Istanbul

Pay site-by-site for a cruise day. The Museum Pass Istanbul costs 3,200 TL ($95) and covers Topkapı, Hagia Sophia's upper gallery, the Archaeological Museums, and a handful of smaller sites — but it only pays off if you visit four or more on the same trip, which you cannot do in 8 hours. For one cruise call, individual tickets are cheaper: Topkapı Palace 1,500 TL ($45), Harem section 1,000 TL ($30) extra, Basilica Cistern 900 TL ($27), Hagia Sophia upper gallery 1,500 TL ($45). The main Hagia Sophia prayer hall is free to enter outside prayer times. Book Topkapı and the Cistern online the night before — walk-up queues can run 45 minutes in summer.

The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii) is free to enter as a working mosque — no ticket, no booking. The main floor of Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) is also free, also as a working mosque, but the upper gallery now charges a 1,500 TL ($45) tourist ticket separately. Both close to non-worshippers during the five daily prayer windows of roughly 30–45 minutes each — morning prayer is before sunrise so you won't hit it, but the noon and afternoon prayers fall right in the middle of a cruise day. Check muezzin times on your phone; signs at the door confirm reopening times. Dress code applies: shoulders, knees, and women's hair covered. Scarves are loaned at the door for free.

Worth a 60–90 minute walk-through, not a half-day. The Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) is genuinely the world's oldest covered market — 4,000 shops, 64 streets, in operation since 1461 — and the architecture alone justifies the visit. What's changed: the front aisles closest to the Beyazıt and Nuruosmaniye gates are now near-exclusively tourist tat (mass-produced ceramics, factory pashminas, fake-evil-eye keyrings). The genuinely good stuff — antique silver, hand-knotted carpets, copper from the coppersmiths' alley, real Turkish delight at Hacı Bekir's stall — lives in the back lanes and the Iç Bedesten. Haggle expected; opening offer is roughly 2× the walk-away price. Closed Sundays.

Walk if you've got the legs, tram if you don't. The walk from Galataport's main gate across the Galata Bridge to Sultanahmet Square is 1.8 km and takes 25 minutes flat — over the Golden Horn, past the Eminönü ferry terminals, up a moderate hill. The T1 tram is the local move: 5 minutes' walk from Galataport's gate to Tophane stop, then 4 stops to Sultanahmet, every 3–5 minutes, 30 TL ($0.95) per ride paid by Istanbulkart (sold at any stop, 130 TL ($4) for the card plus credit). Taxis quote 250–400 TL ($7–12) for the same trip but get stuck in traffic on the bridge — usually slower than the tram in port-call hours. Uber operates but in Istanbul it dispatches yellow taxis, same price.

The 90-minute mini-cruises from the Eminönü ferry terminal are decent value at 350–500 TL ($10–15) — they go up to the second Bosphorus bridge and back, and you get the waterfront palaces and Bebek from the water. Skip the all-day 6-hour Bosphorus tours that include a stop at Anadolu Kavağı for lunch — they leave at 10:35am and don't return until 5pm, and you'll miss the Old City entirely. If a Bosphorus view is the whole point, the public Şehir Hatları ferry from Eminönü to Üsküdar (Asian side) costs 30 TL ($0.95), takes 15 minutes, and gives you essentially the same view as the tourist boats with locals on board. You can be back on the European side in under an hour.

Yes, the dress code is enforced — politely but firmly. Shoulders and knees covered for everyone; women must also cover their hair. Shorts, sleeveless tops, and short skirts will be stopped at the door. Both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia lend scarves and wrap-around skirts for free at the entrance, and there's no charge to use them, but the queue for loaner garments can run 10 minutes in summer when half the cruise ship arrives at once. Easier to wear long trousers or a maxi skirt off the ship and carry a light scarf in your bag. Shoes come off at the door — there are shelves and plastic bags inside. Photography is allowed in both, but no flash and no posing for selfies during prayer.