Small-Group Istanbul Old City Tour

Discover Istanbul’s hidden gems with a personalized, in-depth guided tour. Perfect for first-time visitors seeking a deeper understanding of the city’s rich history and culture.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • German Fountain - This is where the group will gather…
  • Hippodrome - The Hippodrome, the ancient stadium of Byzantium, could accommodate 100,000 spectators and showcased artifacts from across the empire. Among these, an Egyptian obelisk and a bronze sculpture of three intertwined serpents from Delphi have endured.
    The Hippodrome of…
What's Included
  • Tea and coffee
Additional Information

This tour is ideal for first-time visitors to Istanbul, offering an in-depth exploration of the city’s treasures.
It provides an excellent introduction to Istanbul, allowing for a more thorough visit to key historical sites than typical tourist paths.
Participants will enjoy a customized tour where questions are encouraged, and have the chance to uncover…

Location
German Fountain
At Meydanı Caddesi
Our meeting point is GERMAN FOUNTAIN (Alman Çeşmesi in Turkish language) located in the heart of the main tourist area of Istanbul. It is just one minute away from Sultan Ahmet Tramway station.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(52 Ratings)
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Brent_s
Jun 24, 2025
Great small group tour - We took this tour our first morning in Istanbul just to see some of the major sights. The tour guide was knowledgeable and responsive to group questions. More importantly, the tour guide helped to provide a lot of context to the development of what we are seeing (it wasn't a list of facts about the Sultanahmet Mosque or trivia items). He helped to bring the story of the objects to life for us. On our tour, we had 4 people, so it was also great to only be concerned about a small group. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone that is looking for a private guide type experience, but doesn't quite have the budget for that. While it won't be private, my understanding is that the groups are always small.
Review provided by Viator
Hannah_b
Jun 19, 2025
Fab tour of Istanbul - Fantastic tour of Istanbul. Really good communication beforehand and great information during the tour. He is extremely knowledgeable of Turkey and its history and makes the tour very interesting. He even provided us with some information afterwards. I would highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Traveler66547783557
Jun 13, 2025
Immerse into the history of Istanbul with the local guide - We had a fantastic and very informative tour around Old Istanbul. Israfil told a lot about the history of the city and we visited spectacular places. The tour was also very engaging for children, Israfil is very good in communicating with kids. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elena_k
Jun 1, 2025
Highly recommended tour... - Highly recommended tour with Israfil. He shared a lot of interesting information in a fun way and engaged my 9y old daughter as well. Nice tips about the bazar and not only.
Review provided by Viator
David_s
May 13, 2025
This is the way to see it all, highly recommended ! - This is one of the very best small group tours. Husband and I and 4 friends enjoyed seeing every important historical site all in one day. It was so much better doing it all at once and being able to hear him without the use of ear buds.
Review provided by Viator
Adrian_c
May 13, 2025
Israfil was a great host... - Israfil was a great host and communicator- we loved the tour! Would recommend it to anyone in the area
Review provided by Viator
Valerie_b
Apr 27, 2025
Fact filled, well moving half day tour of Old Town sights - This tour was a great introduction to the complicated and often confusing history of İstanbul. Not overwhelming or too fast, İsrafil moved to the needs of our eclectic age group of tourists. He easily answered questions from the group and individually in history, religion, social, and customs. İsrafil also provided custom suggestions and offered directions for after tour inquiries. I felt I had a solid basic understanding of each site we visited and can imagine a full day tour would be amazing with him. Maybe next visit to Istanbul. Highly recommend to friends, family, and strangers.
Review provided by Viator
Michelle_p
Jan 26, 2025
Fabulous Tour with Excellent Guide - Israfil's Small-Group Istanbul Old City Guided Tour was my first introduction to this historic and beautiful city. Travelling solo and in a new country for only 3 days, I am so happy to have selected this tour. It enabled me to get my bearings, see and learn about many of the significant and incredible sites from an experienced guide, and plan the rest of my stay. From the time of booking, Israfil communicated clearly and efficiently with me to confirm my tour details. In person, Israfil is a kind, knowledgeable and excellent tour guide. He provided interesting and entertaining information about each of our stops, was patient while I took lots of photos and was so helpful in answering questions and recommending places for me to visit. It was so much fun chatting with him. Thanks again Israfil! I highly recommend this tour and visiting Istanbul.
Review provided by Viator
I3009dsscotto
Nov 26, 2024
Best walking tour of Istanbul - Amazing tour of Istanbul. Very knowledgeable and took the time to answer many questions. We toured the bazaars, mosques and cistern.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Raj_p
Dec 8, 2024
Bad experience - Tour was canceled 20 mins before the scheduled start time. No explanation. I was already there. They claimed it was because of weather, but weather was sunny
Review provided by Viator
From $52
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).