Istanbul Tours and Experiences See what others overlook. Understand what others don't.
Discover the heart and soul of Istanbul through perspective-shifting walking tours led by historians, art curators, archaeologists, and more.
Istanbul Private Walking Tours
Context Travel Istanbul Tours
Istanbul, once Byzantium and later Constantinople, stands as a city where millennia of history converge. Its streets echo with the footsteps of Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman pasts, each layer telling a story of conquest, faith, and cultural exchange. With Context Travel, curious travelers can delve into this rich historical narrative through our tailored Istanbul tours.
Begin with our Istanbul Highlights Tour: From the Blue Mosque to Hagia Sophia, an insightful walk through the city's heart, where you'll encounter the architectural genius of the Hagia Sophia and the serene beauty of the Blue Mosque. This tour is a cornerstone for understanding Istanbul's religious and architectural heritage.
For those fascinated by the intricacies of Ottoman design, our Topkapi Palace Tour beckons. Kids and adults alike can discover the opulence of sultans and the secrets of the harem, making history accessible and engaging through interactive storytelling.
Crossing the Bosphorus, our Asian Side of Istanbul Tour offers a different perspective on this sprawling metropolis. This Istanbul private tour invites you to explore the less-trodden paths, revealing the everyday life and local culture that define the city's Asian half, a perfect complement to the more recognized European side.
No visit to Istanbul is complete without indulging in its culinary legacy. The Istanbul Food Tour: Spice Bazaar and Kadikoy Market takes you through a sensory adventure where the scents of spices and the flavors of local dishes tell their own historical tales. From the bustling stalls of the Spice Bazaar to the vibrant Kadikoy Market, this walking tour is a feast for both the palate and the mind.
Through these Context Travel experiences, Istanbul reveals itself not just as a city but as a living chronicle of human history, inviting travelers to step into its past and savor its present.
What Context Istanbul Travelers Say
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1,107 Reviews
Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.
Aylin was very knowledgable - by the time we were done we had a very good understanding of Turkish cuisine.
Steve
May 22, 2025
Claire was great, approaching each site with a relevant through line, either to explain a shared context or humanize the site with some background anecdotes. While I have a background in art history, my partner is in business - both of us felt very comfortable with the level of detail and contextualization throughout the tour. Claire was very patient and widely knowledgeable, answering every random question I had, sometimes going far afield to provide a translation or give fuller context on a fragment of a piece looted or transported elsewhere. In the end, she generously used her pass to get us ahead of the line for a separate site we wanted to visit outside of the tour. My partner and I spent the next two hours talking about the things we learned
Isaac
May 20, 2025
Wonderful tour of a totally different side of Istanbul— charming locales, and a closer look at life here.
Sandy
May 8, 2025