A Day in Sultanahmet

Sultanahmet is the old heart of Istanbul, and the one place in the city where the major museums sit almost door to door. None of the walks on this route takes more than ten minutes. The hard part is time: Topkapı Palace and the Archaeology Museums could each fill a day, so the order below starts with the big ones and ends with the small ones.

Morning: Topkapı Palace

Take the tram to the Sultanahmet or Gülhane stop and walk past Hagia Sophia to the Imperial Gate. Topkapı Palace is laid out as a series of courtyards. The first one is a public garden; the museum proper begins after the second gate. The Holy Relics, the Treasury and the Harem draw the biggest crowds, and if one of them has a queue it usually pays to move on and come back. Save a few minutes for the terrace at the far end, which looks over the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. Three hours is comfortable, more if you add the Harem.

Midday: Istanbul Archaeology Museums

From the first courtyard, follow the lane that runs down towards Gülhane Park and you reach the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. Three buildings share one garden: the main museum, the Tiled Kiosk (Çinili Köşk, an Ottoman pavilion full of Iznik tiles) and the Museum of the Ancient Orient. Most people come for the Alexander Sarcophagus and the other royal sarcophagi from Sidon in the main building. Allow one and a half to two hours, then break for lunch in Gülhane Park or on the way back to Sultanahmet.

Afternoon: cistern, Hippodrome, mosaics

Walk back towards Hagia Sophia. The Basilica Cistern, known locally as Yerebatan Sarnıcı, is underground on the opposite corner of the square. It is cool and dim inside and the walkways can be damp, so wear shoes with some grip. The two column bases carved with Medusa heads are at the back. Half an hour to an hour is enough.

The Hippodrome (At Meydanı in Turkish) is five minutes away. Facing the Egyptian obelisk and the Serpent Column is the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, in the sixteenth-century palace of the grand vizier İbrahim Pasha. Its carpet collection is the main reason to go; downstairs, the ethnography section shows nomad tents and everyday objects. Plan on an hour and a half.

Finish at the Great Palace Mosaic Museum, reached through the Arasta Bazaar behind the Blue Mosque. This small museum shows floor mosaics from the Byzantine imperial palace where they were found: hunting scenes, animals, children at play. Forty-five minutes will do.

Practical notes

• Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii) are right on this route. Both are working mosques: visits pause at prayer times, shoulders and knees must be covered, and women cover their hair. Fit them in over lunch or after the cistern.
• Some museums close one day a week. Check the hours on each museum page before you set out.
• Turkey's museum pass is explained on the Müzekart page; confirm on the official list which of these sites accept it.
• If this feels like too much for one day, the three-day Istanbul route spreads it out. If you still have energy in the evening, cross the Galata Bridge and pick up the Beyoğlu and Galata route.