Free Tour of Istanbul: Essential History & Inner Visit to a Mosque

9.5
589 Reviews
Verified by: FREETOUR.com
Provided by: Free Istanbul Tours
Duration
2h 30min
Meeting point
Pudding Shop Lale Restaurant
Languages
English
From €0
Tip based
Free Booking. Free Cancellation.
No fixed price — pay what you feel the tour is worth.

Overview

During our free tour, you will get to know the essential places to visit in Istanbul. Everything you can not miss in the city, its history, and evolution and lots of fun facts and also local recommendations.

With our guides, you will discover in the most entertaining way, İstanbul, its history, and culture, as well as some curiosities and facts.
With the most entertaining and passionate local guides, you’ll get to know: On our Classic Istanbul Free Tour you will see:
⦁ German Fountain
⦁ Blue Mosque (We will try to go inside depending on the line as sometimes it takes 1 hour, none will enjoy on the tour waiting at the line instead of waiting, we would like to show more sites and show another mosque)
⦁ Hippodrome
⦁ Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern from outside (require an entry fee, and we cover from outside)
⦁ Nuru Osmaniye Mosque
⦁ Grand Bazaar
⦁Sampling Turkish Delights with fruit tea (Optional, you can skip if you like)

This tour is about 2.5 hours.

Note: Our tour guides are licensed, they studied 4 years to be a guide and this is their full-time job. They will give you plenty of clues that you can save time and money. Recommended tipping at least 10 Euros or 400 TRY
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This activity includes:

  • Hippodrome (open air museum)
  • German Fountain
  • Nuruosmaniye Mosque
  • Grand Bazaar
  • Hagia Sophia
  • The Blue Mosque
  • Column of Constantine
  • Basilica Cistern
  • Guiding Service by Official tour guide
  • Free turkish lessons
  • Sampling Turkish delights

Meeting point

Pudding Shop Lale Restaurant

On arrival

Pudding Shop Lale Restaurant, Divanyolu Caddesi No.6 34400, Sultanahmet, Istanbul. Our guides will be waiting with a yellow umbrella (Happy Istanbul Tours sign on it)

For further explanation, perhaps use the Sultanahmet tram stop as a reference. The restaurant is located on the street where the tram lines run through Sultanahmet, an approximately 1-minute walk from the Sultanahmet tram stop.

Things to note

Please wear comfortable shoes and We may visit a mosque during our tours and please dress moderately.

How can the tour be free?

Our concept is simple — there is no set price. Instead, you tip your guide at the end of the tour whatever amount feels right to you. Typically, guests give between $10 to $50, depending on their satisfaction and budget.

Most guides accept cash or card payments, or you can do it via our app.

Rating
9.5
Organisation
9.7
Atmosphere
9.6
Content
9.4
Guide
9.7
Usefulness
9.5
Reviews (589)
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Reviewed on Apr 02, 2025
“Informative tour ”
This is a great introduction to Istanbul delivered by a top class guide. Enough history and cultural information to help appreciate the city, and very useful advice to make the most of the rest of our visit. Highly recommend.
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Reviewed on Mar 21, 2025
“Istanbul Free Walking Tour”
Excellent friendly guide, great information. We all really enjoyed it despite the weather.
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Reviewed on Feb 19, 2025
“Definitely recommend the free tour”
I recently joined a free tour in Istanbul and I can't recommend it enough! The tour was well-planned, taking us through the beautiful Sultanahmet square area with stopovers at the stunning Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. I wish I had more time to do another tour organized by them that seemed more like a general and cultural tour. Our guide was knowledgeable, engaging, and funny! The tour lasted about 2 to 2.5 hours. Since the tour is free, I highly recommend tipping the guide for their time and effort. Overall, I would highly recommend others to sign up for the free tour.
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Reviewed on Feb 05, 2025
“Very good tour”
Really helpful information and engaging tour. Perfect length and very helpful for gathering bearings of the city!! Highly recommend.
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Reviewed on Jan 18, 2025
“Amazing tour walk. Sag ol ! ”
I liked the walking tour today, it was very enlightening and entertaining. Our tour guide was very friendly and well versed, he’s clearly a professional, not an improvised tourist guide like I’ve seen before in other cities. He shared with us lots of valuable insights, cultural knowledge and great helpful and practical advice. I would definitely highly recommended to participate in this tour. Çok teşekkür ederim!
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Reviewed on Jan 01, 2025
“Amazing!”
The tour iz very well rounded and the guide knows how to tell history in a very interesting and engaging way. He also gives helpful information about how things work in Istanbul. I highly recommend!
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Reviewed on Dec 26, 2024
“Highly recommend ”
Guide was very informative and funny. Great recommendations. Loved learning the history of the Turks and the Ottoman Empire. Worth every penny and probably more.
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Reviewed on Dec 22, 2024
“Amazing tour with a really great tour guide”
We had a lovely time today with our guide Yunus Emre. He was very kind, patient and knowledgeable ❤️
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Reviewed on Dec 12, 2024
“Good tour”
Very good
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Reviewed on Dec 02, 2024
“Recommended tour”
Enjoyable tour. The guide is knowledgeable and his English is veru good. easy ro understand. He is also very good at communication.
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Free Cancellation

You are free to cancel a booking anytime. We kindly remind you to cancel bookings you cannot arrive for. Being reported as absent decreases your customer level points and the benefits you can enjoy.

Availability & Language
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Today, 4 April 2025
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2022 3rd Best Free Tour in Asia
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