Istanbul: Spice or Grand Bazaar??

Will be in Istanbul in September, will probably only go to one bazaar.

Which would you go to (have been to)...the spice or the grand?

Both!

The grand bazaar is huge and you could easily get lost. We had something we wanted to buy so that kept us focused.

The spice bazaar is large enough. Again we had a mission (saffron) so we bought that and walked through to the end and left.

If I could only do one, it would be the grand because it is quite the experience.

You'll probably end up getting very mixed opinions.

While the Grand Bazaar is definitely larger, I prefer the Spice Bazaar as it seems to have a better "atmosphere" to me. The Grand Bazaar has some nice areas but you have to work your way there through a lot of stores selling, to be honest, a lot of cheap junk that is made in China (and occasionally Turkey).

For actual shopping (rather than just "an experience") I prefer the Arasta Bazaar, which is alongside the Blue Mosque. Nicer things, less hassle.

You'll probably end up getting very mixed opinions.

 

While the Grand Bazaar is definitely larger, I prefer the Spice Bazaar as it seems to have a better "atmosphere" to me. The Grand Bazaar has some nice areas but you have to work your way there through a lot of stores selling, to be honest, a lot of cheap junk that is made in China (and occasionally Turkey).

 

For actual shopping (rather than just "an experience") I prefer the Arasta Bazaar, which is alongside the Blue Mosque. Nicer things, less hassle.

Agree, the bazaars are not far from each other. We are not big shoppers and we did both in about a hour.

Agree with the others to go to both, even if you only spend a short time at each. They each have their pros and cons. We love browsing in the Covered (Grand) Bazaar but always enjoy looking at the food products at the Spice Market.

Hank

I would go to both.

The Spice Bazaar does have a lot of spices but also has merchandise and the Grand Bazaar is much larger with a lot more merchandise.

If you want something that is easier to navigate and not so large than go with the Spice Market. If you prefer something larger go with the Grand Bazaar.

But if you can, just go to both.

Keith

thanks everybody!!