View across the Golden Horn to Galata and the Galata Tower at sunset, Istanbul
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Your Personal Istanbul Guide

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The Guide

Your Istanbul.
Your Way.

♿ With accessibility in mind: notes on steep paths, stairs and alternative routes where they exist.

01

Discover

Sights and neighborhoods beyond the classics.

02

Plan

Build your own routes instead of following rigid lists.

03

Arrive

Practical information on the go — even on steep paths.

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Amra

Discover Istanbul with Amra.

Istanbul isn't a city you simply visit — it stays with you. In the call to prayer over the rooftops, in the light on the Bosphorus, in the smell of tea and salt water. Istanbul-ID grew out of exactly that feeling: out of my own routes through the city, places I keep returning to, and the belief that a good travel guide should show more than just where things are.

More about me

From the Travel Blog

Sultanahmet

Hagia Sophia: 1,500 Years of Power, Faith, and a Dome That Was Far Too Bold for Its Time

Anyone standing in front of the Hagia Sophia today sees a building so naturally part of Istanbul's skyline that it's easy to forget how often it has changed its function, its appearance, and even its religious meaning.

Sultanahmet

Blue Mosque: Six Minarets, Thousands of İznik Tiles, and a Young Sultan Facing the Hagia Sophia

Almost eleven centuries separate the Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Yet today the two buildings feel like a deliberately staged pair, facing each other across the square.

Beyazıt

Grand Bazaar: Bedestens, Guilds, Money, and a Trading City Under One Roof

The Kapalıçarşı didn't arise as a single giant shopping centre — it grew together over centuries from several trading buildings, streets, workshops, hans, and market areas.

Galata

Galata Tower: A Genoese Fortress, a Fire Watch, and the One Tower I Apparently Can Never Photograph Enough

There are sights you photograph once and then think: good, got it. With the Galata Tower, that simply doesn't work for me.

Fatih

Süleymaniye Mosque: Süleyman, Mimar Sinan, and an Entire Social City on a Hill

The Süleymaniye isn't significant only for its dome. The real key lies in the whole complex: schools, kitchens, medical facilities, lodgings, and further buildings.

Haliç

The Golden Horn: The Natural Harbour That Crusaders, Emperors, and Mehmed II Fought Over

The Golden Horn is one of the reasons Constantinople could become one of the most important cities of its time at all. Especially famous is the heavy chain that could seal off access to the harbour.

All articles on the travel blog

Plan your Istanbul trip.

Route, accommodation, food, tickets, transfer and internet – step by step, with what we have tested ourselves.

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Internet & eSIM

Stay online on the go, without expensive roaming.

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Places to Stay

Neighbourhood recommendations for your stay.

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Airport & Transfer

Get from the airport into the city safely and cheaply.

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Tickets & Activities

Sights without the queues.

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Musicians on a roof terrace at sunset above Istanbul, Lunatolia
Lunatolia

Sound of Istanbul.

Lunatolia is the music and lifestyle world of Istanbul-ID: Turkish music on YouTube and designs that carry that feeling on shirts, hoodies, posters and phone cases.

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