Top places to see in Istanbul, Turkey and free walking tours

Top destinations in Istanbul and walking tours? You can book many dining experiences in Istanbul and the best way is to spend time with a local family. Often you will meet friendly people that invite you for dinner and become fast friends, but you can also book dining experiences where you go to a home and eat traditional food, learn about the local’s way of life and have lively conversations. Our guide told us that Madonna and other famous celebrities love to party in Ortakoy. Once a fishing village, this district is now the area for upmarket chic looking for a place to party.

With the majority of tourist attractions located on the European side, most first-time travelers to Istanbul don’t venture into the Asian side of the city. Had it not been for Ciya Sofrasi and Walter’s Coffee Roastery, then we wouldn’t have gone there either. Home to a maze of cafes, bars, restaurants, and some trendy neighborhoods, the Asian side has much to offer and is well worth a day if you can spare it. We traveled around Turkey for two weeks so we went to these places on our own, but if you don’t have as much time, then you can visit them on day trips from Istanbul as well. Domestic flights are inexpensive and efficient in Turkey, making these day trips to other regions highly possible.

Open since 2003, Miniatrk is home to more than 100 intricate, accurate, and detailed scale models of famous landmarks and places from around Turkey and beyond. It’s a great place to get an overview of the country and learn about important sites that you may not previously have known about. One of the biggest miniature parks in the world, Miniatrk covers around 60,000 square metres (160,000 square feet), with both open and enclosed areas and waterways. It is sure to capture the imagination of people of all ages and is a great place to take the kids for a couple of hours. Explore Turkey and beyond as you discover a wealth of fascinating places. Models are created in a scale of 1:25 and are very accurate. Take a tour of Istanbul, with places like Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, Maiden’s Tower, the Anatolian Fortress, Ataturk Airport, Hagia Sophia, the July 15th Martyrs Bridge, Dolmabahçe Clock Tower, and Eyp Sultan Mosque among the models in the park. Discover more details at Free walking tour Istanbul.

Istanbul is the capital of Turkey and one of the popular tourist destinations worldwide. The rich culture and glorious history attracts many to visit this one of the largest cities in Europe. Beautiful city Istanbul is a complete historic city where the main attractions are many years old mosques and churches. Some topmost must-see landmarks are Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and Ortakoy Mosque. The traditional Grand Bazaar became an iconic must-visit popular market for tourists in Istanbul. And this market is also one of the largest and oldest markets in the world. Another popular and historical activity in Istanbul is Turkish Baths. There are many hamams or Turkish bathhouses you might like to try for the first time during your trip.

The best way of visit and understanding the modern Istanbul: history, politics, culture, tradition, street food and – of course – cold local beer. This Istanbul walking tour has it all. We started at Taksim Square, passed through different neighborhood and ended up with an amazing sunset by the sea on the Asian side, Kadikoy. We came to know a lot of things about local life in Turkey that otherwise we wouldn’t get to know. I highly recommend it!’ Find extra details on this site.