One day by the Bosphorus tour

Istanbul is located along the shores of the Bosphorus, a strait with high importance to the world since ancient times. Besides its geographical importance connecting Europe and Asia, it hosts Imperial palaces, summer houses, gardens, and mansions. This tour will guide you through the highlights of the Bosphorus.

We will firstly visit the impressive Dolmabahce Palace, which served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire until 1922. Famous for its great collection of European antiquity, furniture and 4.5 tons chandelier, the palace has 285 rooms of 46 halls. The founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk died in this palace and the clock remains set to the time he died, 9:05am on November 10, 1938. Every year at this time, the whole of Turkey comes to a standstill in remembrance. After visiting the palace, the next stop will be at the 19th century Bezmi Alem Valide Sultan Mosque, also known as Dolmabahce Mosque, with one of the most unique architecture among all of the Ottoman mosques in Istanbul. The mosque’s architecture is a successful and classy blend of Baroque and Empire architectural styles and differs from the others for its unique and different circular window design. Then, it’s time to hop on a boat and cross to the Asian side! Enjoy the views of the palaces turned into fancy hotels along the strait during the short boat ride to Beylerbeyi palace, the summer imperial residence. The palace is divided into mens' section, used for state functions and very ornate, and womans' section, reserved only to the ladies and with a simple decoration. After visiting the palace, our lunch stop will be in one of the fish restaurants in the Asian shore enjoying the views of the European side. After lunch, a boat ride will take us up north until the Rumeli fortress area under the new bridge over the Bosphorus. On the way back, our last stop will be in Ortakoy, a lovely neighbourhood by the Bosphorus very popular among the locals with great views. You will have the chance to visit the picturesque Ortakoy Mosque.