An athens and istanbul tour links two capitals in nine days with one flight between them. Other plans are listed on the tours in Greece home page.
The page covers the season, the nine days, Athens, Delphi, the islands, the flight, Istanbul, the Bosphorus and a short FAQ.
What is an athens and istanbul tour, and how does the route run?
An athens and istanbul tour joins two cities in two countries in one trip. This plan lasts nine days and eight nights, with four nights in Athens and four in Istanbul. One flight on day five links the cities, and each city gets its own block of days.
Nine days and eight nights are two different counts for an athens and istanbul tour. A night is one hotel stay, so four in Athens plus four in Istanbul make eight. Counting days from arrival to departure, the same stays span nine. Day one is the arrival in Athens, and day nine is the departure from Istanbul.
The route of this athens and istanbul tour runs from west to east, and the two cities share old links. Wikivoyage says Greek colonists from Megara are traditionally accepted as the founders of Istanbul. The name Istanbul also comes from Greek. Wikivoyage calls Athens the major cultural, political and religious centre of Classical Greece. So the plan starts in Greece.
Other travel pages link the same two cities overland. One describes seven days by private vehicle from Athens to Istanbul, and another describes nine days overland across Greece. This plan flies once and keeps two bases. An athens and istanbul tour built that way unpacks only twice, and each city gets four nights.
The nine days of an athens and istanbul tour fall into five steps. Days one and two settle in Athens and tour the old centre. Day three is a cruise to three islands, and day four is a trip to Delphi. Day five is the flight. Days six to eight cover Istanbul, and day nine is the departure.
This page follows an athens and istanbul tour step by step. First come the season and the day list, then the Athens sights and the two day trips. Next are the flight, the border change and the Istanbul days. Packing, closures and children’s points follow, and a set of questions ends the page.
Which season suits an athens and istanbul tour?
An athens and istanbul tour suits the shoulder seasons, late spring and early autumn. Wikivoyage recommends spring and late autumn for the Athens days, and late spring and early autumn for the Istanbul days. In those weeks Istanbul is pleasantly warm and less rainy than in winter.
Wikipedia gives Athens a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. It reports the label of hottest city in mainland Europe for Athens. It also notes that the city named a chief heat officer for severe heatwaves, a first in Europe. Wikivoyage adds that extreme heatwaves are rare. That is why an athens and istanbul tour does well in spring and late autumn.
A winter athens and istanbul tour meets the quiet season in Athens. Wikivoyage calls it the low season, with rain or snow on the odd day. Wikipedia says snowfall in the city is relatively uncommon. Its page on the climate of Greece calls winters wet in this climate type. Any snow is short-lived.
Istanbul is cooler overall. Wikipedia gives yearly average temperatures of 19.2 degrees Celsius for Athens and about 14 degrees for Istanbul. In Istanbul the coldest month is February, at 5 to 6 degrees on average. The warmest is August, at 23 to 24 degrees. The second city of an athens and istanbul tour is the cooler one.
Summer in Istanbul is steady rather than extreme. Wikipedia says 33 degrees is rarely reached, and 38 degrees comes about once in ten years. Comfort indices rate July and August below June and September, because of high dew points. In the Aegean, the meltemi brings strong dry north winds between late spring and mid-September, as Wikipedia describes it.
Read side by side, the two sources overlap in late spring and in autumn. Wikivoyage calls spring and fall mild in Istanbul, with both sun and rain. An athens and istanbul tour in those weeks falls inside both recommended windows. Sources describe seasons only in general terms, so look at the forecast before you leave.
What happens on each day of an athens and istanbul tour?
An athens and istanbul tour runs through nine days. They cover arrival and sightseeing in Athens, an island cruise, a Delphi trip, a flight and three Istanbul days. Day nine is the departure. The list below gives each day in one line, in the order of the plan.
- Day 1: Land in Athens, move to the hotel and keep the remaining hours open.
- Day 2: Morning sightseeing in Athens with the Acropolis and its museum; the remaining hours are open.
- Day 3: Three islands in one day: Aegina, Poros and Hydra, sailing from the Piraeus pier with lunch on board.
- Day 4: A full-day excursion to Delphi, with lunch on the road and an evening return to Athens.
- Day 5: Airport transfer and flight to Istanbul, then the hotel, with the remaining hours open.
- Day 6: The Old City: Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, then the Hippodrome, lunch, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar.
- Day 7: A Bosphorus cruise between Europe and Asia, past wooden villas, a marble palace and fortresses.
- Day 8: An early start for the bridge between the continents, Camlica Hill, Beylerbeyi Palace and a fishing village.
- Day 9: Transfer to the Istanbul airport for the departure flight.
The pace comes in two city blocks. Athens holds the first four nights, and Istanbul holds the last four. Each block opens with a light day, because the arrival and the transfer take part of the day. An athens and istanbul tour in this shape puts the long days after the light ones.
Two day trips fill the middle of the Athens block of an athens and istanbul tour. Day three is spent on the water, and day four goes to Delphi. Both are full days, with lunch on board or on the way. Both end back in Athens, so the city sights of day two stay apart from the two excursions.
Day five is the flight day. A transfer takes you to the Athens airport, the plane crosses the border, and a second transfer reaches the hotel. The remaining hours stay open, so a late arrival does not break the plan. An athens and istanbul tour needs this one flight between the cities.
What does Athens add at the start of an athens and istanbul tour?
Athens gives an athens and istanbul tour its oldest layer of history. The capital has a recorded past of more than three thousand years, according to Wikipedia. Its ancient sites sit close together, which makes it the natural first city before the flight to Istanbul.
Greece has both its capital and its biggest city in Athens. Wikipedia ranks it with the world’s oldest cities. The European mainland has no capital further south than Athens. An athens and istanbul tour starts calmly in this city. Day one holds only the arrival and the hotel transfer, and nothing else is planned.
Wikipedia describes Classical Athens as a strong city-state and a centre of democracy, the arts, education and philosophy. Wikivoyage adds that Athenian scholars advanced science, philosophy, history and medicine in its golden age. Greek myth ties the city’s name to the goddess Athena. An athens and istanbul tour therefore begins with a place that shaped later Europe.
The modern city grew up next to the ruins. Wikivoyage explains that Athens was a small provincial city when it became the capital of the new Greek state. Planners then built neoclassical homes, wide avenues and public squares beside the old monuments. On an athens and istanbul tour, a visitor sees both the ancient city and this nineteenth-century capital.
Wikivoyage says Athens is not a philosopher’s theme park. It calls modern Athens a busy, graffiti-covered city where Greek culture, business and social life flourish among ancient monuments. The same page notes that the streets are signposted in Greek and English. Mount Ymettos, Mount Parnitha and Mount Pendeli bound the city on three sides, Wikivoyage says.
Day two of the athens and istanbul tour is a sightseeing morning. The Parliament building comes first. Next is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then the plan visits the Acropolis and its museum. The Arch of Hadrian, the Olympian Zeus temple and the stadium follow. The Royal Palace area, the University, the Academy and the National Library close it.
What does the Acropolis visit cover on an athens and istanbul tour?
The Acropolis visit covers the rock, the Parthenon, the Propylaea and the Acropolis Museum. It is the one stop of the morning where the plan goes inside; the other landmarks are passed. An athens and istanbul tour treats this UNESCO World Heritage Site as the heart of day two.
A flat-topped rock above the city carries the Acropolis, an ancient citadel. Wikivoyage calls it the key landmark of Athens and an enduring symbol of Western civilisation. Wikipedia adds that in ancient times it was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary king Cecrops. An athens and istanbul tour fits that visit into one morning.
The Parthenon is the former temple of Athena and the largest structure on the rock. Wikipedia reports that archaeologists found five carved panels of the Parthenon in the south wall of the Acropolis. The wall was extended when the rock served as a fortress. An athens and istanbul tour sees the building that those panels once decorated.
The Propylaea, built in the fifth century BC, is the ceremonial gateway to the Acropolis, Wikipedia says. The builders made it wide enough to let chariots through. Its pediments and metopes were left empty, so the gate has no carved sculpture. Wikipedia adds that a marble stairway, built in Roman times, had a central slope for sacrificial animals.
A nine-metre bronze Athena Promachos by Phidias once stood behind the gate. Wikipedia adds that sailors rounding Cape Sounion saw the gilt lance tip as a reflection. Wikivoyage names the Theatre of Dionysus, which lies south of the summit, as the first theatre ever built. Great Greek plays were first performed there.
Wikipedia’s gallery of the museum shows the Pensive Athena, who leans on her spear and looks down at a stele. It also lists the Kritios Boy, the Peplos Kore and the Moschophoros. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism owns the museum. The plan visits it together with the rock, so an athens and istanbul tour sees both.
Which Athens landmarks fit the city sightseeing day of an athens and istanbul tour?
The sightseeing morning of an athens and istanbul tour passes ancient monuments and neoclassical buildings. The ancient sites are the Panathenaic Stadium, the Olympian Zeus temple and the arch built for Hadrian. The Parliament, the University, the Academy and the National Library are the neoclassical ones.
The Hellenic Parliament has 300 members, who serve four-year terms. It sits in the Old Royal Palace on Syntagma Square. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier shows a fallen warrior with a round shield and an ancient Greek-style helmet. Lines from Thucydides are carved at its sides. An athens and istanbul tour passes both first.
The Arch of Hadrian is made of the same marble as the Parthenon. Wikipedia reports one view that the arch honoured Hadrian’s arrival when the nearby temple complex was dedicated. Hadrian had been an Athenian citizen for nearly two decades by then. On an athens and istanbul tour, the arch follows the Acropolis visit.
Sulla took unfinished columns from the Olympian Zeus temple to Rome when he sacked Athens. Wikipedia says the Panathenaic Stadium was the venue for four of the nine sports at the first modern Olympic Games. It is also the last venue in Greece where the Olympic flame is handed to the host nation.
The Royal Palace area is that same Old Royal Palace. Wikipedia says Friedrich von Gaertner designed the neoclassical building, which first served as a palace for Greece’s monarchs. Later the royal family moved to the New Palace, one block to the east on Herodou Attikou Street. The sightseeing morning of an athens and istanbul tour includes this area.
The University, the Academy and the National Library form the Trilogy of neoclassical buildings on Panepistimiou Street. The Academy is Greece’s national academy, and its pediment shows the birth of Athena. King Otto founded the University, the oldest higher education institution of modern Greece. The Library houses over 1.1 million items. An athens and istanbul tour passes all three.
How does the island day work on an athens and istanbul tour?
Day three of an athens and istanbul tour is a full-day cruise to three Saronic islands: Aegina, Poros and Hydra. The boat leaves from the pier at Piraeus. Lunch is on board, and the evening brings everyone back to the Athens hotel. One day is enough, because all three lie close to the capital.
On an athens and istanbul tour, Piraeus is where the cruise begins. The port lies about eight kilometres from the Athens city centre, to the south-west. Ancient builders under Cimon and Pericles raised the Long Walls to protect the way between city and harbour. In the nineteenth century Piraeus grew from a deserted small town into the leading port.
The harbour of an athens and istanbul tour has a name with a story. Wikipedia says the name Lion is first attested in the fourteenth century, after a colossal ancient lion sculpture. It later became Porto Leone. In classical times the naval base had 372 trireme shipsheds. Their remains at Zea, Munichia and Kantharos can still be seen.
The Saronic Gulf is the sea of the day. Piraeus lies on its north-eastern edge, and the Athens urban area covers its north coast. The Corinth Canal ends in the gulf. Wikipedia notes that commercial shipping makes the gulf a busy area. So an athens and istanbul tour starts in a working harbour.
Boarding is a small task. Wikivoyage notes that operators can carry out identity checks before passengers board ferries. A traveller on an athens and istanbul tour therefore has the passport ready at the quay. The same page names three ports in Athens: the main port Piraeus and the outlying Rafina and Lavrio. The plan uses the main port.
The meltemi is the weather point of an athens and istanbul tour. Wikipedia says the name probably goes back to an Italian phrase, mal tempo, for bad weather. It describes fine, clear weather, with the cooling north wind softening the harsh summer heat. Philip II of Macedon timed his operations around the wind, because southern ships sailed north only slowly.
What do Aegina, Poros and Hydra each add to an athens and istanbul tour?
Each island adds a different layer to an athens and istanbul tour. Aegina brings the Bronze Age. Poros brings a stone from Mycenaean tombs. Hydra brings a town of monasteries and artists. Together they show the Saronic Islands in one day. Each stop is a harbour town.
Aegina gives an athens and istanbul tour its deepest layer. Wikipedia names Kolonna as the chief Early Bronze Age settlement, a stone-built fortified site. Archaeologists at Cape Kolonna found where purple colour was made, in the sixteenth century BC. Wikipedia adds that the prize of valour at the Battle of Salamis went to Aegina rather than Athens.
On an athens and istanbul tour, Poros shares its name with a building stone. Wikipedia says limestone from Poros was important in building Mycenaean tholos tombs, including monuments at Mycenae. Wikivoyage names Sinikismos as the first community of Asia Minor refugees on the island. The island’s northern part, Kalaureia, means gentle breeze. Alike beach lies under the Lemon Groves.
On an athens and istanbul tour, Hydra is a small town with a big reputation. Wikipedia says a National Geographic Traveler panel rated Hydra the highest Greek island for its integrity of place. Hydra has six Orthodox monasteries. Two stand on a hill over the port: Profitis Ilias and Ayia Efpraxia. Kamini, a kilometre west, is far less touristy.
On an athens and istanbul tour, the quay is the starting line on each island. In Aegina, Wikivoyage names the whitewashed St Nicholas Chapel on the west pier. It adds a pink watchtower, the Tower of Markellos. Poros keeps its town hall, archaeological museum and library in the centre. Hydra has a seafaring museum beside the ferry dock.
Wikivoyage says Nikos Kazantzakis, author of Zorba the Greek, lived on and off in Aegina from the early nineteen-thirties. Wikipedia says Leonard Cohen spent his early song-writing career on Hydra. It also lists Boy on a Dolphin among the films shot there. So an athens and istanbul tour passes through places of film, song and books.
What does Delphi add to an athens and istanbul tour?
Day four of an athens and istanbul tour is a full-day excursion to Delphi, a sacred site on Mount Parnassus. UNESCO lists the ancient site as a World Heritage Site. Lunch comes on the way, and the evening brings everyone back to Athens. The flight to Istanbul follows on day five.
On an athens and istanbul tour, the name of Delphi has a story. Wikipedia reports that the Suda links the name to Delphyne, a serpent slain by Apollo. Other accounts name a male serpent, Python. The same root also gives the Greek word for womb. The modern Delphi technique of forecasting takes its name from the oracle.
The ruins once lay under a village. Wikipedia names it Kastri, home to roughly 200 people in about 100 houses. After an earthquake hit the village hard, its people were offered a new village in return for the old ground. French archaeologists then cleared away huge amounts of earth left by landslides. The modern town now stands beside the precinct.
Delphi on an athens and istanbul tour is more than the oracle. Diggers found pieces of a Christian basilica of the fifth century, from the days when Delphi held a bishopric. Late Roman Delphi also had a cistern, the Roman Agora, the Eastern Baths and a house with a peristyle. The Southeastern Mansion had a facade 65 metres long.
The museum holds the sanctuary finds. Room 12 holds Late Hellenistic and Roman objects, among them a statue of Antinous, whom Emperor Hadrian favoured. On an athens and istanbul tour, day two passes the arch of Hadrian in Athens. A renovation in the early twenty-first century added a modern facade and gave the Charioteer a new hall.
The mountain road shapes the day. Wikivoyage warns that hairpin turns, a search for parking and traffic on narrow roads test a driver’s patience. It advises letting someone else drive. A seat on the excursion solves that. With an evening return, the athens and istanbul tour lets day five start with the airport transfer.
How does the flight from Athens to Istanbul work on an athens and istanbul tour?
Day five of an athens and istanbul tour is the flight day. A transfer leads to Athens International Airport, a plane carries the group to Istanbul, and a transfer reaches the hotel. The remaining hours stay free, so the first look at the new city waits until then.
Wikipedia ranks Athens International Airport first among the international airports of Greece by size. The name honours Eleftherios Venizelos, and it took over from the older Ellinikon airport. The page puts the site near Spata, Koropi, Markopoulo and Loutsa, roughly 20 km east of the centre. An athens and istanbul tour begins its flight day at that airport.
Wikipedia ranks the airport second in the Balkans, after Istanbul Airport, by both traffic and size. The flight therefore ends at the airport that leads the region. The same page says the road from the centre is 30 km long, because hills lie in between. The transfer of an athens and istanbul tour needs its own time slot.
The main terminal has three levels, says Wikipedia: arrivals, departures and a food court with a runway view. It assigns Hall A to non-Schengen flights and Hall B to flights inside Schengen. Turkey lies outside the Schengen Area. Read the hall on your flight details before an athens and istanbul tour reaches the airport.
Wikivoyage Greece says carriers can check identity before passengers board an international flight. Wikivoyage Turkey warns that airline staff can insist on a visa at check-in when you fly to Turkey. Keep the passport in the hand bag, with the e-visa result if your passport needs one. An athens and istanbul tour has one border on day five.
Wikivoyage says passengers ride shuttle buses to aircraft parked at remote stands, and these rides can add delays. Leave a spare buffer before the flight. This page gives no flight time, because timetables change, and the details of the booked flight show the time. An athens and istanbul tour leaves the remaining hours free in Istanbul.
How do passports, visas and money change between Greece and Turkey on an athens and istanbul tour?
An athens and istanbul tour leaves the Schengen Area and enters Turkey, so the passport rules and the money change. Read the official rules for the passport you hold. Greece pays in euros and Turkey in lira. This page gives no rate and no amount, because both change. Wikipedia and Wikivoyage supply the facts below.
Wikipedia says the member countries of the Schengen Area abolished controls at their common borders. Wikivoyage lists Greece among the members. Wikipedia counts Turkey among the countries that share a land border with the area. The border between the two systems is where an athens and istanbul tour meets its passport check.
Wikivoyage Turkey points to the website of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for current visa details. It warns against third-party websites that charge more than the official e-visa service. Wikipedia adds that Turkey keeps its own visa policy, apart from the policy of the European Union. An athens and istanbul tour starts with the official pages.
Wikivoyage Greece says Greece uses the euro. One euro divides into 100 cents, which are called lepta in Greece. Wikipedia says one Turkish lira divides into one hundred kurus, and it lists the kurus coins as rarely used. An athens and istanbul tour therefore carries two sets of coins, though only one set matters in each city.
Wikivoyage Turkey says shop staff have the legal right to ask for a photo ID with a card payment. It names two kinds of cash machine. One offers dynamic currency conversion and the other lets you decline it, and Wikivoyage recommends the second. It adds that exchange offices charge no commission, with airport offices as the exception.
Athens keeps UTC+2, called Eastern European Time, until summer, when Wikipedia says it moves to UTC+3. It says Turkey keeps UTC+3 all year. From March to October the two clocks match, and in the other months Istanbul clocks stand one hour in front. A summer athens and istanbul tour therefore needs no clock change on the flight day.
How does the arrival day in Istanbul run on an athens and istanbul tour?
On an athens and istanbul tour, the arrival day in Istanbul brings a landing and a transfer to the hotel. The remaining hours are free. Sultanahmet suits as the base, because the Old City day follows. Wikipedia and Wikivoyage describe the airports, the links to the city and the local transport card.
Wikipedia calls Istanbul Airport the larger of the two international airports serving Istanbul. It has one terminal in service for domestic and international flights. Its five concourses split by use. Concourse G handles domestic flights only, while A, B, D and F serve international flights. An athens and istanbul tour arrives on the international side.
Wikivoyage calls Istanbul Airport the main port of entry into Turkey. It lies northwest of the city, on the European side. The Asia-side airport, Sabiha Gokcen, lies east of the centre. Its M4 metro line runs to Kadikoy in about an hour. Istanbul Airport also has car hire. The booked flight names the airport, and the transfer starts there.
Wikivoyage says the M11 metro line connects the airport to the city. Wikipedia says its trains run east to Gayrettepe and west to Arnavutkoy. Wikivoyage tells metro riders to expect a transfer and a short walk. It says neither airport bus offers a direct link to Sultanahmet. An athens and istanbul tour handles this with its own transfer.
Wikipedia says Istanbul taxis wait 24 hours a day outside the arrival and departure areas. A taxi trip to the city centre takes approximately an hour. Wikivoyage places official taxi stands outside each airport level. The plan arranges this link as a transfer to the hotel. An athens and istanbul tour needs no route plan at the airport.
Wikivoyage says no bus lines run in the Sultanahmet and Taksim area, so visitors use the tram and the metro. The T1 tram serves the Old City sights and the ferry jetties. The Istanbulkart works on buses, trams, metro and local ferries. A free evening of an athens and istanbul tour can start on foot.
How is the Old City day built on an athens and istanbul tour?
Day six of an athens and istanbul tour stays on one ridge of the Old City. The plan starts with Hagia Sophia, then the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome. After lunch it moves to Topkapi Palace and the bazaar. Wikivoyage puts the main sights of the Old City near Sultanahmet Square, within walking distance.
Wikivoyage calls the Historical Peninsula the oldest part of Istanbul and the home of the city’s main sights. The Sea of Marmara lies to its south and the Golden Horn to its north. The Bosphorus lies to the east and the Theodosian Walls to the west. An athens and istanbul tour spends its sixth day inside those limits.
Sultanahmet is the starting point of day six on an athens and istanbul tour. Wikivoyage describes it as a strip about one kilometre long near the tip of the peninsula. A clutch of museums fills the same strip. Wikivoyage lists distances from the Sultanahmet tram stop. The Blue Mosque is 250 metres away, Hagia Sophia 300 and Topkapi Palace 650.
The order of an athens and istanbul tour follows these distances. The first three stops stand close together and need no transport. Wikivoyage puts the palace entrance at the top of a car-free cobbled street beside Hagia Sophia. The bazaar comes last: Beyazit, beside two of its entrances, lies a kilometre west of the Blue Mosque.
Wikivoyage says tram line T1 passes near the major sights of the Old City. It stops at Sultanahmet and at Laleli-Universite, the stop for the Grand Bazaar. Between Sultanahmet and Beyazit the street is closed to vehicles. Wikipedia calls this avenue the Byzantine Mese, now Divan Yolu. Day six of an athens and istanbul tour can walk it.
Wikivoyage warns taxi and tram riders about one trap. A district named Topkapi lies ten kilometres west, at the city walls, far from the palace. The same page tells visitors to reckon on hours inside the palace and to bring water. An athens and istanbul tour therefore gives the Old City a full day.
What do Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome show on an athens and istanbul tour?
Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque face each other in Sultanahmet, beside the old Hippodrome. On an athens and istanbul tour they show a Byzantine dome, an Ottoman prayer hall and an ancient chariot track. Wikipedia gives each site plain numbers, from windows and tiles to horses and racing teams.
Hagia Sophia opens the day on an athens and istanbul tour. Wikipedia says the emperor Justinian chose two architects, the mathematician Anthemius of Tralles and the geometer Isidore of Miletus. Over ten thousand people worked on the building. It was inaugurated five years and ten months after the work began. It then stayed the largest church for five hundred years.
Wikipedia gives the central dome of Hagia Sophia a height of 55.6 metres above the floor. It rests on an arcade of forty arched windows. The upper gallery encloses the nave on three sides, and a green stone disc marks where the empress’s throne stood. A ninth-century Viking inscription in the southern part reads “Halvdan was here”.
Wikipedia names Sedefkar Mehmed Agha, a pupil of Sinan, as architect of the Blue Mosque. Its central dome measures 23.5 metres across and 43 metres in height. Four semi-domes surround it, and about 260 windows light the hall. The walls hold over twenty thousand tiles in more than fifty designs. The whole tile industry of Iznik worked for the project.
On an athens and istanbul tour, the Blue Mosque sits where the Hippodrome bleachers once stood. Excavations in the early twentieth century found ancient seats in the courtyard. A heavy iron chain hangs at the northwest gate. The sultan alone entered on horseback, and the chain made him lower his head, a sign of humility.
The word Hippodrome joins the Greek hippos, horse, and dromos, path. Turkish calls the square Atmeydani, Horse Square. Four teams raced there: the Blues, Greens, Reds and Whites. Up to eight chariots ran at once, each with four horses. On an athens and istanbul tour the square shows the old monuments set in excavated pits in a landscaped garden.
What do Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar add to an athens and istanbul tour?
Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar close day six of an athens and istanbul tour. The palace’s name means Cannon Gate, and it served as the main residence of the sultans. The bazaar’s Turkish name, Kapalicarsi, means Covered Market. Wikipedia describes both with figures for rooms, kitchens and visitors.
An athens and istanbul tour reaches Topkapi Palace on Seraglio Point, a headland overlooking the Golden Horn. Wikipedia says the acropolis of ancient Byzantion stood here. Here the Bosphorus joins the Sea of Marmara. Mehmed II ordered the palace six years after the conquest. It was first called the New Palace. The name Cannon Gate came in the nineteenth century.
Visitors on an athens and istanbul tour enter through the Imperial Gate into the First Courtyard, the largest of four. The church of Hagia Irene stands there. Off the Second Courtyard, the palace kitchens formed ten domed buildings, the largest kitchens of the Ottoman Empire. Cooks fed about four thousand people, and the kitchen staff numbered over 800.
The Imperial Treasury shows the Topkapi Dagger, with three large emeralds on its hilt. It also shows the Spoonmaker’s Diamond, ringed by forty-nine cut diamonds in two rows. The Harem had more than 400 rooms, and only a handful are open to visitors. Wikivoyage lists the palace as open Wednesday to Monday. Check the official page for the date.
Wikipedia says the Grand Bazaar began as a hall for textiles and jewels, built for Mehmed II. It was named the Bedesten of Gems. Its four gates are named for trades, such as the Jewellers’ Gate. After a great fire in the early eighteenth century, the market was rebuilt in stone and brick and covered.
Wikipedia gives a daily count of 250,000 to 400,000 visitors, and 26,000 people work in the bazaar. Traders of one kind again cluster in one street: jewellers on Kalpakcilar Caddesi, leather goods on Perdahcilar Caddesi. The bazaar is closed on Sundays and bank holidays, so an athens and istanbul tour needs an open day.
How does the Bosphorus cruise day work on an athens and istanbul tour?
Day seven of an athens and istanbul tour is a boat cruise on the Bosphorus. This strait separates Europe from Asia, and Wikivoyage says the boat zigzags between the two shores. In this plan the day ends on the European shore, with a transfer to the hotel.
Wikipedia says the Bosphorus joins two seas, the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. It marks one of the continental boundaries between Asia and Europe. The western banks mark where Europe starts on the map, and the eastern banks mark where Asia starts. An athens and istanbul tour therefore crosses a continental line again and again on this cruise.
Wikipedia describes two flows in the strait. Fresh water moves south at the surface, and salt water moves north near the bottom. It also calls the shores heavily settled, except in the north, with the city reaching inland from both banks. So the cruise of an athens and istanbul tour passes a city on each side.
Wikivoyage lists what the boat passes: old Ottoman wooden houses, palaces, bridges and two medieval castles. It also says open decks are hugely popular at weekends, and that fewer boats run on Sundays. Standing crowds can block the view for anyone without an outside seat. For the view on an athens and istanbul tour, a place on the deck counts.
Wikivoyage lists ten piers along the European bank, from Besiktas to Rumeli Kavagi, linked by the Bosphorus Line. It adds that boats leaving Ortakoy show the waterfront up to the Second Bosphorus Bridge in the north. These boats make no stops until they return to Ortakoy. Routes differ, so check the exact one before an athens and istanbul tour.
Weather changes how a deck feels on an athens and istanbul tour. Wikivoyage says winter in Istanbul is chilly and humid, and wind chill makes it feel colder. A warm layer helps on the water in those months. The plan stops nowhere on the Black Sea shore, where Wikivoyage warns that the water can be rough.
What do the wooden villas, palaces and fortresses on the Bosphorus show on an athens and istanbul tour?
The shore on an athens and istanbul tour shows wooden yalis, Ottoman palaces and two medieval fortresses. A yali is a house or mansion built right on the waterside. Wikipedia counts 620 of them on the Bosphorus, dating from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.
Wikipedia says finely worked wood was the main material of a yali, like the large majority of old Turkish houses. Restorations have gradually reduced the wooden parts, yet wood still marks a historic yali. Families kept such a house as a second home by the sea. An athens and istanbul tour passes these wooden villas from the water.
The oldest surviving yali stands at Kanlica on the Asian shore, and only its audience hall and nearby rooms remain. Wikipedia says a Koprulu grand vizier built it in the late seventeenth century. The oldest on the European shore is at Emirgan, from the late eighteenth century. An athens and istanbul tour sails past both shores.
Wikipedia calls Dolmabahce, on the European shore, the largest palace in Turkey. Seen from the Bosphorus, its front has two wings in a classical European arrangement. Wikivoyage calls Kucuksu Palace, on the Asian bank, a neo-Baroque manor built for hunting trips. Wikivoyage counts six Ottoman palaces on a Bosphorus cruise, a steady sight on an athens and istanbul tour.
Anadoluhisari, the Anatolian Fortress, guards the Asian shore. Wikipedia says it is the oldest Turkish structure still standing in Istanbul. Sultan Bayezid I raised it in the late fourteenth century. Its square main tower is twenty-five metres high. Wikipedia and Wikivoyage both say the inside is closed, so an athens and istanbul tour sees it from the boat.
Rumelihisari faces it on the European bank, where the strait narrows to about 660 metres. Wikipedia gives its first name as Bogazkesen, meaning strait cutter. The newer name means Fortress of Europe. Wikivoyage places the large medieval castle under the Second Bosphorus Bridge. Together the two fortresses give an athens and istanbul tour its view of medieval defence.
What does the two-continents day cover on an athens and istanbul tour?
Day eight of an athens and istanbul tour starts early with the bridge between Europe and Asia. Next come Camlica Hill for the panoramic view of Istanbul, Beylerbeyi Palace and a fishing village on the Bosphorus shore. The village stop leaves time for shopping.
Wikipedia names the span the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, and colloquially it is the First Bridge. It is a suspension bridge with steel towers and a total length of 1,560 metres. The main span between the towers is 1,074 metres. The towers reach 165 metres. This bridge links the two continents for an athens and istanbul tour.
The idea is old. Wikipedia cites Herodotus, a Greek writer, on a pontoon bridge over the Bosphorus. He says Mandrocles of Samos engineered it for Darius the Great. The modern bridge was completed one day after the fiftieth anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. Its deck is eight lanes wide, with three standard lanes in each direction.
Wikipedia describes Camlica Hill as a public park run by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. It has monumental trees, flower gardens, fountains and Ottoman-themed teahouses. Radio masts once took up much of the hilltop. The transport ministry moved all broadcasting into one tower, 369 metres high, with observation decks. This hill is the panorama stop of an athens and istanbul tour.
Beylerbeyi Palace was a summer home and a place for visiting heads of state. Wikipedia says Sarkis Balyan designed it in the Second Empire style, simpler than Dolmabahce. It holds 24 rooms and six halls, with Hereke carpets and Baccarat chandeliers. Today it is a museum open to the public, so an athens and istanbul tour can go inside.
Wikipedia says small fishing villages that grew up since Byzantine times once lined the Bosphorus. Until the early twentieth century, boats called caiques mainly reached them, since no coast roads existed. Names such as Cengelkoy still end in koy, Turkish for village. Wikivoyage calls Cengelkoy a historical fishing village on the Asian bank, about 15 minutes on foot from Beylerbeyi.
Which clothes and packing points suit an athens and istanbul tour?
An athens and istanbul tour asks for clothes for three settings: marble ruins, working mosques and an open boat deck. Flat shoes suit the Acropolis, covered shoulders and knees suit the mosques, and a light layer suits the water. One small day bag carries the extras for the whole trip.
Shoes come first on an athens and istanbul tour. Wikivoyage Athens says one route from Plaka to the main Acropolis entrance climbs steep Mnisikleous Street. Flat soles with grip suit that climb. Wikivoyage Sultanahmet says visitors step shoeless into the Blue Mosque prayer hall. Wikivoyage Turkey adds that certain mosques provide reusable plastic bags for carrying your shoes.
Day six of an athens and istanbul tour enters working mosques. Wikivoyage Turkey calls respectable clothing a must in mosques: shoulders and legs covered for all, hair covered for women. It adds that casually wrapping the hair is good enough, with no full veil needed. Light trousers and a shirt with sleeves meet the rule in summer.
Hagia Sophia has its own rule. Wikivoyage Sultanahmet says it is again a mosque, so visitors must dress appropriately. Wikipedia says women visitors must wear a headscarf to enter. Wikivoyage Sultanahmet adds that disposable headscarves are sold outside the building. A thin scarf in the bag of an athens and istanbul tour saves a stop.
Layers matter on the water. Wikivoyage Istanbul advises light clothing in summer, plus a light jacket or sweater for cooler evenings. On the island day, Wikipedia puts the peak of the meltemi in the afternoon. Such strong dry north winds can blow for days on end. A thin windproof layer suits an athens and istanbul tour.
Small items finish the list. Wikivoyage Greece advises a light sun hat, sunglasses and plenty of water for summer visits. Wikivoyage lists 230 volts and Europlug or Schuko sockets for both countries. Wikipedia calls the Europlug ungrounded, with a limit of 2.5 amps. Travel insurance papers and passport copies go in the bag of an athens and istanbul tour.
How do heat, closures and prayer-time rules affect an athens and istanbul tour?
Heat, holidays and prayer times can shorten a visit on an athens and istanbul tour. One Greek news report says the Culture Ministry closed the Acropolis for four hours, from 13:00, in a heat wave. Wikivoyage asks visitors to avoid prayer times at the Blue Mosque. Hours change by date.
The same report calls the Acropolis a rocky hill with minimal shade. It describes the closure, meant to protect workers and tourists, as an increasingly common measure in recent summers. Outdoor sites return to regular hours once temperatures ease. Day two of an athens and istanbul tour is a morning tour, so a closure falls in the free hours.
Wikivoyage Athens says timed-entry tickets are mandatory for the Acropolis. It calls the rock the only major site needing extensive advance planning. Staff do not let you into the gate line until less than 15 minutes before the booked time. Last entry comes 30 minutes before closing. An athens and istanbul tour that arrives early still waits for its slot.
Wikivoyage Greece lists national holidays on 25 March, 15 August and 28 October. It adds Labour Day and movable days such as Clean Monday, Pentecost Sunday and Pentecost Monday. Independence Day brings a big armed forces parade in Athens. Check the official page of each site before a holiday date falls inside an athens and istanbul tour.
Turkey adds religious holidays that move each year. Wikivoyage Turkey says Ramazan Bayrami lasts three days, when banks, offices and businesses close. Kurban Bayrami lasts four days, and almost everything closes, though certain cafes stay open. Their dates arrive 10 to 11 days earlier each year, so an athens and istanbul tour needs a calendar check.
Prayer times shape day six of an athens and istanbul tour. Wikivoyage Sultanahmet notes the Blue Mosque is still in daily use, so prayer times apply. Wikipedia says much of the Hagia Sophia ground floor is for worshippers only. Wikivoyage Turkey advises keeping a passport or other ID on you. Days six to eight have no spare slot.
How do children, accessibility and health fit an athens and istanbul tour?
An athens and istanbul tour suits children and slower walkers when each site is checked first. Steps, hills, crowds and boat decks set the comfort in both cities, and access differs from site to site. Ask the provider about each stop before booking. Short walks between stops keep the pace gentle.
Istanbul welcomes children. Wikivoyage Istanbul with children says kids can watch gulls fly beside the ferries. It says public venues and shopping malls have baby changing rooms. Certain ones are reached only through the ladies’ restroom. It suggests a child learn kayboldum, which means I am lost. An athens and istanbul tour can carry that phrase on a card.
Strollers meet building works on an athens and istanbul tour. Wikivoyage Istanbul with children says sidewalks keep improving, yet construction and reroutings take time and energy. It advises skipping road transport at rush hour. Wikivoyage Sultanahmet says plane trees in Gulhane Park shade strollers from summer heat. Wikivoyage Athens names the National Garden as a respite from heat and noise.
Wheelchair access differs between cities and between sites. Wikivoyage Istanbul says low-floor buses with built-in ramps serve central lines. The driver can open the ramp, though peak hours can make that impossible. For metro help, look for security guards in grey or black uniforms near the entrances. Ask the provider about each stop on an athens and istanbul tour.
Seat rules matter on the water. Wikivoyage Istanbul says a ferry can bounce off the pier on arrival, so staying seated until it stops is advised. Wikipedia lists focusing on the horizon and fresh air on the face as plain measures against sea sickness. Both boat days of an athens and istanbul tour offer time to try them.
Heat and food are the main health points. Wikivoyage Greece says periodic heat waves in Athens bring a risk of heat stroke. Wikivoyage Istanbul urges care with street food: rice pudding can go bad rapidly on a hot day. It adds that spiced dishes can affect visitors unused to them. Keep both in mind on an athens and istanbul tour.
What else do travellers ask about an athens and istanbul tour?
Can an athens and istanbul tour run from Istanbul to Athens instead?
Yes. One flight joins the two cities, so an athens and istanbul tour can run the other way. Each city keeps four nights. In reverse, the trip opens in Istanbul on day one and flies west on day five. It ends with the departure from Athens on day nine.
Three things move. The Old City, the Bosphorus cruise and the two-continents day now come first. The Athens sightseeing morning, the island cruise and Delphi follow them. Delphi then falls on day eight, so a long road day sits just before the airport transfer.
Entry rules move too. Turkey’s passport check comes on day one, not day five. Wikipedia says a passport must still be valid 60 days after the longest stay Turkey allows. Read the official Turkish pages for the rules that apply to your passport before an athens and istanbul tour begins.
Can a traveller add an island stay to an athens and istanbul tour, or drop a day trip?
Yes, both changes fit, because the two day trips are separate days. A traveller who wants more island time on an athens and istanbul tour can sleep over after the cruise. Wikivoyage says Hydra has plenty of guest houses and small hotels for anyone who wants to stay beyond one day.
Sailing times show what fits. Wikivoyage gives the fast catamaran from Piraeus to Hydra as 1.5 hours. The slow car ferry takes around three hours. For Aegina it gives 40 minutes by hydrofoil. Timetables change, so check them first.
To drop a trip, leave out Delphi or the cruise. Wikivoyage says a long-distance bus ride from Athens to Delphi takes about three hours. The freed day stays in Athens for a museum or a slow walk, and the plan keeps one day trip.
How can a free evening in each city be spent on an athens and istanbul tour?
Athens suits a slow walk after day two. Wikivoyage says traditional Greek evenings can be spent in Plaka. It adds that Thissio, west of the Acropolis, houses restaurants and cafes. Anafiotika, at the northern edge of Plaka, is an oasis of calm.
An evening can also mean a seat. Wikivoyage counts 148 theatre stages in Athens, more than in any other city. It also lists open-air garden cinemas. An athens and istanbul tour leaves the first Athens evening open for either.
In Istanbul the base is Sultanahmet, so a walk starts at the door. Wikivoyage says scores of public hamams stand across the city, especially around Sultanahmet. They have Ottoman architecture and the standard bath ritual. Galata Bridge carries cars, trams and walkers across the Golden Horn, with frying fish smelling from its lower-deck restaurants.
Which Greek and Turkish words help on an athens and istanbul tour?
Four short words open the first doors on an athens and istanbul tour. In Greece, greet the morning with kalimera and thank people with efharisto. In Turkey, say merhaba for hello and tesekkurler for thanks. Wikivoyage’s phrasebooks list all four.
Two more help with answers. The Greek phrasebook gives nai for yes, said neh, and ohi for no. In Turkey, yok means there is none, and it goes with an upward movement of the chin and eyebrows.
Signs are easier than they look. Wikivoyage says about half of the Greek letters look like Latin ones. It adds that almost all Greeks, except the oldest, understand English. Turkish uses Latin letters, with a dotted capital I at the start of Istanbul.
A taxi needs one more step. Wikivoyage says taxi drivers in Istanbul rarely speak languages other than Turkish, so keep the destination written down.
Which dishes link the Greek and Turkish halves of an athens and istanbul tour?
Shared dishes link them. Wikivoyage says Turkey left a major mark on Greek cuisine, and the two countries share dishes. It adds that gyros, a fast food in Greece, was adapted from the Turkish doner kebap. So the table of an athens and istanbul tour has a common thread.
Athens brings small plates and salad. Two tour pages describe a meze-style dinner of small plates, and Wikivoyage says ouzeris serve small plates with ouzo. Greek salad, called country salad or horiatiki, mixes tomatoes, cucumber, feta and onion.
Istanbul adds street snacks and canteens. Wikivoyage describes simit as a sesame-crusted bread ring, like a bagel but lighter and crunchier. It describes balik-ekmek as grilled fish in a crusty roll. It also names esnaf lokantasi, old-school canteens with soups, main courses and desserts.