A self-guided Old City walk starting from Küçük Ayasofya

The route at a glance

• Length: a loop of about 7 km, starting and ending on Cinci Meydanı Street in Küçük Ayasofya.
• Walking time only: roughly 2 hours; 6 to 8 hours if you go inside the monuments.
• Terrain: uphill cobbles and busy squares in the first half; a flat, wide seaside path in the second.
• Best timing: start early and aim to reach the seafront section in the afternoon or at sunset.
• Short version: stops 1 to 11 only, then walk up to Sirkeci and ride the T1 tram back.

Part 1: from the neighbourhood to the Hippodrome

The first minutes let you get to know the calm of the Küçük Ayasofya neighbourhood before the crowds of Sultanahmet. Its lanes still have timber houses, corner grocers and children walking home from school.

1. 1. From the hotel to Little Hagia Sophia (about 2 minutes). Built in the 6th century as the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, this octagonal building was finished a few years before Hagia Sophia. The Greek inscription running around the interior names Emperor Justinian and Theodora. The old madrasa cells in the courtyard make a peaceful tea stop.
2. 2. Uphill to Sokullu Mehmed Pasha Mosque (about 5 minutes). Completed by Mimar Sinan in the 1570s, this small mosque is lined with İznik tiles, and fragments said to come from the Kaaba are set above the entrance and in the mihrab.
3. 3. Continue up the same slope to the southern end of the Hippodrome (about 5 minutes). You are now standing above the sphendone, the massive curved substructure that once held up the end of the Byzantine racetrack.

Part 2: the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia

1. 4. North along the Hippodrome (about 10 minutes with stops). In turn you pass the Walled Obelisk, the Serpent Column brought from Delphi, and the Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius, raised here in AD 390. At the northern end stands the German Fountain, a gift from Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Ibrahim Pasha Palace lines the western side.
2. 5. The Blue Mosque (2 minutes to the courtyard). Built in 1609 to 1616 by Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa, it has six minarets and a visitor entrance on the Hippodrome side. Visits pause during prayer times.
3. 6. Behind the mosque, the Arasta Bazaar and the Great Palace Mosaic Museum (about 3 minutes). Hunting and everyday scenes from the Byzantine imperial palace floor are full of animals and details that children enjoy.
4. 7. Across Sultanahmet Park to Hagia Sophia (about 5 minutes). Foreign visitors use a separate entrance up to the gallery. The fountain in the middle of the park is the best spot for a photo of both great buildings in one frame.
5. 8. Across the tram line to the Basilica Cistern (about 2 minutes). If the queue is long, save it for the return or another day.

Part 3: along the palace walls to Gülhane

1. 9. To Soğukçeşme Street, squeezed between the back of Hagia Sophia and the walls of Topkapı Palace (about 5 minutes). This traffic-free lane of restored, pastel-coloured timber houses is one of the calmest corners of the old city.
2. 10. Through the Imperial Gate into Topkapı's first courtyard (about 3 minutes). Entry to this outer court is usually free. See the brick walls of Byzantine Hagia Irene and the old plane trees; the palace courts themselves deserve a separate day.
3. 11. Leave the courtyard and walk downhill past the Archaeology Museums into Gülhane Park (5 to 10 minutes). Once the palace's outer garden, it fills with tulips in spring. Near its lower end, look for the Roman-era Column of the Goths.

Part 4: back along the seafront from Seraglio Point

The second half of the loop is completely flat and shows a different Istanbul: ships, anglers and Byzantine sea walls where the Bosphorus opens into the Sea of Marmara. The promenade runs beside the fast traffic of Kennedy Avenue, so cross only at pedestrian crossings and underpasses.

1. 12. Leave the park by the Sarayburnu exit, drop to the shore and turn southwest along the Kennedy Avenue seaside path to Ahırkapı (about 25 minutes). The Asian shore and Maiden's Tower are on your left, and stretches of the Marmara sea walls rise on your right.
2. 13. Pass the Ahırkapı Lighthouse, a 19th-century light still in service right beside the old walls.
3. 14. Continue along the seafront to the ruins of the Bukoleon Palace (10 to 12 minutes). The marble window frames that survive from the Great Palace's sea facade seem suspended in time beside the traffic.
4. 15. Leave the seafront at Bukoleon and walk a short slope back up into the neighbourhood and the hotel (about 5 minutes).

Before you set out

• On Fridays, visit the mosques at stops 2 and 5 outside the midday prayer; if necessary, walk the loop in reverse, starting from the seafront.
• There is little shade on the seafront. Bring a hat and water in summer and a windproof layer in winter.
• Cobbles in the first half can be hard going with a stroller or wheelchair, while the seafront is much easier. See our accessible travel tips for details.
• The best moments and angles for photos along the way are in our photo spots guide.