Neighbourhood guide · the old city
The heart of the old city: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı, the Basilica Cistern and the Hippodrome, with the best museums, hammams, restaurants and hotels around them.
The back story
Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque facing each other across a garden, Topkapı on the hill and a Byzantine cistern below your feet: Sultanahmet is the heart of the old city and of two empires.
Fifteen centuries under one dome
Justinian’s great church of 537, an Ottoman imperial mosque from 1453, a museum from 1934 and a mosque again since 2020: the building that defines Istanbul.
Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya Meydanı No:1, FatihExplore View on map
Six minarets and 20,000 tiles
The great mosque of Sultan Ahmed I, built 1609–1616, with six minarets and an interior of blue İznik tiles.
Sultan Ahmet, Atmeydanı Caddesi, FatihExplore View on map
The sultans’ palace
The palace of the Ottoman sultans for nearly four centuries: courtyards, the Harem, the Treasury and views over the Bosphorus. Closed on Tuesdays.
Cankurtaran, Babıhümayun Caddesi, FatihExplore View on map
A forest of columns underground
Justinian’s 6th-century underground reservoir, with 336 columns, Medusa heads and soft lighting.
Alemdar, Yerebatan Caddesi No:1/3, FatihExplore View on map
Where the chariots raced
The long square in front of the Blue Mosque that was once the Byzantine Hippodrome, with an Egyptian obelisk and the Serpent Column.
Sultanahmet Meydanı, FatihExplore View on map
A church never turned into a mosque
The 6th-century Church of Holy Peace in the first courtyard of Topkapı, one of the few Byzantine churches never converted into a mosque.
Cankurtaran, Topkapı Sarayı, FatihExplore View on map
Justinian’s jewel
The 6th-century Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, now the Küçük Ayasofya Mosque, near the sea walls.
Küçük Ayasofya Caddesi, FatihExplore View on map
Constantine’s porphyry column
The porphyry column Constantine raised in 330 in his forum, bound with iron hoops, on Divan Yolu.
Divan Yolu Caddesi, Çemberlitaş, FatihExplore View on map
Three museums below Topkapı
Three museums founded by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1891, with the Alexander Sarcophagus, ancient Istanbul and the Tiled Kiosk.
Cankurtaran, Osman Hamdi Bey Yokuşu, FatihExplore View on map
Carpets in a vizier’s palace
Carpets, manuscripts and treasures from across the Islamic world, in the 16th-century palace of İbrahim Pasha on the Hippodrome.
Binbirdirek, Atmeydanı Caddesi, FatihExplore View on map
Mosaics from the emperors’ palace
Floor mosaics from the Great Palace of the Byzantine emperors, displayed where they were found behind the Blue Mosque.
Torun Sokak, Sultanahmet, FatihExplore View on map
Sinan’s bath between the great mosques
Sinan’s hammam of 1556 for Hürrem Sultan, standing between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, restored as a luxury bath.
Ayasofya Meydanı, Sultanahmet, FatihExplore View on map
The bathhouse of 1741
One of the most famous hammams in Istanbul, built in 1741 near Hagia Sophia, with separate sections for men and women.
Prof. Kazım İsmail Gürkan Caddesi, Cağaloğlu, FatihExplore View on map
A quiet bazaar behind the Blue Mosque
A row of shops in the old arcade of the Blue Mosque complex, with carpets, ceramics and textiles.
Arasta Çarşısı, Sultanahmet, FatihExplore View on map
The palace gardens
The former outer gardens of Topkapı Palace, sloping down to the tip of the old city; tulips in April.
Gülhane Parkı, Cankurtaran, FatihExplore View on map
Recipes from the palace kitchens
Ottoman palace recipes revived in Sultanahmet, a short walk from Hagia Sophia.
Caferiye Sokak, Sultanahmet, FatihExplore View on map
An Ottoman banquet
An Ottoman-cuisine restaurant on Ticarethane Sokak near Hagia Sophia, with recipes from the sultans’ kitchens.
Ticarethane Sokak, Alemdar, FatihExplore View on map
MICHELIN-selected (2026)
Kebabs and south-eastern Turkish dishes cooked over charcoal in Sultanahmet; in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide.
Alemdar Mahallesi, Ticarethane Sokak No:9/B, FatihExplore View on map
MICHELIN-selected (2026)
A set menu of Cretan-style meze and fish in a garden house in Cankurtaran, below the Blue Mosque; in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide.
Yenigüvey Sokak No:9, Cankurtaran, FatihExplore View on map
Fish in an old wooden house
A much-loved fish restaurant in a wooden house in Cankurtaran, below Sultanahmet, with tables spilling into the lane.
Şehit Hasan Kuyu Sokak No:1, Cankurtaran, FatihExplore View on map
In an 18th-century hammam
A restaurant inside the 1741 Cağaloğlu Hamamı, a few minutes from Hagia Sophia; listed by the MICHELIN Guide.
Alemdar Mahallesi, Profesör Kazım İsmail Gürkan Caddesi No:34, Cağaloğlu Hamamı, FatihExplore View on map
Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque from above
A rooftop terrace in Sultanahmet with views of Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the sea.
Tevkifhane Sokak No:8, Sultanahmet, FatihExplore View on map
Sweets since 1864
A historic sweet shop founded in 1864: baklava, lokum, puddings and tea, with branches around the old city.
Sirkeci and Divan Yolu Caddesi, FatihExplore View on map
Between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque
An intimate luxury hotel in a former prison building, steps from Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.
Tevkifhane Sokak No:1, Sultanahmet, FatihExplore View on map
Steps from Hagia Sophia
A comfortable hotel with a spa on Ticarethane Sokak, a few steps from Hagia Sophia.
Ticarethane Sokak No:10, Sultanahmet, FatihExplore View on map
Warm welcome in the old city
A small boutique hotel in Sultanahmet with Ottoman-style rooms and a terrace.
Aksakal Sokağı, Sultanahmet, FatihExplore View on map
Beside the Hippodrome
A small boutique hotel beside the Hippodrome, with a roof terrace facing the Blue Mosque.
Terzihane Sokak No:7, Sultanahmet, FatihExplore View on map
By Gülhane Park
A friendly, well-run hotel by Gülhane Park, with an indoor pool and hammam.
Taya Hatun Caddesi No:5, Sirkeci, FatihExplore View on map
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