Istanbul Taksim square and Pera tour

Istanbul Taksim square and Pera tour

Daily Morning Private Tour

Pera means the 'opposite shore' of the Golden Horn harbor or Galata in the Byzantine period, and today it is the city center and dining area of ​​Taksim. Greek, Jewish, Italian and French peoples have lived in Beyoğlu throughout history, and its rich traces are clearly visible today in the various churches, historical buildings, picturesque arches, old Ottoman inns and bazaars, and fine restaurants. All of these places can be easily visited within a few hours.

This interesting half-day tour will start with the pick-up of our guests from their hotels, and we will set off for the Pera district. Pera is the old name of the Beyoğlu district and the name Pera was used until the middle of the 20th century.

Pera means the 'opposite shore' of the Golden Horn harbor or Galata in the Byzantine period, and today it is the city center and dining area of ​​Taksim. Greek, Jewish, Italian and French peoples have lived in Beyoğlu throughout history, and its rich traces are clearly visible today in the various churches, historical buildings, picturesque arches, old Ottoman inns and bazaars, and fine restaurants. All of these places can be easily visited within a few hours.

We will start our tour by walking from the famous Istiklal Street, which is one of the most crowded pedestrian streets in Istanbul and Pera regions. This famous pedestrian road is 1.5 km long and is full of all kinds of Cafes, Bakeries, Theatres, Shopping Malls and Restaurants. The first stop of our half-day tour will be the French Cultural Institute, which brings French Culture to Istikal Street, or “Grande Rue de Pera” a century ago.

The next stop of our tour will be the Hagia Triada Eastern Orthodox Church, which means "Holy Trinity", the largest Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul. Then we visit the Ağa Mosque, which was built in 1868. And after our visit to Ağa mosque, we will visit the historical Galatasaray High School, the oldest high school of the Ottoman Empire. It was built in 1481, and it was named "Galata Palace Enderun-u Hümayunu", which means Galata Palace Imperial School. After our historical high school visit, we will visit Cité de Péra (Çiçek Pasajı), one of the first theaters of the Ottoman Empire. This famous place is now a passage with many restaurants.

We will go down French Street, a cozy street built in the French style and full of French-style cafes. Our next stop on our tour will be the Saint Antoine Church, the largest Roman Catholic church in Istanbul. And from here we will visit the Crimean Memorial Church, which was built by Sultan Abdulmecit to honor the British soldiers who participated in the Crimean War together with the Ottomans and the French between 1858-68.

Famous Pera Palace hotel
In this part of our tour, we will visit the museum hotel Pera Palace Hotel, the oldest European hotel in Istanbul, which was built to host guests traveling with the famous Orient Express.

In the last part of our tour, we will board the "Tunnel", the second oldest underground city rail system in the world. And we will return to the hotel.