An exciting journey that will take you back in time, discovering a city with thousands of years of history and a unique charm.

Istanbul is the seventh most populous city in the world, divided by the Bosphorus Strait and the only one to belong to two continents, Europe and Asia. This city, which marks the boundary between West and East, is a perfect blend of cultures, languages, religions, history and food.

The city of a thousand names – Byzantium, Constantinople, New Rome, the Golden City, the Great City – offers the chance to visit the remains of many cultures: from Greco-Roman to Byzantine, and then on to the Ottoman and Turkish legacies.

The Grand Bazaar

Fatih is the most historic area of Istanbul and the richest in attractions, famous for the Jewish quarter of Balat. Strolling through these streets, what you find yourself observing is a multicoloured world: let yourself be enchanted by the houses of this district, all contrasts and shades of colour.

In the streets you can still savour the atmosphere of old Istanbul, a traditional area that has remained bound to the culture of this country.

Within the walls of Fatih lies the Grand Bazaar, the beating heart of this city, considered the oldest and largest covered market in the world. It dates back to the mid-fifteenth century and, with its 22 entrance gates, boasts more than 4,000 shops inside. A labyrinth of 61 streets, where getting lost is compulsory. It is the perfect place to go shopping: you will find sumptuous jewellery, fine carpets and leather goods, not to mention the fragrant, colourful spices in their terracotta containers.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia, known as the Holy Mosque of the Great Hagia Sophia, is a true jewel of Byzantine architecture, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and built with the greatest variety of coloured marble from all over the world. This mosque is an example of beauty and splendour: for years a symbol of Christianity, it was later converted into a mosque and then turned into a museum until July 2020. On that date, in fact, Hagia Sophia became a mosque once again.

The Blue Mosque

The Sultanahmet Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque, is one of the most important in Istanbul. The dome is entirely covered in turquoise ceramic tiles, a colour that returns inside, where the walls, columns and arches are clad in decorated majolica in a palette ranging from green to blue.

The mosque, built facing Hagia Sophia and the Hippodrome, was begun in 1609 with the aim of making it the most important mosque in the Empire. Completed in 1617, every stage of its construction is described in detail in eight volumes kept in the library of Topkapi Palace.

Topkapi Palace

Overlooking the Bosphorus, close to Hagia Sophia, this was the residence of the sultans, the nerve centre of Ottoman power; its strategic position on the sea allowed control of maritime traffic.

The interior is vast and made up of a succession of rooms, courtyards, chambers, corridors, kiosks and harems…

Today visitors can see only a part of it, though still an immense one. The objects kept in the extraordinarily rich Imperial Treasury are famous: the sultan’s robes, weapons and precious objects bear witness to the magnificence of the Ottoman Empire.

The Galata Bridge

To fully grasp Istanbul’s multiculturalism you must cross the Galata Bridge, which links the Ottoman city to the European city; it is a true cultural symbol of the city. The first bridge was built under Justinian in the mid-ninth century and was later restored several times, before being rebuilt at the start of the twentieth century. In 1992 a fire seriously damaged it and it was rebuilt in a modern guise.

From the Galata Bridge you can reach the district of Pera, home to the Galata Tower, a testament to the presence of the Genoese merchants. The tower served to spot the arrival of enemies and was built at the top of the citadel they had fortified. In the centuries that followed it was put to various uses, and today it can be visited, offering a splendid panorama over the city.

The Maiden’s Tower

Kız Kulesi, the Maiden’s Tower, also known as Leander’s Tower, stands on a small islet in the Asian part of Istanbul and is beautiful to admire at sunset, when the waves of the sea lend it a magical touch. This tower is wrapped in several legends: the most famous is the Turkish one, which tells of the death of the sultan’s daughter, for whom the sultan had the tower built to protect the maiden from the end foretold by an oracle.

Choose the Guiness Travel Tours

Turkey and Istanbul are the destinations of several tours by Guiness Travel that aim to capture the cultural essence of these legendary places.

For Guiness, travelling is an enriching experience to be savoured in every pleasant moment, and it means feeling pampered by every kind of comfort; the only way to guarantee the well-being of participants and respect for the places visited is to open the tours only to a limited number of selected participants.

All the itineraries in the catalogue are 100% independently planned and carefully designed and tested, allowing the product to evolve constantly and reach a high, wide-ranging cultural standard.

That is why we created the Guiness Exclusive Tour, a unique travel experience, mindful of sustainability, which will give you considerable advantages:

  • organisation;
  • attention to detail;
  • the search for excellent services on site (designed to give you maximum comfort, leaving you free to think of nothing but enjoying the moment).

Thanks to the Guiness Exclusive Tour you will return home with a suitcase full of wonderful new memories, immersed in the beauty of the world, thanks also to the many UNESCO World Heritage Sites included in all our programmes.

Discover the Guiness Travel tours in Turkey!

Team Guiness