Popular Top 10 in Istanbul

Thank goodness we booked the tour. Our guide took us on a route around the whole palace, including the harem, bringing each place to life as we passed through. It all took a good three hours. Imagine how long it would have taken us if we had tried to do it alone ! Much, much longer. Or, more realistically, we would have missed a lot of places and missed out on the stories and the descriptions our guide provided to really understand palace life. The guide spoke very good, well articulated, English. Ours was a small group of seven, so it was easy to keep together, hear the guide and have the opportunity to ask questions. Sadly, there are still inaccessible areas under renovation, but that didn't detract too much from the experience. Skipping the ticket queue was a great time saver as well. Just be aware that there is a lot of walking with some flights of stairs too. But it is well worth it for this fascinating attraction. Wear comfortable footwear and have a bottle of water in your bag.

The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. He guided us through the palace, explaining major details and even interesting side stories related with the palace. He did not seem to rush us and took the time to explain what we should visit and answer any questions the group had. If you want to know more about the palace and its history, I recommend this tour. Although a bit expensive, I believe it is about right in terms of price/quality, as you would be paying around 10£ per hour + tickets. You also have the perk of skipping any queue (in our case there was none because we started early.

Very well organized by local agency in Istambul. The cruise trip is beautiful, food average. Suggestion: the trip should start earlier, to get the views of the Bosphorous chores at sunset and then full dark. The ship sails just at 21h00, so it's a full night scenario only and it's a pitty to loose the sunset.

The trip was fun ,but inaccurate as it does not actually go to the Black Sea, but to the last bridge which was disappointing.The guide said the boat could not go into the BS, but this may not be true,maybe they got lazy,if they cannot enter the BS the this should be clearly stated.

Be prepared for loud Music and dance, and the Art of Ancient and classical dance I personally was a bit confused, too many different acts which were to simbolise the Ancient classical dance , I would have loved to know the story behind each performances..