The Bosphorus and the palaces
6 h route4 stopsBest: Afternoon ferry: the westering sun hits the Asian bankUpdated July 2026
The Bosphorus is not a river: it’s a 30-kilometre strait connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and separating Europe from Asia, with freighters and ferries crossing at all hours. It’s the reason this city exists, and seeing it from the water is understanding it.
Both banks are studded with 19th-century Ottoman palaces, yalıs (wooden waterside mansions) and medieval fortresses. This route is done on public ferries, no tour needed, with a few stops ashore.
The route, stop by stop
4 STOPS- 01
Dolmabahçe Palace
When the sultans grew tired of Topkapı, they built this: an 1856 palace at the water’s edge, European in style and with 285 rooms, meant to prove the empire wasn’t finished. It has the largest crystal chandelier in the world, a gift from Queen Victoria.
It cost so much it hastened the empire’s bankruptcy. Atatürk died here in 1938, and every clock in the palace is still stopped at 9:05, the hour of his death.
The visit is guided and there’s a queue: go early.
- 02
Ortaköy and the bridge
A small baroque mosque planted literally at the water’s edge, with the Bosphorus Bridge, joining Europe and Asia, crossing the sky right behind it. It’s the Istanbul photo that appears everywhere, and in person it works just as well.
The neighbourhood is a square by the jetty full of kumpir stalls (baked potato stuffed with everything) and people.
A good sunset spot, with the bridge lighting up.
- 03
The Rumeli Hisarı fortress
In 1452, Sultan Mehmed II ordered this fortress raised at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus, on the European bank facing another of his fortresses on the Asian side, to cut off ships to Constantinople. They built it in four months. The city fell the following year.
You can climb the walls and the views over the strait are enormous.
It’s well to the north, so it pairs with the ferry: it’s the perfect excuse to make the long trip by water.
- 04
The scheduled ferry
The correct way to see the Bosphorus: a scheduled public ferry from Eminönü, paid with the İstanbulkart, running up the strait and stopping at villages on both banks. It passes Dolmabahçe, Ortaköy, both bridges and the fortresses.
It’s full of people going to work or to eat on the other side, tea is sold on board and gulls follow the boat.
It’s cheaper, longer and more authentic than any tourist cruise.
Frequently asked
What is the Bosphorus?
It’s a strait of about 30 kilometres connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and separating Istanbul’s European side from its Asian one. Constant shipping passes through it, and bridges and ferries cross it.
Which palace to see in Istanbul: Topkapı or Dolmabahçe?
Topkapı for the classic Ottoman empire: four courtyards, the Harem and the treasury. Dolmabahçe for the late Ottoman imitation of Europe, with 285 rooms and the world’s largest crystal chandelier. If you can only do one, Topkapı.
Why are the clocks stopped at Dolmabahçe?
Because Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, died in that palace in 1938 at 9:05 in the morning. The clocks were left stopped at that hour in his memory.