Istanbul Travel Guide
- Overview
- Itineraries
- Places to Explore
- Sights
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Entertainment
- Shopping
- Travel Tips
- Features
- Fodor's Choice
- Deals
- Guidebooks
Guidebooks
Photo: Luciano Mortula/Shutterstock
Straddling Europe and Asia, Istanbul—once known as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine and then the Ottoman Empire—has for centuries been a bustling and cosmopolitan crossroads. But what's more striking than the meeting of East and West is the juxtaposition of the old and the new, tradition and modernity. Brash concrete-and-glass hotels and office towers creep up behind historic old palaces, women in jeans or elegant designer outfits pass others wearing long skirts and head coverings, donkey-drawn carts vie with battered old Fiats and shiny BMWs for dominance of the noisy, narrow streets, and the Grand Bazaar competes with Western-style boutiques and shopping malls. At dawn, when the muezzin's call to prayer rebounds from ancient minarets, there are inevitably a few hearty revelers still making their way home from nightclubs and bars while other residents kneel on their prayer rugs facing Mecca. What a wonderful city of contrasts that manage to coexist.
Istanbul Hotels
With the number of visitors to Turkey growing by about 10% every year, Istanbul's hoteliers have been busy keeping up with the increasing demand. New lodgings...read more
Istanbul Restaurants
Istanbul is a food lover's town and restaurants abound, from humble kebab joints to fancy fish restaurants, with lots of excellent options in between. Istanbullus...read more
Things To Do in Istanbul
Explore the best sights, entertainment, and shopping with our top choices and insider tips.
Travel Deals in Istanbul
- $664+: Fly R/T to Istanbul from Washington, D.C. Fare Buzz
- Turkey Experience IExplore
- $499 -- 7-Night Adriatic Cruise w/Hotel Stay, 66% Off Priceline.com
- Ancient Crossroads of Turkey & Armenia IExplore
Istanbul Experiences
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Explore the exotic monuments of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires.... Read more
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There are a lot of mosques in Istanbul. You won't have time to see them all, but you shouldn't leave the city without taking in the beauty and... Read more
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Many of the antiquities on view in Istanbul have been removed from the archaeological sites of Turkey's ancient cities. Seeing them here first... Read more
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Byzantium was already 1,000 years old when, in AD 326, Emperor Constantine the Great began to rebuild it as the new capital of the Roman Empire... Read more
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One of the most pleasant experiences in Istanbul—and an easy way to escape the chaos of the city—is a trip up the Bosphorus by ferry... Read more
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Süleymaniye Hamami. Part of the complex of buildings around the Süleymaniye Camii, and built, like the mosque, by Sinan in the 1550s... Read more
Travel Blog
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Trip Ideas & Itineraries
Admittedly, Europe's "Big 3" are hard to beat. ... Read more
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Trip Ideas & Itineraries
There is no other country on earth that is such a juxtaposition of contrasts, and there’s no time... Read more
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Arriving:· Forums Trip Reports
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Istanbul - there are words to fully describe this magnificent city. Read more
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We returned from our trip last week—we went to Istanbul, Ephesus, and Cappadocia. Read more
·Turkey Forum
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My fiance and I are planning to visit Turkey in October 2013 (planning a bit early) for probably 14-17 days - not including travel days to/from Turkey from the US. Read more
