DAY ONE

Start your morning in Sultanahmet while the city is easing into the day. Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque sit directly opposite one another here, the first calls to prayer carrying across the square while the courtyards between them begin gradually filling with worshippers and guides. In the surrounding streets, tea sellers move between small groups gathering outside cafés as shopkeepers begin opening shutters beneath the domes and minarets that continue defining the skyline of the old city.

Time for lunch in the old commercial heart of Istanbul. Pandeli has occupied the first floor above the Spice Bazaar entrance since 1901 – reached by a staircase most visitors walk straight past – and lunch here, in a room lined with blue mosaics, is one of the more atmospheric in the city. The hünkar beğendi, slow-cooked lamb on charred eggplant purée, is the dish to order. Atatürk was a regular; so were Queen Elizabeth II and Audrey Hepburn. Across the Golden Horn, Hamdi pulls diners in for its pistachio kebabs, grilled lamb and wide views over the ferry crossings below.

This afternoon visit Topkapı Palace. The labyrinthine complex of courtyards, treasury rooms and tiled pavilions reveals an empire organised as much around ceremony and hierarchy as spectacle. The Harem alone takes an hour, the treasury considerably longer if the Topkapi Dagger and the Spoonmaker’s Diamond are going to get the attention they deserve. Afterwards, wander through the Egyptian Bazaar where spice merchants stack saffron, dried peppers, tea leaves and Turkish delight beneath vaulted ceilings that have barely changed over time.

As evening falls around Sultanahmet, the neighbourhood takes on a different character. Locals gather at the traditional tea houses for çay, backgammon boards spread across small tables and the steady click of tavla pieces accompanying lively conversation.

Dinner awaits at Tuğra at the Çırağan Palace Kempinski, directly on the Bosphorus in a 19th-century Ottoman palace. Chef Emre Inanır’s tasting menus are informed by centuries of Ottoman culinary tradition, with the refinement that has kept Tuğra Michelin-recommended. Deraliye takes a more historical perspective, working from palace recipes gathered from across the former Ottoman Empire.

DAY TWO

Begin your morning around the Grand Bazaar while shopkeepers arrange jewellery trays, hang lanterns and roll carpets out across passageways beneath the vaulted ceilings. The market gradually spills into surrounding streets of leather merchants, tea sellers, prayer beads and tiny workshops before the short walk uphill towards Süleymaniye Mosque – a vast imperial complex overlooking the Golden Horn, completed by Sinan between 1550 and 1557 for Suleiman the Magnificent. For those who’ve already seen the Blue Mosque, it often leaves the stronger impression and, despite the scale of the structure, the interior feels unexpectedly calm: filtered light across marble floors, low conversation beneath the dome and acoustics designed so the imam’s voice carries clearly throughout the prayer hall without strain.

Lunchtime beckons around Karaköy, where the streets move from ferry terminals to independent galleries, coffee roasters and design studios all occupying former warehouses along the waterfront. Karaköy Lokantası is a harbourside Michelin Bib Gourmand, serving Turkish home cooking paired with a broad selection of rakı and wine; its tiled interiors and rotating display of contemporary Turkish art make it one of the more interesting rooms to eat in on this side of the water.

Your afternoon belongs to Beyoğlu and Galata. Galata Tower rises above steep streets lined with record shops, bakeries, wine bars and late-night cafés. Nearby Istiklal Caddesi carries on beneath 19th-century façades and the slow rattle of the historic tram. And around Çukurcuma, antique dealers, small galleries and bookshops occupy old apartment buildings that reflect the district’s long cosmopolitan history.

As the afternoon fades into evening, board a Bosphorus ferry across to the Asian side. Wooden yalıs, Ottoman palaces, fishing districts and ferry docks pass continuously along the shoreline beneath hills crowded with mosques and apartment blocks, the water itself explaining the geography of the city more clearly than any map could.

For dinner in Kadıköy, head to Çiya Sofrası in the market streets behind the ferry terminal. Owner-chef Musa Dağdeviren has been collecting regional Anatolian recipes from across Turkey for decades, and the daily menu reflects whatever ingredients and seasonal dishes he’s currently working with. Featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table, it’s one of the city’s more singular dining experiences.

The return crossing puts you back in Karaköy and Beyoğlu for the night, where the rooftop bars along Istiklal Caddesi come into their own as darkness falls. Locals come together over rakı, wine and Ottoman spice-inspired craft cocktails, while the old city begins to glow softly across the water beyond the Golden Horn.

DAY THREE

Your final morning starts below street level at the Basilica Cistern, the vast underground reservoir commissioned by Justinian in the 6th century to supply water to the Great Palace of Constantinople. Rows of marble columns disappear into the darkness beneath low vaulted ceilings while carp drift slowly through the water below the walkways and the sound of dripping echoes through the chamber. From there, continue towards Chora Church – now Kariye Mosque – in Edirnekapı, where some of the finest surviving Byzantine mosaics and frescoes still cover the walls and domes with remarkably vivid gold and deep blue scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary.

Nearby, Balat is a lovely, unhurried morning walk. The neighbourhood’s coloured wooden houses, Greek Orthodox churches, Armenian and Jewish heritage and steep cobbled streets reflect a history of communities that settled and worked side by side across several centuries. Today independent cafés, small galleries and antique dealers share this space, without dramatically altering its character.

A special lunch at Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi, which has occupied the same corner near Hagia Sophia since 1920, and continues to serve grilled köfte, piyaz and semolina helva in a dining room that feels firmly tied to the old city around it. Sunset Grill & Bar is the more ambitious alternative – a Michelin Service Award winner open since 1994 on a hilltop above Ulus, with Mediterranean and Turkish cuisine, a Japanese sushi bar and views west across the Bosphorus.

Afternoon adventures should definitely include a visit to the hammam after a busy day of walking. Çemberlitaş Hamamı, completed by Sinan in 1584 and a short walk from the Grand Bazaar, stands as one of the city’s most historically significant bathhouses, its marble interior, domed ceiling and central göbek taşı largely unchanged since the Ottoman period.

For your farewell dinner Asitane beside the Chora Church has been recreating Ottoman imperial recipes from archival records since 1991 – dishes like sour cherry and almond pilaf or stuffed melon with minced lamb that rarely appear anywhere else, served in a garden courtyard, ideal for a long final evening. For something more atmospheric than gastronomic – charcoal-grilled meats, Turkish mezze and a broad international menu – 360 Istanbul occupies the top floor of a 19th-century apartment building on Istiklal Caddesi, its wraparound terrace looking out across the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the domes of the old city.