there will be no great difficulties. However, group excursions in Russian are still very difficult to find, it is best to search for them and book advance via the internet. English is much more common than Russian, but not every resident of Istanbul can communicate freely. Taxi drivers, bus drivers, owners of private housing for tourists usually know only a few phrases in English, and they use online voice translators to communicate.

Areas of Istanbul where to stay

Istanbul is a huge city with many districts, each of which is something special. In total, officially there are 39 districts, but unofficially even more, besides, each district is also divided into so-called quarters. But you do not need to understand all this diversity, since the choice of a suitable tourist for tourist accommodation comes down to choosing just one of two: the historical Sultanahmet district, and tourist Beyoglu.

Learn more about these and other districts of Istanbul here.

You can find and book accommodation in Istanbul through the following websites or the search form:

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Istanbul on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Istanbul on Booking.com
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Istanbul on Trip.com
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Istanbul on Trip.com
• 🛌 Search hotels in Istanbul on Ostrovok.ru
• 🛌 Search for affordable accommodation in Istanbul on Sutochno.ru

Weather and tourist seasons in Istanbul

The tourist season in Istanbul lasts all year round, but it is not always warm and comfortable, and the high and low season stands out.

Low season occurs in the months from December to March. At this time it is cold and uncomfortable, the temperature during the day is rarely above 10 degrees, and at night there may be frosts. In the winter months, even snow falls briefly. But the real discomfort is not because of the low temperature, but because of the constant rain and wind. This in general does not interfere with walking through museums, but the tightened gray sky will not allow you to take beautiful sunny photos, and in general spoils the mood. In order not to experience, it is necessary to dress at this time very warmly, and be sure to take with soboyzont.

High season runs from April to November. Spring in Istanbul begins earlier than even in our south, so in April it becomes quite comfortable, although the real warmth comes in May. In summer, the influx of tourists is slightly declining, most tourists move to beach resorts. And in our opinion, this is just the best time to explore the city, since the overcrowding of the city with tourists in spring and winter is a real problem and discomfort for recreation. From September to November, there is again an influx of tourists. But in October it is worth going to Istanbul with light warm clothes: an autumn jacket and a hoodie will not hurt at all.

Seasons in Istanbul by month, when is the best time to go

Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov.	Dec

* best time to visit;
acceptable time to visit;
not recommended time to visit

Current Istanbul weather and forecast

* - прогноз указан по местному времени. Данные получены с https://openweathermap.org. Если отображаются устаревшие даты, обновите страницу с помощью F5+Ctrl.

Food in Istanbul, what and where to eat

There are a lot of cafes and restaurants, street fast food, world chain restaurants in Istanbul. The cuisine of different peoples is very widely represented, but most often there is local Turkish cuisine and European. You can have a snack on the go with Turkish fast food (doner, kebab, fish sandwich) from 10 lire, eat in a cafe or restaurant with drinks from 30 lire per person. By the way, despite the presence of the menu, prices are not final everywhere. Usually in local non-chain establishments you can offer a discount, free drinks, bread, snacks. Discounts are offered or you can ask for them yourself while studying the menu, and not after you have made an order.

Drinks are offered almost everywhere non-alcoholic: tea, coffee, juices, lemonades. Alcohol is served few places, and prices are very high. Usually it is local strong alcohol or wine, beer is rare.

Here are the places of a large concentration of catering places: Istiklal Street and the alleys to the east of it (down to the Bosphorus embankment); the lower level of the Galata Bridge (there are a lot of fish restaurants with overpriced prices and great views, but you can bargain); snack bars on the embankment near the pier Eminenyu and Sirkeci (Eminonu/Sirkeci);

Apartments and guest houses in Istanbul are usually equipped with a simple kitchen. You can cook from products bought at markets, from trays, or in supermarkets. Supermarkets are usually cheaper, and you can pay with a bank card. Prices for products in general are the same as in Russia: something is more expensive, and something is Cheaper. Look for supermarkets Sok, Migros, Carefour, Bim, Namli. By Russian standards, these are very small supermarkets, but you can buy everything you need in them. There are no large hypermarkets in the tourist areas of Istanbul.

Read more about food in Istanbul, what and where to eat here.

Shopping in Istanbul

If you can not think of a holiday without hiking in markets and shopping centers, then in Istanbul there are a lot of opportunities for this, but there are some peculiarities. First of all, you need to understand that in the tourist areas of Istanbul there are no large shopping centers familiar to us, and all trade takes place in the markets, in small shops and boutiques, from temporary stalls. There is not even a large hypermarket, but only small chain supermarkets. There is a small cluster of more or less large shops only on Istiklal Street, but they can only be called shopping centers with a huge stretch. If you need a large multi-storey shopping center, you will have to go to other areas.

The main shopping areas for tourists in tourist areas are Istiklal Street (in Beyoglu), and the markets Grand Bazaar and Egyptian Bazaar (in Sultanahmet). There is also a small quiet Arasta Market in Sultanahmet. In general, the entire area around and between the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Bazaar is a continuous huge street market, packed to capacity with shops and small shops. But mostly low-quality consumer goods are sold on the street, and it is necessary to go to the mentioned markets for tourist goods.

Well, if you are not interested in tourist shopping, but just want to buy inexpensive Turkish goods, mainly clothing, then it is best to go to the Laleli quarter, which is located next to the Sultanahmet district. It is there that the markets are located, where in previous years "shuttles" from the countries of the former USSR were purchased, and today wholesalers come.

Security in Istanbul

Istanbul is a wonderful and interesting city, and people here are mostly responsive and kind, always ready to help. With security here, too, everything is fine, if you do not neglect the simplest security measures:

• Do not walk the streets at night, especially alone and especially women.
• Don't keep large amounts of money to yourself.
• When shopping in shops, ordering in restaurants, tourist services, etc. figure out the price in advance and make sure it's in lira and not another currency.
• Do not visit dubious entertainment establishments (bars, clubs), especially if there are no other tourists in them.
• If you are traveling alone (even a man), then be wary of everyone who speaks to you first. Tourist scammers most often target lonely tourists.
• Watch your pockets and backpacks carefully, there are a lot of pickpockets here.

But Istanbul would not be a real tourist city if it were not for scammers who breed tourists for money. read the collection about tourist wiring and scammers in Istanbul, and tips on how to avoid them.

Attractions

Istanbul is a real storehouse of attractions that will surprise even the most experienced tourists and travelers with its location. There are about a hundred museums and galleries here alone, and many times more of all kinds of architectural and historical places. At first glance, it seems that in all this diversity it is easy to get lost, but in fact there are not so many really "top" attractions that are mandatory to visit, and you can see them in 2-3 days. If you visit all the others, you will find that they are all quite of the same type and boring, and it is not necessary to visit every mosque or church, or very specific museums.

Here's what to visit first:

• Topkapi Palace
• Dolmabahce Palace
• Museum-Hagia Sophia / Aya Sofya
• Blue Mosque
• Basilica Cistern
• Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts / Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
• Istanbul Archaeological Museum
• Istiklal Caddesi Street and Taksim Square
• Istanbul Markets

You can visit the rest of the places at your discretion according to your interests. But when planning a visit route, keep in mind that most museums and paid historical monuments are open in summer until 19:00, and in winter until 17:00, while visitors ' access stops an hour before closing. Here is a summary of the weekend, you can print this table, and take it with you.

Read the full guide to all the sights of Istanbul here.

How to get there

Istanbul is the largest transport hub in Turkey. There are two international airports, the largest bus station in the country, the international port. It is most convenient for tourists from Russia and other countries to get to Istanbul by plane to one of the international airports, and it is cheaper and more convenient to use buses to move around the country. The railway in Istanbul is also present, but due to the reconstruction, trains do not go directly to the city yet, so this is not the best option. Also from Russia and other countries you can get to Istanbul by car through Georgia.

Learn more about all the ways, how to get to Istanbul here, and also see detailed instructions in separate articles:

• How to get to Istanbul from Sabiha Gokcen airport
• How to get to Istanbul from the new airport
• How to get to Bursa from Istanbul New Airport
• How to get to
• How to get from one Istanbul airport to another

Transport

In Istanbul, public transport is well developed, which allows you to move around the city relatively inexpensively even over long distances, for example, to the airport or suburbs. You can travel by taxi, buses, trams, minibuses, Metro, Suburban trains, ferries, funiculars and cable cars, Metrobuses. Especially useful for tourists are the tram line T1, and ferries.

But, objectively speaking, public transport in Istanbul is not very simple for tourists: the schemes are confusing and there are few of them, with one-time trips or ignorance, you can easily overpay. Therefore, ideally, it is better to use it at a minimum, and plan your movements in advance. To do this, you can use the transport lines on our map of Istanbul with transport, attractions and hotels.

We also recommend downloading these maps of all Istanbul transport to your phone:

• Map of all transport in Istanbul in jpg format / download
• Map of all transport in Istanbul in jpg format / download
• Map of all transport in Istanbul in pdf format / download

See also:

• Istanbul Metro and how to use it
• Unified transport card Istanbul Kart
• Istanbul ferries and how to use it

Learn more about all modes of transport in Istanbul, How to use them and pay here.

Useful tips for Istanbul

• Turinformation offices. There are several useful turinformation offices in Istanbul, where you can get detailed information about the city, free magazines and booklets. There is even a Russian-speaking staff in the office at the Eminonu Marina. It is easy to find their location on the Google map at the request of "tourist information".
• Free maps. In tourist information centers, airports, travel agencies, you can get free booklets with maps of transport and attractions, ferry schedules.
• Savings on public transport. To travel by public transport in Istanbul, it is best to buy Isanbulkart transport card. It costs only 6 lire, but pays off after 3-5 trips.
• Currency exchange. The exchange rate in tourist areas and on Istiklal Street is quite acceptable, but if you need to change a large amount (from $ 500), it is better to take the T1 tram to Laleli district, or get to the Grand Bazaar market, where the rate is slightly higher..

🕒 19 April, 2026