Is 3 days enough for Istanbul?
It’s a decent start.
Istanbul sits on two continents, with the Bosphorus strait cutting through the middle – Europe on one side, Asia on the other. The European side has Sultanahmet (the historic area, where most tourists base themselves) and the Galata side (Galata, Karaköy, İstiklal, Taksim). The Asian side has Kadıköy and Moda.
Three days gives you one day on the historic European side, one day in Galata and on the water, and one day to cross over to Asia. It’s just enough to cover major sights, but if you want a slower-paced itinerary, add a day or two.
How to get around Istanbul
Istanbul has two major international airports – the older SAW (Sabiha Gökçen, on the Asian side) and the newer IST (on the European side).
By car: From the airport, you can book a taxi via Bitaksi or Uber to your hotel. But be wary of scams. The first time around, an Uber driver asked us to pay extra as “toll fees”, which we only later realised was a scam. I would not advise anyone to rent a car to go around in Istanbul since the traffic is really bad and the driving is crazy.
By ferries: To go from the European side to the Asian side and vice versa, ferries are the way to go. You can pay via Istanbulkart at the ferry terminal. The ferries can get really crowded during peak hours and on holidays.
By trams/metro: This is the best option to travel to the various sites mentioned in this itinerary. Metros are very frequent and go to most of the historic sites.
By bus: For places where metros don’t reach. We used this to get to Balat.
Buy an Istanbulkart card as soon as you reach Istanbul. It’s a contactless, prepaid card which is accepted at metros, ferries, trams and buses. The card itself costs 165TL and can be purchased at the blue or yellow Biletmatik vending machines located at transit stops and then topped up as needed.
Where to stay in Istanbul
There are three areas worth considering when you are travelling in Istanbul.
Sultanahmet – if you’re here to sightsee and nothing else, stay here. You can walk to every major attraction in minutes. It’s crowded and touristy and exactly what you’d expect – but the location is unbeatable for a short trip.
Karaköy (Galata side) – my personal favourite. The roads are narrow and steep and you may end up hauling your suitcase up a hill. But Karaköy has better food, better cafes, and a more local feel than Sultanahmet.
Kadıköy / Moda (Asian side) – go here if you’re staying longer and want a break from the tourist trail. Quieter, more residential, great for a morning walk. It’s not ideal as a base for a 3-day trip, however.
Day 1 Istanbul Itinerary: Sultanahmet
We will start at the heart of Istanbul – Sultanahmet. Everything on this side is within walking distance. Arrive early and spend the entire day hopping from one site to the other. Here are a few places you shouldn’t miss.
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia started out as a Byzantine cathedral and held the title of the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years. The Ottomans turned it into a mosque after conquering Constantinople. It looks way too huge and I’m sure it would have looked great inside as well. Wondering why we chose not to enter it? Entry used to be free but as part of the recent changes in ticket prices where entry to all monuments and museums were jacked up, entry to Hagia Sophia is no longer free. You will need to shell out 25€ to enter and museum passes are not allowed. Oh, and it gets way too crowded as well.
So we just decided to take it in from the outside and move on.
We chose to spend our time (and money) at Seven Hills restaurant instead, which has some amazing views of Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. It’s touristy and packed, but the view beats anything else in the square. All the pics you see in this post of these monuments are clicked from their rooftop.
Blue Mosque
Right across the square from Hagia Sophia – the mosque gets its name from the blue tiles that adorn the walls from floor to ceiling inside. It’s free to enter, which means it’s always busy. Dress modestly, take your shoes off, women – cover your hair. Closed to non-Muslims during prayer times.
Don’t miss the Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius right outside in the square.
Topkapı Palace
This is where the Ottoman sultans lived and ruled for 400 years. This huge complex, a few minutes’ walk from Hagia Sophia, will take you a long time to fully explore. Entry is also included in the Turkey Museum Pass and Istanbul Museum Pass, with an added bonus of skipping the ticket queue. As we exited Seven Hills restaurant and found the entrance to the palace, we were taken aback by the long queue that snaked across the entrance for what seemed like a mile. Thankfully, we had our Turkey Museum Pass in hand and were able to skip past the line and directly enter the security checkpoint. There is a free audioguide at the entrance that we took – not that great, I’m afraid. It took us around 2-3 hours to explore the Harem and the Palace.
As we soon found out, having a Turkey Museum Pass saves you a lot of money. Entrance fees in Turkey are not a joke, they add up pretty quickly. Buying a pass that suits your needs on Day 1 will save you not just money but a lot of time you’d have otherwise spent standing in lines. Find the best pass for you on their official site: muze.gen.tr
Basilica Cistern
Another five-minute walk from Hagia Sophia, you can find the entrance by the long line of people outside. This is an ancient underground cistern that has been renovated with new lighting and a contemporary art installation running through it. Entrance is not included in any pass and is a whopping 1950TL (~36€ as of July 2026) for daytime entry and 3000TL(~55€) for nighttime entry. The only reason I visited this is because of Dan Brown’s Inferno. This was a disappointment for me, sadly. There’s very little to see and my dumbass couldn’t make sense of the art installation. The whole thing got over in 15 minutes and we were left wondering why we paid all that money.
Museums
If museums are your thing then they are a bunch you can visit around this area. The best (in my humble opinion) is the Istanbul Archaeological Museum – right outside the side entrance to Topkapi Palace and covered in your Museum pass. The path leading up to it is lined with Greek and Roman sculptures and we randomly stumbled upon it after exiting Topkapi. This was one of our favourite experiences of the day – and it’s not even covered in most Istanbul travel guides.
Grand Bazaar / Spice Bazaar
Just 15 minutes away from the Sultanahmet square, the bazaars are for you if you’re into photography, shopping, or people-watching. Hundreds of hawkers, tourists and locals all together – it’s an introvert’s nightmare. We skipped the Grand Bazaar (too chaotic for me), tried to go to the Spice Bazaar (it was closed) and ended up visiting some of the spice stalls in Karaköy instead.
Day 2 Istanbul Itinerary: Bosphorus & Beyoğlu
Galata Tower
Cross the Galata Bridge and make your way up to the Galata Tower. All roads technically lead to Galata, but all roads are also steep and narrow, and you will be properly winded by the time you get there. The tower (as you can see) was under construction while we were there, so we couldn’t get the view from the top. But just having a fresh simit from the cart, looking up at Galata is one of the best things to do in Istanbul.
While you’re in the area, grab the viral Sebastian Cheesecake from the place just around the corner. You’ll know which one – there’s always a line. There are also a lot of restaurants that serve traditional Turkish cuisine that you can try. My personal favourite as a vegetarian – Galata Lily. We went here for breakfast and dinner and the food was amazing both times.
İstiklal Street
A few minutes’ walk from Galata, you’ll hit İstiklal Street. Shoppers will have a good time – clothing, books, souvenirs, you will find everything here. You can ride the historic tram from İstiklal down to Taksim Square, or do what I did and park yourself at a café and people-watch for an hour.
Bosphorus ferry or cruise
End your day with a cruise on the Bosphorus. You will need to book in advance. If you want a cheaper alternative, take the local ferry to Ortaköy. Have a Kumpir (stuffed potato) while you are there.
Day 3 Istanbul Itinerary: The Asian side (& maybe Balat)
Ferry to Kadıköy
Take the ferry from Karaköy to Kadıköy. It’s a flat fare, takes about 25 minutes, and you get good views of the Maiden’s Tower on the way across. Feed the seagulls. Enjoy the sea breeze. Look out for a view of the Dolmabahçe Palace from the waters. Disembark in a whole different continent – Asia.
Kadıköy food tour
The streets of Kadıköy are made for two things – food and street photography. You can book a guided food tour or curate your own, which is what we did. Doing it yourself works especially well if you have dietary restrictions, since you can skip places that don’t work for you without having a whole conversation about it. I loved it here. This part of the city was so laid back and chill.
What I loved – yoghurt served with fresh honey at Eta Bal and Vegan Burger at Veganarsist.
Balat
I’ll be straight with you: Balat didn’t really do it for me.
The street is famous for its pastel-colored houses and it is pretty. But you need to arrive early in the morning to get any kind of photo without people pushing in from every direction. By the time we got there, it was packed, the queue was chaos, people were cutting in from all sides – and after all of that, my only thought was: that’s it?
To be fair, by that point I’d already been to Cappadocia and Pamukkale, so my bar was unreasonably high. If Balat is the first stop on your Turkey trip, you’ll probably enjoy it more than I did. But if you’re short on time, it’s the first thing I’d drop from this list.
Baklava
You need to set aside some time to savour the most amazing sweet that this city has to offer – Baklava.
Hafiz Mustafa 1864 is pretty famous and has establishments all across the city but my personal favourite was Karaköy Güllüoğlu in Beyoğlu. My day wasn’t complete without having a dessert here and on the last day I made sure I packed enough Baklava to last me for a while. Calories don’t count on a holiday, am I right?
Istanbul on a budget
You will soon realise that the single biggest expense on your Turkey holiday is not the accommodation or the travel but the tickets. Entrance fees stack up pretty quickly and Turkey is expensive than most. An entry to Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and Basilica Cistern will cost you ~100€ for the standard tickets and that’s just day one. The one thing I’d recommend is to look into museum passes and figure out if they make sense for your travel days and itinerary. For us, with over 14 days of travel all across Turkey, the Turkey Museum Pass made the most sense and helped us save a lot of money and time.
The next is the transport. Get an Istanbulkart card at any metro station or airport and recharge it as needed. It’s cheaper to pay by Istanbulkart than to buy individual fares each time.
Food: Istanbul is very manageable on a food budget if you eat like a local. A simit from a street cart will cost you almost nothing. A full breakfast at a local spot is cheap. Baklava by the kilo at Karaköy Güllüoğlu is better value than buying single pieces.
Accommodation: Cheaper as you get farther away from the touristy spots. Can cost you as little as 10€ – 30€ in hostels.
