FAMILY, TRAVEL AND BACKPACK
THE TRAVEL BLOG THAT WILL MAKE YOU TRAVEL
Istanbul in 8 days
The question everyone asks is "what am I going to be able to do in 8 days?"
As for many people, the first question that comes to mind is "what am I going to be able to do in 8 days without wasting time?". Time is precious when we wish to visit a city, a country... We found lots of good plans for you!!!
- How to visit the city at a lower cost with public transport, good plan or not?
- How to visit the different museums without ruin and without being blocked in the queue for hours.
- What are the activities that we did for 8 days .
- What activities to do when it rains.
- Or eat without breaking the bank in the hyper center, (good or not good?)
- What organization we had with our young children.
Elysium Hotel
Or to sleep?
Sometimes we can be very disagreeable surprised of wonderful hotel we have reserved on the Internet . We tested 4 different hotels in the city of Istanbul, 4 hotels 4 different prices, 4 different types of services.
Elysium Hotel
We had made a reservation for 1 night in this magnificent hotel, 100% service, a porter at our disposal, staff who speak French, impeccable hygiene and a really top-notch room finish. Following a problem with the reservation, the hotel upgraded us and gave us a duplex.
68€/ night
instead of 135€/ night
An apartment not far from the center of Istanbul, an apartment very well placed.
You have the possibility of being able to move on foot it is about 20 minutes or 600 meters from the city center about (300m) on foot from the great blue mosque , St Sophia's Basilica, Topkapi Palace etc...
Attention it is often full so do not forget to do it in advance.
Blue mosque apartment
An apartment not far from the center of Istanbul, an apartment very well placed.
You have the ability to move on foot it is about 20 minutes or 600 meters from the city center, about 300m to foot of the great blue mosque , St Sophia's Basilica, Topkapi Palace etc...
Attention, it is often full so don't forget to plan ahead.
25€/ night for 4 people
DISADVANTAGE
If there is one thing that is inadmissible, it is to be taken under class without being compensated !!!
When you book your hotel on the internet it asks you for a photo of your credit card (something that we refused), the fact of not having sent the photo of my card, the reservation is not validated and when we arrived the room we have reserved for was rented. The hotel gave us given a very low-end room for one night, when the next morning we asked for a one-night reduction oddly he didn't understand plus our language (French, English, Arabic) and our card was already debited!!!
WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL
Hotel
Ottoman Elegance
33€/ night for 4 people
We can say that this hotel is well placed in relation to the center of interest of the city of Istanbul. It is about a 25-minute walk from the city center but be careful you must have good shoes because it is in a very steep area.
You will not be able to recover by public transport to go to town, the only transport possible in this area and the taxi.
Advantage
-This hotel has the advantage of having a children's playground near a station 3 minutes away on foot.
-Breakfast and very copious and at will, a terrace is available for lunch outside in peace.
Hotel
Alpha
The hotel has summer a real favorite for us for several reasons.
- Its location: it is 20 minutes walk from the center of Istanbul, are access to public transport, city bus, metro, private bus, taxi.
- Hotel service: The service and really at the top, a friendly, caring and available staff. The hotel provided us with a travel cot for our 20 month old son. A REAL PLUS!!!
-Breakfast: An all-you-can-eat breakfast is offered by the establishment you will find salty, sweet, hot, cold ect....
-The view from our room: From our room we were lucky enough to have a view of the Grand Blue Mosque and at night it was definitely worth it.
We found Nothing negative about this establishment.
Our activities
DISCOVER OUR ACTIVITIES AND OUR VOUCHERS PLANS
The city of Istanbul and a busy city of history that has success to make a nice mix between modernity and tradition, You can visit the city all in you cultivating. Through the different activities we did we were able to spend a good time while cultivating ourselves. Discover below the different activities that we did as a family.
We are going to start by giving you a tip that will save you money but also time because you don't have to wait in line. To do. The city of Istanbul offers visitors a pass that allows you to visit no less than 7 museums, this pass is valid for 5 days.
The science and arts museum named Islamic is really exciting when one is interested in medical science, the science of astrology, mechanical and hydraulic science. You will be able to see the different tools used at the time by doctors, astrologers, mechanics and others we have been surprised at the evolution of science in that time, which is why we really recommend this museum.
Museums
The museum history, science and technology of islam
Topkapi Palace is a simply magnificent place, you will find an architecture that dates back to 1459 but which has undergone several modifications and enlargements over time. He was transformed in museum in 1921. To know all the history, you will find all the links. Click here
Visits to the palace do not have a mandatory meaning, you can walk where good seems to you in the different places of this place huge and loaded of history. If you have the 5 day pass the entrance at the harem will be included in your pass otherwise you will have to pay a supplement.
Large green spaces will allow you to rest for a nap, a bit of reading, to eat or have fun with your children in a play area dedicated to that.
Click on the link below for more information on prices, opening hours and days etc...
Topkapi Palace
The Basilica of Saint Sophia
The Hagia Sophia and a magnificent and very impressive building, however like most monuments in Turkey right now (2018) there is a lot of work so it is impossible to take pictures inside without having scaffolding in the middle of the frame but also the influx of tourists.
This basilica has summer modified into a mosque in the 15th century but despite this modification this basilica which became a mosque has guarded Christian paintings and frescoes. Since 1934 this Mosque has become a museum.
The visit gave us took about 40 minutes for a queue of about 1:30 .... But we did not have to wait as much because we had the museum pass.
This tour is worth it if you have the pass and you don't have to wait in line otherwise it's a long wait for not much.
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
The Museum of Turkish Arts and Islam is really a museum not to be missed, I would even say it is the first museum you have to visit when you arrived. This museum is really about its name "art museum", you will find everything related to the art of this time (pottery, clocks, Coran of size, pillars with period engravings, joinery with all kinds of decorations etc...) you will even have the chance to see a piece of fabric that covers the Kaaba (this black velvet fabric woven with gold). The visit has duration around 1h30 taking the time to read the different explanations.
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
Mosaic Museum
The mosaic museum is a small museum that highlights mosaics discovered in 1930. This museum is nice and you can discover very very large mosaics that illustrate life in the old days, you can see scenes with animals, scenes of everyday life etc....
Visiting this museum takes approximately 30 quiet minutes. If you are passionate of mosaics, it can be very interesting, personally we found it pretty average.
Istanbul Aquarium
The aquarium is a must in the visit of Istanbul because in addition to being an aquarium it is also a place of learning on different subjects such as global warming, life in a tropical environment and many others. very interesting subjects for young and old alike.
The visit made in one direction as in almost all aquariums with the difference that this one has very particular themes with very realistic decorations according to the theme.
We recommend this activity but be careful, prefer this activity in rainy weather.
Istanbul Aquarium
Title 2
Istanbul Cable Car
The cable car of Istanbul is a very nice activity, it allows you to climb on the heights of Istanbul with a not very common means. When you arrive at the top you can admire the view which is magnificent, you can also taste a crêpe or a coffee in the café of Pierre Loti, a passionate French writer from Istanbul.
We made the climb to the height on foot which allowed us to have a magnificent view but also and above all we had no queue because we can assure you that there is a queue of about 30 minutes at the bottom of cable car.
The Galta Tower
The Galta Tower is an essential place in the visit of Istanbul, a vestige which dates from 1348 which measures no less than 66m and has 9 floors. This remnant still extremely well preserved, which has served as an observation post but also as a prison, then now as a tourist spot. Over time, the structure has due be strengthened but also arranged for visiting tourists.
The cruise on the Bosphorus
The Bosphorus Cruise is fun, it's an opportunity to have a good time. You will board a boat and then circumnavigate the Bosphorus along each side of the shore giving you a view of different buildings along the shore.
the boat won't stop not in front of every building. We spent a pleasant moment with the children that has given us license to enjoy of the September sunset while enjoying the scenery.
We recommend this activity.
GOOD TO KNOW
We will explain to you and give you some tips that served us well in Istanbul.
WAYS OF TRANSPORTATION :
-You have at your disposal several means of transport in Istanbul, the first that comes to mind is public transport and for us it is one of the best ways to get around Istanbul. The advantages are multiple, such as simplicity, you buy a card that costs you 2 liras then you recharge it as you see fit on terminals which are at each metro stop, tram and others, the second advantage and the price, for move it will cost you an average of 2.5 lira which is really not much. The third advantage of public transport and the frequency of passage, you have approximately a tram, metro, bus every 5/10 minutes and (until around 00:30 for the tram for example). Very important: The cable car and consider as a public transport so your bus, tram, metro card works with it!!!
CURRENCY AND EXCHANGE
- The Turkish currency and the Lira, the exchange factor at the moment (October 2018) and 1 TL=0.15€.
- The advantage for the countries of the European Union and that the euro and a strong currency and what makes the French have a great purchasing power in Turkey.
-We made the change at different places (airport, city) and according to us it's not worth wasting time comparing exchange offices to save 5€ on the whole thing.
TELEPHONE PACKAGE AND INTERNET CONNECTION
-During our first trip to Turkey we had the surprise of a 150€ off-package for a 5-second connection (thank you B.... T....!!!). For this time we did differently, we bought a 120 TL phone card for 6G of internet and we had enough to read and answer email, connections and video sharing on Facebook, use of gps to find our routes.
FIND OUR ROUTES AND DIFFERENT MEANS OF TRANSPORT.
-A very simple solution is the Google Map gps of our phone which allows us to have the different transport solutions including public transport, you will have the schedules of passages, the numbers of buses, metros, trams etc.... WE TESTED IT IN ISTANBUL AND IT WORKS!!!
AVOID THE SCAM.
Before each activity, check of course on the official sites of each of the activities that you are going to do because very often the lowest prices are not always applied (we experienced this in the istanbul aquarium )
FREE WATER POINTS
- The city of Istanbul puts fountains or free and unlimited drinking water available.
THE MUSEUM PASS
-If like us, you want to discover the city of Istanbul, its history, its customs, its religion through these museums, the museum pass is the solution that will make you do savings but also save time by avoiding queues but also a lot of reductions in several partner brands, This pass will cost you 125TL and you can buy it in several museums. You will have more information by clicking on this link.