Private Istanbul Afternoon Tour: Topkapi Palace, Hagia Irene & Imperial Harem
Explore Ottoman Grandeur at Your Own Pace with a Licensed Guide
Step into the golden age of the Ottoman Empire with this private afternoon tour of Istanbul’s most majestic palatial landmarks. With your own expert guide and private vehicle, uncover the stories of sultans, queens, and court life as you wander through the magnificent Topkapi Palace, serene Hagia Irene, and the secretive world of the Imperial Harem — all with flexible timing and no other guests.
🕌 Tour Highlights
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Explore Topkapi Palace, the former seat of the Ottoman sultans for over 400 years
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Visit the Hagia Irene Museum, one of the oldest standing churches in Istanbul
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Discover the secrets of palace life in the Imperial Harem, with its ornate chambers and fascinating history
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Enjoy undivided attention from your private licensed guide
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Move at your own pace, with flexible starting time and zero waiting for others
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Ideal for history lovers, families, and luxury travelers
📌 Key Details
📅 Availability: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday
🕒 Suggested Start Time: 13:30 (flexible upon request)
⏱ Tour Duration: Approx. 3.5 hours
🚐 Hotel Pickup & Drop-off: Included (with private vehicle)
🎟 Included: Entrance fees (Topkapi Palace, Harem, Hagia Irene), guiding services
🍽 Not Included: Lunch
👤 Guide: Private licensed English-speaking guide
🛡 Insurance: Travel insurance included
🗺 Private Tour Itinerary
Hotel Pickup
Start your royal experience with a comfortable private pickup from your hotel in central Istanbul.
Topkapi Palace
Walk through history at the heart of the Ottoman Empire. Your guide will lead you through imperial courtyards, the treasury, audience halls, and ceremonial spaces once frequented by the most powerful men of their time.
Hagia Irene Museum
A peaceful and lesser-visited gem within the palace grounds. Admire its ancient stonework and learn about its role as one of the first Christian churches in the city.
Imperial Harem
Step behind closed doors into the hidden world of the sultan’s court — where queens, concubines, and eunuchs once lived. Your guide will bring these silent halls to life with stories of intrigue, ambition, and tradition.
Hotel Drop-off
After your immersive historical afternoon, return to your hotel in comfort and privacy.
What's included
Itinerary
FAQ
TripAdvisor Reviews
Brao16
Memorable tour of Turkey
Day1 of our planning till the day we left Turkey was patient, graceful and knowledgeable enough to consider all are demands and queries.Htr tours came up with a best iternary as per our needs.They planned organised and executed the tour with no room fir complaints from our side.will recommend htrtours to all who want to visit Turkey
Even the guides mr gokhan ( serves as guide in cappadocia) ms Fatima (Antalya), Mr Mert( Euphesus), Ms Dimple( Antalya)and mr Emir ( Istanbul) were too good in their job.Guides can make or break the tour.They made the tour a truly memorable one.
Highly recommend HTRTours for anyone who wants to visit Turkey.They are truly professional and deliver the best possible.
guharajann
Out trip to Turkey
purifamilyoz
HtR - the best tour company ever!!!
So, to start with upon doing a cost comparison, HtR rated most competitive in the same hotels, venues and tours we wanted.
Then our tour organiser / agent - Dicle was so proactive, caring and prompt with all our requests and inquiries before and during our tour. From small things like ensuring we got vegan options at venues, to doing our online checking in domestic flights, and following up on tax return forms when we forgot. She also upgraded our rooms in Capaddocia and Kusadasi which was so kind.
She knew we really wanted to go to Konya and changed our itinerary with ease to include a private tour to Konya. She also presented us with the most thoughtful gift of 3 ceramic whirling dervishes which we will cherish forever.
All the vehicles and drivers that picked and dropped us to airports and venues were of the highest standard.
We cannot speak highly enough of Dicle and HtR tour for having such an amazing employee and service for us.
We will be recommending this company to all our family and friends in Australia.
Thank you so much Dicle for making our trip to your beautiful country such a memorable one.
skycontractingh
Worth booking with HTR
The guides were friendly and professional, sharing lots of interesting insights about the places we visited. Overall, we had a fantastic experience, and I felt like we really got to see the best of Turkey. If you're thinking about traveling there, I’d definitely suggest going with Htr!