The Istanbul City Guides deal with the questions every first-timer has: how to do Hagia Sophia and Topkapı without wasting a morning, where locals eat pide and kebab away from the Sultanahmet touts, which ferry doubles as a cheap Bosphorus cruise and where the night goes after a meyhane dinner. Each guide is a tight, opinionated list with the reason to go, what to order or look at and one practical tip for every place, and it opens in your browser as soon as you pay.
About the Istanbul City Guides
- 157 places
- 6 guides
- 9 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The six Istanbul guides
Food guide
28 places
Steam-tray lunch rooms and pide ovens, charcoal kebab grills, meyhanes and fish dinners, Turkish breakfast, baklava and coffee on both shores.
Things to do guide
27 places
Hagia Sophia and Topkapı in the right order, Sinan’s mosques, hammams and covered bazaars, Galata and Balat, and the Bosphorus by ferry.
Family guide
25 places
Museums that work in the rain, ferries and cable cars kids treat as rides, parks with real playgrounds and food children will actually eat.
Nightlife guide
24 places
Raki and live fasıl in old meyhanes, cocktail bars in Cihangir and Kadıköy, jazz clubs, rooftops and where to eat after midnight.
Day trips guide
25 places
The Princes’ Islands by ferry, Bursa and İznik, Sinan’s great mosque in Edirne and the Black Sea forests and beaches, with the buses and boats that get you there.
Budget guide
28 places
Free mosques and Roman ruins, free views, ferries that cost less than a coffee and filling meals under €10.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Hocapaşa Pidecisi
Hoca Paşa Sokak, near Sirkeci station
Boat-shaped pide straight from the oven, a short walk from the tram, with heated tables outside in winter. It is the cheap, honest answer to the overpriced lunches around Sultanahmet. From the food guide.
Rustem Pasha Mosque
Hasırcılar Caddesi, near the Spice Bazaar
Climb a staircase between market stalls and you reach a small prayer hall lined with some of the finest Iznik tiles in Istanbul. Fifteen minutes is enough, and the crowds rarely find it. From the things to do guide.
Kadikoy Ferry Station
Kadıköy pier, Asian side
Twenty minutes across the water for about €1 on an Istanbulkart, with Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and the Maiden’s Tower sliding past. The cheapest skyline tour in the city. From the budget guide.
From the game to the guides
World City Trail’s Istanbul scavenger hunt, escape game and audio tour lead you through the historic centre. The guides carry on from there: pide for lunch near Sirkeci, a hammam in a Sinan building, the ferry across to Kadıköy for dinner or a day out on the Princes’ Islands.
Questions about the Istanbul guides
What do the Istanbul City Guides include?
Six guides with 157 places: food, things to do, family, nightlife, day trips and budget. Each place has the reason to go, the neighbourhood, practical notes and a local tip.
How do I open the guides once I have paid?
The links show up on your order page straight after checkout and in the order email. They run in any browser on a phone, tablet or laptop, without an app or an account.
Can I use the guides offline in Istanbul?
Yes. Open each guide once while you are online and it keeps working without a connection, ticks and notes included. Only the map links need data.
Which languages are the guides available in?
English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Greek and Polish, and you can change language inside the guide whenever you like.
How much do the Istanbul guides cost?
One guide is €4.99, two are €8.99, four are €15.99 and all six are €19.99. If you also book a World City Trail game, the food guide costs €3.99 and the set of six €14.99.
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