Full Day Istanbul Tour with Dolmabahce Palace and Bosphorus Cruise

Tour Highlights:
See part of Old City Walls
Visit the Dolmabahce Palace Museum
Matchless city view from the Bosphorus
Cruise on the Bosphorus
Drive to Golden Horn
Pierre Loti Hill
Cable Car on Pierre Loti Hill
Hotel transfers & Included Lunch

Full Day Dolmabahce Palace, Bosphorus Cruise & Cable Car Tour
08.30 – Our travel team will come and pick you up from your hotel then drive to the meeting point to meet with other tour participants and local tour guide.
First, we drive along the seaside road, pass through the Golden Horn bridge of Istanbul and you are going to have a panoramic view of Golden Horn and Bosphorus. When we pass the Golden Horn bridge, we drive along the Bosphorus and stop at Dolmabahce Palace museum which was one of the best modern palaces of Ottoman, visit the interior of the Dolmabahce Palace then continue drive to Bezmi Alem Valide Sultan mosque. After visiting Bezmi Alem Valide Sultan Mosque, we drive to the restaurant. We will have lunch at a local restaurant and continue to the tour of Golden Horn and Bosphorus Cruise up to the second bridge of Bosphorus. Embark on the boat and we will sail between Asian and European shores. While we are sailing, we will see the Ottoman Villas and mansions, Rumeli Fortress, Beylerbeyi Palace, Ciragan Palace, Dolmabahce Palace. After the cruise, we drive to Pierre Loti Hill. We will have free time on Pierre Loti Hill for this nice view. We will use the Cable car down from the Pierre Lotti Hill.
17.00 – At the end of the tour drive back to the hotel.

Brief Info about the sites:
Dolmabahce Palace Museum: The Dolmabahce Palace, a blend of various European architectural styles, was built between 1843-1856 by Karabet Balyan, the court architect of Sultan Abdulmecid. The tree-storied palace built on a symmetrical plan has 285 rooms and 43 halls. The Palace has survived intact with its original decorations, furniture, and the silk carpets and curtains. It surpasses all other places in the world in wealth and magnificence.

Golden Horn (from the bus): The arm of the Bosphorus and a natural harbor of the historical peninsula separating the old and the new parts of İstanbul where the first colonies settled during the Byzantine. The residential area for Byzantine Jews, Italian traders, and other non-Muslim minorities. Drive along the traces of history at Balat viewing Metal Church of St. Stephen the Bulgarian, 21 km. long City Walls(from the bus), the strongest fortification of the middle age.

Pierre Lotti Hill & Cable Car: It was named after the famous French writer, you will enjoy the magnificent scenery of Golden Horn and the city after you take a cable car drive for the hill.

Bosphorus Cruise by Boat: A traditional excursion by boat along the waterway separating Europe and Asia. The shore is lined with old wooden villas, palaces of marble, fortresses, and small fishing villages. During the excursion, you will pass the magnificent Dolmabahce Palace, and further along, the parks and imperial pavillions of Yildiz Palace. On the coastal edge of this park, is Ciragan Palace, 300 meters of is marble facade faces the shore. At Ortakoy a great variety of artists gathers every Sunday to display their work along the street. Ortakoy is a symbol of tolerance with a church, a mosque and a synagogue existing side by side for centuries.