Authentic Istanbul

At 9:15 AM after breakfast we will pick you up at your hotel.

We’ll drive to the famous Golden Horn (Halic).Afterwards we will drive up to the charming Pierre Loti Cafe for a relaxing glass of tea and to top it off,we’ll stroll down the hill to the fun and educational MiniaTurk outdoor museum.

* Pierre Loti Cafe, on the hills of the Golden Horn, this cafe, named for the French writer who spent a lifetime documenting Istanbul life, is a popular and special place to enjoy the panoramic view of the Horn.

* MiniaTurk is a popular miniature park that opened in May of 2003. MiniaTürk covers a total area of 60,000 m², rendering the world’s largest miniature park. The park contains 105 architectural models done in 1/25th scale. 45 of the structures are from Istanbul, 45 are from Anatolia, and 15 are from the Ottoman territories that today lie outside of Turkey. Also featured are historic structures like the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus (now Bodrum), as well as Ataturk’s mausoleum (Anitkabir) in Ankara.

We have lunch on Istiklal Street at a tradational restaurant, then walk to Taksim Square.

At Taksim Square area we will walk approx. 2 kms down Istiklal Avenue, along local shops, shopping centers, banks, restaurants, bars..etc. We can stop and spend time anywhere you like.

* Taksim Square is situated in the European part of Istanbul and, is a major shopping, tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops and hotels. It is regarded as the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of the Istanbul Metro network being located here. Taksim Square is also the location of the Cumhuriyet Aniti (Monument of the Republic) which was crafted by the famous Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica and inaugurated in 1928. The monument commemorates the formation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, following the Turkish War of Independence.

* Galata Tower has dominated Beyoğlu’s skyline since 1348 and still offers the best panoramic views of the city.Originally named the Tower of Christ, it was the highpoint in the city walls of the Genoese colony called Galata. Most of the walls are long gone, but the great tower remains.Until the 1960s it was a fire lookout tower. Now the upper floors hold a restaurant, and a panorama balcony.The panorama balcony, encircling the highest row of windows, is narrow, open to the weather, and not recommended for anyone suffering from acrophobia (fear of heights)

After visiting Galata Tower we walk down to Galata Bridge.

* The Galata Bridge was the symbolic link between traditional “Istanbul proper” (imperial palace, the principal religious secular institutions of the empire) – and the districts of Galata and Beyoglu, where a large proportion of its inhabitants were non-Muslims (and where foreign merchants and diplomats lived and worked).
In this respect, the bridge bonded these two distinctive cultures. As Peyami Safa wrote in his novel, Fatih-Harbiye, an Istanbullu who went from Fatih to Harbiye (district close to Taksim Square), via Galata Bridge, set foot in a different civilization and a different culture. Apart from its place in fiction, the romantic appearance of the Galata Bridge has also made it the subject of countless paintings and engravings.

Then we can hop on the tram to get back to the hotel or you can choose to take the private car.

* Golden Horn (Halic).

* Pierre Loti Cafe,

* MiniaTurk

* Istiklal Street

* Taksim Square

* Galata Tower

* The Galata Bridge