First Time in Sultanahmet
Coming to Sultanahmet for the first time? The masterpieces you really shouldn't miss are on this route.
About this route
A route that takes first-time visitors through Sultanahmet's most important buildings in order. Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern and Topkapı Palace — the four great sights no visitor should miss. Arranged in a flowing, sensible sequence.
Directions
6 stops · 5.5 h · 48 min walk
Markers show the visiting order. Change the order in the list and the map updates at once.
From the Byzantine hippodrome to today — the 2,000-year-old historic heart of Istanbul.
A 1,500-year-old World Heritage site — a masterpiece that has been basilica, mosque and museum.
A 17th-century masterpiece with six minarets, its interior lined with more than 21,000 Iznik tiles.
An underground reservoir of 336 columns — the mysterious subterranean world of Byzantium.
The magnificent palace and museum where the Ottoman sultans lived for 400 years.
Lunch Break
Lunch at Meşale with traditional Turkish kebab and meze — in the Arasta Bazaar, right on the route.
The small, quiet bazaar behind the Blue Mosque — handicrafts and mosaics.
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View My RouteRoute Information
- Total time
- 5.5 h
- Number of stops
- 6
- Walk
- 48 min
- Suggested start
- 09:00
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Suitable for
- First-time visitors
Meşale's Break Suggestions
- Lunch BreakLunch at Meşale with traditional Turkish kebab and meze — in the Arasta Bazaar, right on the route.