3 Days in Istanbul

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and a top 15 largest city in the world. On my recent trip to Istanbul, we only had enough time for 3 days in this magnificent city. So if you’re only spending a few days in Istanbul, you may have to be selective in the things you want to see. Here’s what I enjoyed the most on our recent trip. 

Bosphorus Boat Tour

If you’re looking for a scenic view of the city look no further than a boat tour on the Bosphorus Strait. Honestly, this was probably my favorite thing that we did in Istanbul. The city is split up in half perfectly so that you can see both sides from the boat. With one side in Asia and the other side in Europe, this could be the rare time where you can be in the middle of both! 

With Istanbul being one of the largest cities in the world, it is impossible to see the entire city within just 3 days. This tour gave us a wide lens to see this magnificent city in its entirety. 

Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque + Museum

This goes without saying but the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque are a must see when visiting Istanbul. When we went to buy tickets they offered us a ticket to the museum for a few extra bucks. Initially, we thought we may not need to go to the museum as we did a good amount of research online already. But, as it was 100 degrees outside, we thought it might be a good chance to get out of the heat. 

This museum ended up being 100% worth it. Instead of a typical museum where you’re looking at old artifacts through a glass case, this was more of a production. They bring you into an interactive experience that lays out the history of the Hagia Sophia. This exceeded our expectations and was much more engaging than a typical museum experience.  

Walk along the streets of Beyoglu

I wanted to stay on the Asian side of the city and accidentally booked our hotel in the wrong spot. Fortunately for us, Beyoglu was a pleasant surprise. Just a few blocks away from our hotel was the main street in this neighborhood, İstiklal Avenue. With tons of shopping and restaurant options, as well as street performers and tourist attractions, this street is definitely one of the most popular in the city. 

It’s also a perfect place to get Turkish street food! There’s plenty of street vendors selling Turkish bagels (Simit) or seasoned corn. They also have anything from Mussels to Turkish Delights. We spent almost an entire day just wandering around this street and stumbling into different stores. 

One thing to watch out for, is that this area has pretty steep hills so you’ll want to bring your walking shoes. 

There are plenty of other things to do in Istanbul so I just wanted to highlight my favorites. There are a few things that I didn’t mention like the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. Due to the recent timing of our trip, we overlapped with the holiday Eid al-Adha and these attractions were closed for the few days we were there. Fortunately for us, it’s a great excuse to go back someday!