Oceania Riviera cruise departing in Istanbul

We are departing in late May for Istanbul (with the next port being Ephesus) and will arrive 10 days later in Barcelona. I was able to decide all the different tours we would take but am stymied by Istanbul. We do not want to spend very much time in museums, is there enough to see that we should take a full day tour or can we see all the highlights in half a day. Besides Topaki, The Blue Mosque, and The Spice Market what are the other 'must sees'? We are arriving in Istanbul a day early and will go to the Grand Bazaar on our own.

We are departing in late May for Istanbul (with the next port being Ephesus) and will arrive 10 days later in Barcelona. I was able to decide all the different tours we would take but am stymied by Istanbul. We do not want to spend very much time in museums, is there enough to see that we should take a full day tour or can we see all the highlights in half a day. Besides Topaki, The Blue Mosque, and The Spice Market what are the other 'must sees'? We are arriving in Istanbul a day early and will go to the Grand Bazaar on our own.

Definitely you should include Haghia Sophia on your list of must-sees (it would be my #1 in Istanbul).

The Basilica cistern is a very cool place to visit, would take perhaps 30 minutes and is not far from Haghia Sophia.

While you are at the Blue Mosque, you should take a few minutes to look at the ancient monuments in the Hippodrome (now a park, beside the mosque).

We ended our cruise on the Riviera last July in Istanbul a little late because of port issues... However we did manage to tour the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar... Enjoyed our shortened visit...

We are departing in late May for Istanbul (with the next port being Ephesus) and will arrive 10 days later in Barcelona. I was able to decide all the different tours we would take but am stymied by Istanbul. We do not want to spend very much time in museums, is there enough to see that we should take a full day tour or can we see all the highlights in half a day. Besides Topaki, The Blue Mosque, and The Spice Market what are the other 'must sees'? We are arriving in Istanbul a day early and will go to the Grand Bazaar on our own.

If you haven't done so already, check out the roll call for your cruise:http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1788483

All the places mentioned by yourself and Cruisemom are quite close to each-other & very easy to tour independently.

But I know that some folk like the background & history that a guide can provide, plus the ease, security & reassurance of having a guide.

So if you can't be persuaded to explore without a guide, unless you have significant walking issues don't look on a walking tour as a second-rate alternative to a tour by car - even if the guide takes you on a tram. Traffic log-jams can be a big issue in Istanbul, but the tram has an unhindered route down the centre of the road. And the traffic & parking near the sights is problematic, plus some sights lead naturally to other sights on foot - so a driver/guide doesn't work out, it needs a driver and a guide.

I don't believe you can do justice to all those sights in a half-day.

Topkapi Palace will take up a big chunk of your time, but if you don't like museums probably you could skip Hagia Sophia, which has been both a church & a mosque but is now a museum. A beautiful & interesting building, but even if you skipped going inside, it's very close to the Blue Mosque & well worth at least seeing it from the outside. The Basilica cistern is also close by - nothing to see without going in, but admission is inexpensive and even 15 mins is worthwhile.

The Spice Bazaar is a mini-version of the Grand Bazaar. Yes, it majors on spices but has plenty of other wares - the Grand Bazaar has a huge range of wares, but that includes plenty of spices. You could skip one or the other, or perhaps add the Spice Bazaar to your first day if you're not bazaar'ed-out cos it's very close.

Or indeed you could add to your first day any of the other sights, including the Blue Mosque & adjacent Hippodrome.

Or even take a full-day guided tour on the first day, & mop up or dig deeper independently on your second morning. In fact, the more I think about it, a full-day walking guided tour on day one & visiting other sights independently on the short second day has a lot of advantages.

Worth considering?

BTW - different sights are closed on different days of the week. Do check opening times before planning what to do & when.

Another BTW - geographically, Istanbul doesn't really fit on any CC forum, but it's generally discussed on the "other Mediterranean ports" board.

Well worth posting your question on that board too.

One of my favourite cities.

JB :)

you must visit one of the world’s truly great buildings Aya Sofya

you must visit one of the world’s truly great buildings Aya Sofya

Just to avoid confusion for the OP, that's the same place as my "Hagia Sophia" & cruisemom's "Haghia Sophia" and another half a dozen ways of spelling the place in the western alphabet ;)

JB :)