The old imperial peninsula, where Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı and the Grand Bazaar sit within a short walk. The obvious base for a first visit — you wake up among the great sights — but heavily touristy, quieter at night, and light on the local life across the water. Mid-priced, and unbeatable for sightseeing.
A look around
What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.
€70–140
typical per night in Turkey
The sensible middle
Typical prices for Istanbul — neither steal nor splurge.
Where it sits
The circle is Sultanahmet and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.
How far is everything?
From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.
- A Bosphorus cruise16 min walk1.3 km
- A Turkish breakfast26 min walk2.2 km
- Galata Tower27 min walk2.2 km
- A meyhane night9 min taxi2.8 km
- İstiklal Caddesi9 min taxi3.1 km
- Dolmabahçe Palace13 min taxi4.2 km
- Kadıköy market & Moda14 min taxi4.5 km
- Ortaköy & kumpir19 min taxi6.3 km
On your doorstep
What you’re living next to if you stay here.
- 1.Hagia Sophia — For a thousand years the greatest church in Christendom, then an imperial mosque, then a museum, now a mosque again — a colossal, soaring dome floating over golden Byzantine mosaics, 1,500 years of history under one roof. The single most awe-inspiring building in Istanbul.
- 2.The Blue Mosque — Facing Hagia Sophia across a garden, the early-17th-century Sultan Ahmed Mosque cascades in domes and six slender minarets, its interior lined with the tens of thousands of blue İznik tiles that give it its name. Still a working mosque, and free — dress modestly and mind prayer times.
- 4.The Grand Bazaar — One of the oldest and largest covered markets on earth — 4,000 shops down 60 vaulted lanes selling carpets, gold, lamps, spices and ceramics, unchanged in spirit for 500 years. Overwhelming, theatrical and a maze; haggle hard, get lost happily, and stop for a tea.
- 5.Topkapı Palace — The opulent seat of the Ottoman sultans for 400 years, sprawling over the point of the peninsula — jewel-crammed treasury, sacred relics, the intricate Harem and courtyards with the best Bosphorus views in the old city. A whole morning of imperial splendour; the Harem ticket is worth it.
- 6.The Basilica Cistern — A vast, eerie 6th-century underground water cistern beneath the old city — a forest of 336 columns rising from dark water, lit theatrically, with two great Medusa heads used as bases. Cool, otherworldly and atmospheric; a wonderful escape from the heat and the crowds above.
- 8.The Spice Bazaar — The fragrant 17th-century market by the Galata Bridge — pyramids of spices, mounds of Turkish delight, dried fruit, teas and honeyed baklava, in a shorter, more manageable hit than the Grand Bazaar. Taste your way round, and step outside to the frantic Eminönü streets the locals shop.
- 11.A Turkish bath — Steam, scrub and soak in a centuries-old hammam under a marble dome pricked with starlight — the classic Ottoman ritual, and blissful after days of pounding the sights. Historic bathhouses like Çemberlitaş and Cağaloğlu have been at it for 400 years; splurge on the full works.
When are you staying?
Booking.com & Airbnb open searched to Sultanahmet; flights via Google Flights.