After heading north through Europe, we set our sights southeast for this winter! Let’s be honest right away: if you’re after warmth, look elsewhere! We even got caught in a snowstorm, that’s how cold it was! So we took advantage of the moody weather to get better acquainted with the city’s museums and mosques, and to sample a few Turkish specialties like lokum and baklava, all washed down with a good little coffee (Turkish, of course). In this article, we take you on a wander through Istanbul in winter! Grab your puffer jackets and follow along ;).
We took this trip back in 2015, but we’ve fully revised and updated the article in August 2026. Since 2015, the Turkish lira has changed a lot… Back then, the exchange rate was roughly 1 euro = 2.75 TL. Today it’s closer to 1 euro = 55 TL. So most of the prices mentioned in this article are no longer accurate. We’ve tried to update them, but things may keep shifting depending on the Turkish currency.
Map of Istanbul
Before we dive in, here’s a quick map of Istanbul and its neighborhoods to help you get your bearings!
What to do in Istanbul in winter?
We mostly stayed in Istanbul’s old town (the Sultanahmet district), in the antiques quarter (Çukurcuma) across the Galata Bridge, and on the Asian side of the city, which we reached by ferry.
Take a free walking tour
Like in many cities around the world, Istanbul offers free walking tours. These are on foot and sign-up is free. They work on a tip basis, you decide how much to leave at the end depending on how much you enjoyed it. We do these pretty regularly wherever we travel, since they’re a great way to get a first overview of a city!
Visit the Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque (officially Sultanahmet Camii) is probably one of the most famous mosques in the world! A UNESCO World Heritage site, it was built in the 17th century under Sultan Ahmed I.
Photos of it at sunset are famous the world over. We would have loved to snap a few ourselves at golden hour, but the sun played hide-and-seek with us the whole trip… (and it won, we barely saw the thing!). Still, we caught glimpses of it through the clouds, under fog, in the dead of night, and even in the middle of a snowstorm! Maybe not the most photogenic conditions, but it was still stunning.
Once inside, the weather’s whims are quickly forgotten. Because yes, you can enter the Blue Mosque for free! The only rules are not to enter during prayer time, and for women, to cover their heads with a scarf. And trust us, it would be a real shame to skip it, the Ottoman architecture is incredible. Judge for yourself ;).
Something else that makes Sultanahmet Mosque special: the call to prayer! Over 100 loudspeakers broadcast the muezzin’s chants across the neighborhood at prayer time, and believe us, at over 100 decibels, there’s no missing it!
- The Blue Mosque is located in Istanbul’s historic center.
- It’s open every day from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tip: arrive early to beat the crowds!
- Entry is free!
- Women are lent clothing and headscarves free of charge to respect Muslim customs.
- A free guided tour is offered once a day.
If you want to go further, we recommend this guided tour, which covers the three largest religious sites in Istanbul.
Walk past Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque
What makes Hagia Sophia special? It actually started out as a Christian basilica back in the days of Constantinople, then later became a mosque! In 1934, it stopped being used as a place of worship and became a museum in its own right. Since 2020, Hagia Sophia has once again become a mosque, with regular prayer times. It’s not really a place you “read” so much as one you simply take in… The information available on-site is pretty thin, and it’s common for visitors to leave with a genuine crick in the neck. The ceiling and the various domes are so stunning that you naturally end up staring upward for long stretches.
Little bonus: besides being an absolutely incredible place, it’s also home to plenty of cats :). Don’t be surprised to spot little furballs tucked into every corner!
The one downside we’d point out is the price. Over 25 euros per person really isn’t cheap… When we visited, it cost just 30 TL, a little under 10 euros each! Today, honestly, we’d probably skip it and focus on the Blue Mosque and the Süleymaniye Mosque instead, both of which are free.
- Also in the historic city center, Hagia Sophia is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (5 p.m. in winter). We really recommend arriving right at opening, since it fills up fast even out of season.
- Entry is paid: 25 euros per person, or 1,400 TL. We suggest paying on-site or booking via GetYourGuide, which offers a skip-the-line ticket combined with an audio guide. It’s a nice option if you want some historical context, and reasonably priced. If buying tickets on-site, make sure you’re paying for access to the mosque/basilica: specifically ask for “the balcony only,” not the museum! The museum isn’t worth it, and you’ll avoid paying 50 euros (!) each for nothing… Sellers will of course try to upsell you, insisting you need the 50-euro ticket to see the interior.
Visit Süleymaniye Mosque
Süleymaniye Mosque (Süleymaniye Camii) is the largest of Istanbul’s imperial mosques! Far less visited than the Blue Mosque, we found it every bit as beautiful, and of course much quieter in terms of tourists… We even got to watch a young couple having wedding photos taken within its walls!
What we particularly loved about this mosque was the many information panels explaining Islam. We’re pretty lapsed Catholics ourselves, and know even less about other religions. At Süleymaniye, numerous panels do a great job explaining the basics of Islam and its customs, and honestly, they help debunk a lot of the nonsense you read in the media…
Bonus: the absolutely stunning view over Istanbul! It’s actually here that we caught our only real glimpse of sunshine… No sunset for us this trip, but Ben managed to capture a lovely sunrise! I was, of course, still asleep!
- Located northwest of the historic city center, Süleymaniye Mosque is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Entry is free!
Visit Topkapı Palace
The heart of the Ottoman Empire, Topkapı Palace was home to the sultans for more than 400 years. And to put it mildly, they thought big back then: a palace spanning 700,000 square meters with over 100 rooms! Built on the site of the acropolis of Byzantium, the palace boasts sweeping views over the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn!
A quick heads-up: don’t plan on rushing through this one… The visit takes a minimum of 3 to 4 hours, possibly longer if you want to read everything. The exhibits are genuinely well done, and it’s easy to picture exactly what life must have been like for the sultans here!
Personally, I was blown away by the kitchens, massive rooms where more than 4,000 meals were prepared daily for the sultan, his court, and the palace staff! Some 800 people worked there full-time!
Oddly enough, it wasn’t the kitchens that stuck with Ben… He was much more taken with the harem! Well, who can blame him: 300 rooms dedicated solely to the sultan’s concubines… Ben could already picture nearly 300 women lounging on silk armchairs, relaxing in gorgeously decorated rooms, or splashing around in the massive pool overlooking the Bosphorus! Yes, Ben could definitely see himself as sultan… Though, honestly, the sultan really was the only lucky guy around. Because to keep watch over those 300 women, there were 100 guards. But no one was allowed to touch the courtesans! So the 100 guards were eunuchs… For those unfamiliar, eunuchs are castrated men (ouch!).
Note: on your way out of the palace, take a stroll through Gülhane Park right next door, quite possibly Istanbul’s most beautiful park!
- Topkapı Palace is just steps from Hagia Sophia. It’s open every day except Tuesday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Entry costs 2,750 TL and includes both the palace and the harem. It’s pricey, but given how many hours you’ll spend there, it’s worth it. If you’re on the fence, you can buy a harem-only ticket (1,050 TL).
- Our tip: it gets crowded, so arrive right at 9 a.m. and head straight for the harem!
Visit the Basilica Cistern
Plenty of you recommended we check out the Basilica Cistern, so of course we couldn’t skip it ;)! And it really is worth the visit. Wandering the streets of the city center, you’d never guess what lies beneath your feet… Yerebatan Sarnıcı, its Turkish name, is an underground cistern spanning 1,000 square meters with 336 marble columns! You enter almost as if descending into a small cellar. The doorway isn’t much to look at, the stairs are a bit slippery and dim, and nothing hints at what awaits below! Can you spot the two Medusa heads ;)?
The place is, how to put it… impressive, surreal, magical, and a little eerie all at once! I know those adjectives don’t exactly go together, but that’s honestly what came to mind during the visit!
Here too, prices have gone up quite a bit… Entry now costs 1,950 TL from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and 3,000 TL after 7:30 p.m.! The visit takes an hour at most… Would we do it again? Hmm, maybe not…
- The Basilica Cistern is also in the historic city center, just west of Hagia Sophia.
- It’s open every day, from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and again from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Entry costs 1,950 TL from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and 3,000 TL after that, for a one-hour visit.
- Our tip: this is one of Istanbul’s most-visited sites. Come right at opening or later in the day when it’s much quieter. Either way, we strongly recommend booking a skip-the-line ticket to avoid long queues.
Take a Bosphorus cruise
One of the things that makes Istanbul unique is straddling East and West, or Europe and Asia, if you prefer. The historic center and the Blue Mosque sit on the European side, but hop on a ferry and you’re suddenly on the Asian continent :). We’d left Asia almost 10 months earlier, so the chance to set foot back on it was too good to pass up!
We really wanted to do a proper Bosphorus cruise, but the seriously moody weather during our stay made us give up on that idea… So crossing the Bosphorus by ferry became our compromise.
Honestly, the change of scenery isn’t dramatic, but we still had a lovely day! We took the boat from Eminönü toward Üsküdar, then walked to the port of Kadıköy, a pleasant 7-8 km stroll.
Much less touristy, this side of Istanbul has plenty of charm, even if we found it a bit sleepy, at least at the start of the walk! By the end, we found ourselves, somewhat by accident, right in the middle of a political demonstration. Don’t worry, it was a peaceful one, but there was certainly some energy in the air!
Note: if you want to do a full Bosphorus cruise during the day or at sunset, we recommend not booking online. You’ll find offers for 10 or 20 euros, but you can easily book on the spot, and it’s inevitably cheaper that way! Last we checked, a full 2-hour cruise costs around 6-7 euros.
- Istanbul has several ferry terminals. The closest to the historic center are Eminönü to the north and Yenikapı to the south.
- Ticket prices depend on distance. From Eminönü to Üsküdar, expect to pay around 58 TL, roughly 1 euro per person. Ferries run every 20 minutes between 6 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. Check schedules online on the public ferry (vapur) website.
Wander the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market
Practically a must-see in Istanbul, the Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı) is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world! Once inside, you almost feel like you’ve entered a city within a city. Vendors calling out to you every couple of meters, the smell of spices and food hanging in the air, and an impressively dense crowd of tourists! Apparently the bazaar sees between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors EVERY DAY!
We really enjoyed the wander, though we actually preferred the nearby Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı), which felt much more pleasant. At the Grand Bazaar, we quickly realized we hadn’t missed the constant vendor hustle you get in parts of Asia after all… That said, it’s still worth a stroll, just don’t expect relaxed, low-key shopping ;).
- The Grand Bazaar is open Monday to Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., except on public holidays. What will you find? Pretty much everything!
- The Spice Bazaar is a 10-minute walk from the Grand Bazaar, toward Eminönü port. It’s open daily from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. As the name suggests, it’s mainly spices, but also plenty of Turkish sweets like baklava, lokum, and nuts and almonds in every form imaginable!
Cross Galata Bridge
Galata Bridge connects Istanbul’s old town to the Taksim Square area, the city’s most vibrant district. Architecturally, there’s nothing particularly special about it, but what really gives the bridge its charm are the many fishermen who gather here every day for their favorite pastime! Funnily enough, we noticed most of their coolers looked pretty much empty, but the catch clearly wasn’t the point! Here, men gather in all weather (yes, even in the snow!) to chat, swap tips, and occasionally cast a line into the water, all while soaking up a phenomenal view of the grand palace and the Blue Mosque!
Stroll through the Taksim district
Once across Galata Bridge, you find yourself in the Beyoğlu district. From there, you can reach Taksim Square either via İstiklal Avenue (or “Grand Avenue of Pera”), a pedestrian street lined with big shopping names and countless restaurants, or through the small backstreets of Çukurcuma, the antiques quarter.
We chose to go through Çukurcuma, and honestly, we completely fell in love with this part of the city! It’s full of little shops, bars and cafés on every corner, and an impressive concentration of antique dealers, flea-market stalls, and quirkier, more alternative boutiques. In our view, it’s the perfect spot to wander and enjoy a good meal at a much more reasonable price than on the other side of Galata Bridge! And if you’re into street art, you’ll be well served in this neighborhood too ;).
Where to stay in Istanbul?
Istanbul is a hugely touristy city, so it goes without saying there’s no shortage of accommodation! When choosing a neighborhood, you basically have a few options:
- stay on the Asian side to be a bit removed from the tourist crowds and enjoy a more authentic vibe;
- stay right around the Blue Mosque, in the heart of the Fatih district, giving you the luxury of reaching most major sights on foot;
- stay near Taksim Square, an up-and-coming area with a more alternative, dare we say hipster, feel ;).
We ultimately settled on Sultanahmet, the historic center. Why? Simple, it was the cheapest option! We stayed in a hostel (now closed) in a 10-bed dorm, and honestly, we were thrilled with it. We’ll admit we got lucky… Since the 10-bed dorm was full when we arrived, they upgraded us to the 6-bed dorm at no extra cost. And even better luck, we had that 6-bed dorm entirely to ourselves for 4 out of 5 nights! For similarly central, budget-friendly stays, we’d recommend the Stanpoli Hostel and Apple Sophia. Both offer very affordable dorm beds with breakfast included!
If hotels aren’t really your thing, you can also check apartment rental sites. Istanbul has pretty strict regulations here: there are relatively few apartments available right in the center, since owners need a special license. That said, you can find some lovely apartments and studios just outside the core.
Here’s a map showing lots of places to stay in Istanbul. You can zoom in on different neighborhoods and use the filters to directly compare hotels, hostels, and apartments.
Getting around Istanbul
Getting to the city center from the airport
A word of warning about the airport: avoid taxis! Scams are far too common: swapped bills where you end up handing over more cash, meters that “mysteriously” aren’t running… There is the M11 metro line running from Istanbul Airport (İstanbul Havalimanı), but it doesn’t go directly to the city center, you’ll need at least one transfer to another metro line/tram/bus. In our opinion, it’s better to stick to the official shuttle buses or arrange a private transfer.
For shuttles, look for the Havaist buses. Depending on your destination, they run between midnight and 11:45 p.m. Price-wise, expect around 470 TL (8-9 euros) between the airport and Eminönü, for example. Check schedules and book tickets on the bus company’s website.
Otherwise, there’s the private driver option. The rate is fixed, so you know you won’t get overcharged :). Bonus: the more people you’re traveling with, the cheaper it gets per person.
Which mode of transport to choose
To get around Istanbul’s various neighborhoods, we mostly relied on two things: the tram and our own two feet!
The tram here is cheap and very convenient. Expect to pay around 1 euro per person per ride. That said, we mostly just walked around the historic quarter before hopping on the ferry to the Asian side.
Note: there’s also the Istanbul Card, an unlimited card usable across all forms of transport (bus, metro, tram, ferry, funicular…). Honestly, it’s fairly pricey given that a single tram or ferry ticket doesn’t cost much at all. So we wouldn’t really recommend it.
Budget for a weekend in Istanbul
2026 update: for 2 days in Istanbul, we’d now estimate a budget of around 45 euros per day per person! For more details, check out our full breakdown of travel costs in Turkey.
Istanbul has become an increasingly popular spot for a quick weekend getaway. So it makes sense that even in winter, prices run a bit higher than in, say, Tbilisi or Vilnius. Overall, though, we still managed to keep our budget under control. Over our 6 days, we spent a total of 323 euros back then, working out to an average of 26.9 euros per day per person.
Notes:
- The official currency is the Turkish lira. 1 euro = roughly 55 TL (or TRY).
- As you’ve probably noticed, sightseeing here can be fairly expensive…
- For meals, we really recommend stepping away from the main street and the Blue Mosque area. Everything there is double the price! For example, a simple kebab might cost 5-10 TL near Hagia Sophia, while walking just 3 or 4 streets over, the same kebab drops to 2 TL!
- A bus, tram, or ferry ride costs 4 TL and takes you as far as you want without needing a transfer.
- Prices in Istanbul swing a lot with the tourist season. Hotel prices can easily triple during high season, roughly mid-March to end of May and September through late October.
Our verdict: is Istanbul worth visiting in winter?
And that wraps up our winter visit to Istanbul. We’d warmly recommend coming outside the summer peak season, in any case. The city is so vast and stunning that there’s obviously still so much more to discover. Do you have any favorite spots in the city? Let us know in the comments :).
We’re continuing to explore the country, this time in spring! Will you follow us to Izmir and Pamukkale?
P.S. — We’ve gathered all our tips into a practical guide for traveling in Turkey. Happy reading!
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