How to experience Istanbul with just an Istanbulkart
- Martin
- Mar 22
- 5 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
You can experience Istanbul for free by visiting historic sites like the city walls and columns, stepping into mosques, exploring bazaars, visiting churches and art spaces, and moving around the city with an Istanbulkart. Many of the city’s most important experiences don’t require an entrance fee - just time and curiosity.
I’ve put together a small guide to places and experiences where you can explore Istanbul’s history and culture without feeling like you’re constantly being charged - and without losing what makes the city feel like Istanbul in the first place. If anything, quite the opposite.
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With an Istanbulkart, you can move around the city for very little money - by metro, tram, bus and ferry.
And that’s really the key. Because once you start moving, the city opens up.
Historical places
Along the western edge of what was once Constantinople - today known as the historic peninsula (Fatih) - you’ll find the Theodosian Walls.
Built in the 5th century, they protected the city for over 1,000 years.
Today, you can still walk along them - and in some places step inside.
Especially around Mevlana Kapı.
It’s one of those places I keep coming back to. You walk a bit, stop, look around. And suddenly you’re standing inside layers of history - without crowds.
In Zeytinburnu, you’ll find the Zeytinburnu Mozaik Müzesi.
The mosaics here date back to the 5th-6th century and were discovered during modern construction work.
It’s one of those places where the past quite literally surfaced - and today it’s presented in a way that makes it easy to take in.
Beyazıt Hamam is a 16th-century Ottoman bath, often attributed to Sinan.
Today it functions as a museum, but even just seeing the building from the outside is worth it.
Bazaars and everyday life
The Grand Bazaar dates back to the years after 1453 and has grown into a maze of covered streets.
The Spice Bazaar was built in the 17th century in the Eminönü area, close to the waterfront.
Both are free to enter.
And even if you don’t plan on buying anything, they’re worth stepping into just to take in the atmosphere.
Nearby, you’ll find Hünkâr Kasrı next to the Yeni Mosque - a former sultan’s pavilion that’s now open to visitors.
I’m honestly quite fond of it. In some ways, I get more out of a visit here than at Topkapi Palace.
A few streets away is the Rüstem Paşa Mosque, designed by Sinan in the 16th century. It’s known for its İznik tiles - and for being built above shops that historically helped fund the mosque.
That kind of mix is typical of Istanbul.
Trade, daily life and religious buildings all tied together. And most of the time, open to anyone who walks in.
Most mosques in Istanbul are free to enter.
There are exceptions - Hagia Sophia and Chora, for example - where tourists now pay an entrance fee.
But smaller mosques are usually open and accessible. One of my favorites is Little Hagia Sophia.
Originally built as a church in the 6th century under Emperor Justinian, it later became a mosque.
Churches
Istanbul’s history isn’t just visible in its mosques. In Fener and Balat, you’ll find several historic churches.
The Church of St. George is still the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate - the spiritual center of the Greek Orthodox Church.
It’s not entirely wrong to think of it as a kind of Orthodox Vatican. Just much more low-key.
In Kadıköy and Yeldeğirmeni, you’ll also come across smaller churches from around 1900.
Many of them are open during the day.
Going “column hunting”
One of the more low-key ways to experience Istanbul is to go looking for its columns.
They’re scattered across the city.
The Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpent Column and the Walled Obelisk at the Hippodrome.
The Milion just nearby.
Constantine’s Column at Çemberlitaş.
Further out, the Column of Marcian.
The Column of the Goths in Gülhane Park.
And what’s left of the Column of Arcadius.
They’re easy to walk past.
But if you notice them, they add another layer to the city.
Parks and quiet corners
Gülhane Park was gradually incorporated into the grounds of Topkapi Palace and opened to the public around 1910.
Before that, it was part of the city itself.
Homes. Streets. Everyday life.
You can still find traces of that today - including the remains of a Byzantine structure, often described as an orphanage, now restored and used as a small exhibition space.
There’s also a smaller Byzantine cistern in the park, now used for exhibitions.
It may once have been part of the local water system.
Opening hours can vary depending on exhibitions.
Art and cultural spaces
Several cultural spaces in Istanbul offer free access.
Feshane, by the Golden Horn, is a large 19th-century industrial building turned exhibition space. I keep going back. Not just for the exhibitions, but for the building itself.
In Kadıköy, Müze Gazhane - a former gasworks - has become a cultural hub.
Exhibitions, open spaces, people sitting around. It’s as much a place to spend time as it is to see something.
In Beyoğlu, Metrohan hosts smaller exhibitions. It’s one of the places I personally keep an eye on. SALT also runs exhibition spaces focused on art, architecture and the city itself.
Programs change, so some places may be closed between exhibitions.
Moving through the city
Ferries, metro, trams and buses aren’t free. But with an Istanbulkart, they’re inexpensive.
And more importantly - they connect everything.
You can easily move between all the places mentioned here.
I take the ferries whenever I can - I actually use them every day to get to and from work.
Not just to get somewhere - but because it’s one of the best ways to experience Istanbul.
Travel nostalgically through Istanbul
Start in Taksim
Take the tram towards Tünel
Ride the Tünel funicular down to Karaköy
Take the ferry to Kadıköy
Finish with the nostalgic tram
Now, if I had to pick two places worth paying for, it would be the Basilica Cistern and Istanbul Archaeological Museums.
oh, and one final note..
Istanbul doesn’t have to be expensive.
If anything, some of the best experiences are the ones you don’t pay for.
This guide is far from complete. There are plenty of other places worth exploring - from İş Bank Museum and Bulgur Palace to the Çubuklu Silos and the historic art spaces along the Golden Horn.
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