What to do in Istanbul in 2 days
What to do in Istanbul in 2 days
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Istanbul is the perfect city for a weekend trip or for a stopover to another destination. It’s the biggest city in Europe and located on both continents Europe and Asia. Actually Istanbul is amazing in every season. We visited in January and had a great time, however it can snow in winter. Get a nice airbnb in the popular district Beyoglu, explore the beautiful district Balat and eat in the incredible cute little restaurants spread all over the city. For us it’s the cat’s city, everywhere are cats. They even build little houses for cats on the streets and most likely you will have a cat on your lap while waiting for your food. We found the city very friendly and welcoming.
1. Our favorite area in Istanbul: Visit Balat
Balat is an old district and definitely a must-visit. The streets are full of old colorful buildings and cute little cafés. Overall it’s much quieter in this district. Don’t miss the colorful stairs! Since it’s a little further away from the city center, it’s best to get an Uber or a taxi. You can also get here by ferry!
2. Experience a sunrise at Ortaköy Mosque at the water
Our second favorite place is this beautiful mosque in front of the Bosporus bridge. We highly recommend to come here for sunrise, since the colors on the water are incredible and there are less people around. We were lucky, that there was a wedding couple shooting pictures next to us. A guy helped them with attracting all the pigeons, so they were flying through our photo as well. It’s easiest to get an Uber to this place.
3. Walk up to Galata Tower and eat breakfast at Sirin Firin Bakery
The Galata tower is built on a hill and the surrounding streets are really cute. You can also visit the top of Galata Tower for 25 TL. We highly recommend to get some breakfast and coffee at Sirin Firin Bakery, just a few meters from Galata tower. You can walk here from your airbnb in Beyoglu.
4. Umbrella Street
This umbrella street is located in the district Karaköy, home to many bars and restaurants. Most of them were still closed when we visited in the morning. We saw some art galleries, too. Search for “Hoka Tahsin” street on maps to find the umbrellas.
5. Watch the fishermen on the Galata bridge
From your hotel in Beyoglu it’s best to get to the other side of the river by walking across the Galata bridge. On the other side of the river you will find all the mosques and Galata tower. Both sides of the river are in walkable distance. Watch the fishermen on the bridge or at the banks next to the bridge while they try to catch some fish. For us the fishermen are a typical picture for this city.
6. Visit the famous Hagia Sofia
Due to recent decisions Hagia Sofia is now free to visit, there is no entrance fee anymore. Sadly they decided to make most of the mosque only accessible for men. Before these new rules, women were allowed in the main hall as well. Now only a side wing is open for women. Also you need to put off your shoes and a head scarf is required for women.
7. Blue Mosque or Sultan Ahmed Mosque
The Blue Mosque is a huge building, with blue colors inside. Unfortunately it was closed due to renovations. Normally there is no entrance fee.
8. Walk along Yerebatan Street
You can find another colorful street besides the district Balat in the main city: Yerebatan Street. There are a lot of restaurants to get some lunch.
9. Topkapi Palace
Topkapi Palace was once the palace for the sultans, now this huge property including big gardens and several buildings is transformed to a museum. You can visit the palace for 60 TL and the harem for 35TL.
10. Experience the Grand Bazaar
In this huge indoor bazaar you will find endless alleys of different shops. You can find lanterns, rugs, jewelry, spices, nuts and fruits. However, it can get a lot if you spend too much time inside these bazaar.
11. Walk the streets up to Suleymaniya Mosque for sunset
For the evening, plan to visit the beautiful Suleymaniya Mosque. From here you have a beautiful view of the city in the evening light, since it is located on a hill. Most tourists skip this mosque. The courtyard is so beautiful. There is no entrance fee. To get inside the mosque, you have to wear a scarf and leave your shoes outside.
12. Sunset at one of the many rooftops in Istanbul
One of the best views for sunset was definitely Kubbe rooftop terrace, sadly when we visited it was under construction. We went to Nova Santiye Cafe for a short view of the city. Unfortunately, it also changed to a wedding photography spot, where they ask for an extreme amount of money to get pictures of a professional photographer. It’s no allowed to take pictures at the place with all the beautiful pillows on your own, however you can take a picture next to this area. The cafe inside, didn’t look that great. There are many more roof top terraces all over the city!
13. Have a great lunch or dinner in one of the many cute restaurants
Especially in Beyoglu and Karaköy there are so many incredible little restaurants and cafés, that’s why we recommend to book a hotel directly in Beyoglu. But also Balat has really nice little cafés. I think Istanbul is one of the best cities in the world regarding the amount of cute restaurants!
Our absolutely favorite restaurant: Vegan Dükkan Lokanta
Ohhh, this one is sooooo good! This little vegan restaurant has only place for 10 people, and that makes it so special. Furthermore the food is one of the best food we ever had!! Everything tasted so extremely good! We’ve visited this place several times and tested all the different meals. And wow, everything is incredible! Also, there are cute cats asking you to pet them while you wait for your food. The service was very friendly there, too.
Sirin Firin Bakery
When you visit Galata tower, this place is just a few meters away. Grab some pastry for breakfast and a coffee. This bakery is really cute!
Journey
A nice and modern restaurant with amazing avocado toast and many more dishes. It’s also a great place to work, since the atmosphere is very chilled.
Dogaciyik
This place is a must visit as well. You can decide between different little bowls with different salads, creams, hummus, yoghurt, olives and many more. It is a lot of fun to test all the different variations.
14. Stay in the perfect airbnb in the popular area of Istanbul: Magnova Vitality Boutique Hotel in Beyoglu
We found this beautiful hotel on booking.com, although it felt more like a cozy private airbnb. The holder is very friendly and welcoming. The hotel with a few rooms on several floors is located directly in Beyoglu, a few meters from all the cafés and the interior is so beautiful! In winter we didn’t pay a lot for the room and even got an upgrade and a bathtub. We loved our big room and the view from our window!
Do you have more time?
Check out these spots if you have more time:
- Dolmabahce Palace
- Beylerbeyi Palace
- Prince Islands
- Rustem Pasha Mosque
How to get around
From Beyoglu you can explore most of the places by foot. For the places a little further away, try to get an Uber. Sometimes we had luck, sometimes nobody wanted to accept via the app. Then you have to ask the taxi drivers, unfortunately they often ask for absurd prices. We made better experiences with older taxi driver who seemed to ask for more reasonable prices most of the times. From Sabiha Gokcen International Airport it’s around a 45-60 minute drive depending on the traffic, but they have a fixed price system for the taxis there.
Best time to visit
You can visit Istanbul all year around, we visited in winter in January and it was very nice to explore the city without the tourist masses. We were lucky with the weather and had over 10 degree. But sometimes it also snows in these months. In March to May and September to November you will have warmer temperatures and still les tourists.
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