Explore Istanbul

Istanbul is the only city on earth that spans two continents, and it wears that history openly: Byzantine domes, Ottoman palaces, and a skyline of minarets rising straight out of the Bosphorus strait. Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque sit almost close enough to touch across Sultanahmet Square, while the Grand Bazaar's 4,000 shops have been trading since the 1400s. A Bosphorus cruise at sunset remains the single best way to see the city's two continents from the water, and Istanbul's food scene, from street-side simit to slow, ceremonial Turkish tea, makes every stop between sights worth savouring in its own right.