7 Days Istanbul and Athens Short Break Tour

Upon our arrival at Istanbul International Airport, your guide will meet, assist and transfer you to the hotel. Istanbul’s original name is Byzantium then Constantinople. It is a most fascinating city, which actually crosses two continents Europe and Asia. It is a city of amalgamation of bazaars, minarets, mosques, churches, palaces, and restaurants catering to every one’s taste, museums, customs and twelve million people. Overnight in Istanbul.

(Breakfast included)
(Open buffet breakfast included)
After breakfast, we have Istanbul City Tour. Our first visit will be HIPPODROME. Ancient Hippodrome was the scene of chariot races, with the three monuments; the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine. Than we will visit SULTANAHMET IMPERIAL MOSQUE. Across from Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, it was built in the 16th century by the architect Mehmet, is known as the BLUE MOSQUE because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles. Our next see will be HAGIA SOPHIA GRAND MOSQUE. The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, previously known as the Church of Divine Wisdom, is simply the best of its kind! Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque is the greatest surviving example of Byzantine Architecture. For 1000 years, it was once the largest church in the world, decorated with stunning 6th century golden mosaics. Today it is a mosque. You can see it from outside.  After that see TOPKAPI PALACE, the great palace of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries housing an exquisite collection of crystal, silver, and Chinese porcelain, robes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, miniatures, the Holy Mantle; enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed. You can see it from outside.    The Basilica Cistern Museum is one of the most important cultural assets where we can trace the traces of glorious Istanbul history. With its 80,000-ton water storage capacity, Yerebatan Cistern is the largest covered cistern in the city and stands out with more reclaimed supporting elements compared to other covered cisterns. Covering an area of approximately 10,000 square meters, this colossal structure has a rectangular shape with a length of 140 meters and a width of 70 meters. You can see it from outside.  After the tour, transfer back to your hotel. Dinner at Indian restaurant and Overnight in Istanbul.

If you would like to visit with entrance below sites;

Topkapi Palace Museum Entrance Fee. You pay the door price.
The Basilica Cistern Museum Entrance You pay the door price.

Please Note: Please do not forget to carry Scarf with you because of visiting to Blue Mosque & Haghia Sophia Mosque. 

( Breakfast included)
After breakfast between 08:00 am and 09:30 am pick ups from hotel. Your tour consultant will give you final timing one day before. BOSPHORUS BY BOAT; a traditional excursion by boat along the waterway separating Europe and Asia. The shore lined with old wooden villas, palaces of marble, fortresses, and small fishing villages. During the excursion, you will see the magnificent sights of the following attractions from your boat. See Dolmabahce Palace, and further along, the parks and imperial pavilions of Yildiz Palace. On the coastal edge of this park, is Ciragan Palace, 300 meters of its marble facade faces the shore. At Ortakoy a great variety of artists, gather 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. RUMELI FORTRESS (view from boat), Built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452 prior to the conquest of Istanbul was completed in only four months to control and protect the infamous Bosporus passage. It is one of the most beautiful works of military architecture anywhere in the world. BEYLERBEYI PALACE (view from boat), is the summer residence of Ottoman sultans exists in its original renovated glory featuring original antique furniture and magnificent gardens with the Harem on the Asian side of Istanbul. Lunch break at the Turkish restaurant. After the lunch we will then take you to the GRAND COVERED BAZAAR In this labyrinth of streets and passages are more than 4,000 shops with each trade having its own area: the goldsmiths' street, the carpet sellers, Turkish arts and crafts, such as hand painted ceramic plates, hand-honed copperware, brassware and trays, water ewers, onyx-ware and meerschaum pipes. After the tour transfer back to your hotel. Overnight in Istanbul

(Breakfast included)
After breakfast, we check out from the hotel and depart for International airport to fly from Istanbul to Athens. Upon arrive in Athens, you will meet with our local representative at the airport and be transferred to your hotel. Once you settle in, you are free to stroll in the old Plaka district. Overnight in Athens.

(Breakfast included)
After breakfast, we will start the tour of the city of Athens, visiting Syntagma Square - the center of modern Athens and view the changing of the guard in front of the Parliament building. On the way to Acropolis, we will have a stop to the Panathenaic Stadium-made of white marble- where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. The impressive, work of Art, Stadium was the finish line of the Marathon Race of Athens 2004 Olympics. We will also see the Temple of Olympian Zeus - the largest Temple ever built in Greece. We will view the National Gardens, the Academy, the National Library, the University, and finally we will visit the most magnificent monument in the world - the Parthenon on the Acropolis. The Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments on 26 March 2007. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock that rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, with a surface area of about 3 hectares. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the first Athenian king. At the end of the tour, we will transfer you back to hotel and the rest of the day is yours to have a walk in Athens. Overnight in Athens.

(Breakfast included)
Today is yours, you need not to wake up early. Today, you can join the optional excursions to visit Athens or spend a relax day to walk around or doing little shopping in Athens. Overnight in Athens.

(Breakfast included)
After your breakfast, we check out from the hotel and will arrange your transfer to Athens International Airport for your flight back home. We hope your tour was a memorable one and we would like to see you in future in one of our tours again. Have a nice trip back home and thanks for choosing TravelShop Booking.