Local Food, History and Hidden Places Walking Tour in Istanbul

Recommended by 90% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Istanbul, Turkey

4 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Discover Istanbul’s historical peninsula and taste a range of Turkish delicacies on this half-day, small-group tour. Meet your guide in the morning in Istanbul’s Old City and be sure to come hungry. Explore the markets, enjoy traditional Turkish food, savor famous baklava, sip Turkish coffee, visit multiple restaurants and discover Istanbul’s must-try dishes.

Ideal for first-time visitors and food lovers
English-speaking guide
Small group tour of up to 5 people

What's Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Bottled water
Coffee and/or Tea
Snacks

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Rüstem Paşa, Tahmis Sk. 1B, 34116 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye
Meeting point of the tour is Spice Market main gate. For easy navigation, there is a little store named Shozy Spice Bazaar next to the gate and the gate opens to a large square.

End point

Cankurtaran, At Meydanı Cd No:1, 34122 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye
The end point of the tour is the famous square that's home to well-known landmarks Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque.

Operating hours
.10:00 am

Itinerary

Misir Carsisi (Spice Market)

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Tahtakale District

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Eminonu Square

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Süleymaniye

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Grand Bazaar

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Gallery Cemberlitas

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.6

based on 81 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Do not book this tour. Viator discontinue supporting this operator

Clive_K, Aug 2025

The tour operator did not apply, did not respond to our texts and did not answer calls. Viator could not contact them and only emailed me. Poor by both Viator and operator

The best tour!

Anna_G, Oct 2024

Absolutely fabulous tour! DeeDee was the most wonderful guide and was helpful afterwards (days afterwards ) when we asked her for a breakfast recommendation. 100/10

Excellent food and history

Helen_M, May 2024

The history of the food and the different sources of the food. Everywhere we went was interesting and accessible. Well organised and the guides knowledgeable and friendly.

I hate to leave a bad...

Gina_C, Apr 2024

I hate to leave a bad review as our female guide was so sweet but would like to offer some constructive feedback and an honest review for other travelers. We were told we were meeting our female guide who was there in addition to a male guide. No problem with this, but it does add to cost when tipping and good info to have ahead of time. I don’t feel these two were passionate about food the way other tour guides I have had are. On food tours you typically have a set agenda/menu with sampling all while receiving information about the history and culture of the food and area. On this tour we spent a lot of time ordering and waiting. In the first almost two hours we had walked far , waited, and only had so far eaten something very similar to american pizza. Our conversation was lovely but very casual and mostly amongst the other guests on the tour. The female guide did answer a lot of general questions we had about Turkey. I would recommend the hosts add dishes that will be intriguing to guests and come with more dialogue to talk through. We left the tour still hungry and disappointed.

A disappointing tour

Lisa_D, Apr 2024

The guide was sweet and kind, but not a foodie. The place was slow and not a lot of information was shared. I have been on several food tours and they were incredible experiences. Unfortunately this was disappointing

Guide didn't show up

Ebony_B, Apr 2024

Guide didn't show up leaving me standing alone in the middle of the square. Did not receive any contact saying the tour had been cancelled, I had to get in touch with them to find out what was happening.

Had a very good and fun time!

Juhsz_r, Mar 2024

Our tour guide Sude was very very nice, she knew anlot about the local history and the places we went to. I would HIGHLY recommend taking the service as a first adventure because the guide will tell you how to avoid bad places to spend money at. Overall we had a blast!

Other food tours probably better

Jenna_E, Mar 2024

We had an OK time. Our guide was lovely, however it was clear she wasn't all that enthusiastic about food- and when you meet a foodie- it is clear. I think food tours should be led by someone who is a foodie, a great story teller and one that can tell you about the history of the food- unfortunately our guide was friendly and missed all other marks. She was unable to answer a lot of questions and unfortunately... English was a bit lacking so sometimes difficult to understand, and our difficult to be understood by her. Food was OK. But there are probably better ones around

We had Sude as our tour...

Hema_M, Feb 2024

We had Sude as our tour guide on a 4 hour food tour. Sude was fantastic. She explained the history of the Ottoman empire and of course a thorough explanation on the history of the local food. Extremely patient kind and helpful and a lovely person to have on our tour of local food. We enjoyed the whole tour and would recommend Istanbul food tour and of course Sude to anyone wanting a local experience.

Dissapointed

Bill_B, Nov 2023

Arrived at the meeting point and guide did not turn up. Rang to find out what was happening. Only to be told the tour had been cancelled.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Dear Bill, first of all thanks for your review and we are sorry for any inconvenience. As you have also been told on the phone; we had a very sudden and very important loss. We were very busy and focused regarding the funeral. Anyway it’s our mistake that we did not inform you on time. As mentioned we are sorry for any inconvenience.

Fantastic tour

maryanne_a, Oct 2023

Amazing tour. Didem, our guide, was fantastic. She communicated before the tour with us so that we would know exactly where to meet her and what she looked like. The tour took us to spots in the old town we may have not discovered on our own. All the food was incredible and we learned a a lot history and culture along the way. One warning - do not eat breakfast before the tour. The food stops were not little sample bites. It was full sized portions at every stop. We finished full but happy.

Didi was a great, personable tour guide & the tour was very informative.

Victoria_L, Jan 2023

Didi was helpful in accomplishing a personal errand by communicating with a vendor for us. The places we were taken to were varied and tasty.

Wow food and background.

arie_s, Dec 2022

Our guide Ezgi, was excellent. Very knowledgeable on history and background of the city, the people and not just the food. Will highly recommend her.

Book this tour now

hsumpter116, Dec 2022

Great tour! I loved visiting local places and learning the history of Istanbul mixed in with food. I think this is a must do and you probably would not know about these local spots if it wasn’t for the tour. I liked how they mixed up food with history.

Great tour! I enjoyed...

Christa_H, Sep 2022

Great tour! I enjoyed trying all of the foods and going to family run restaurants. It was also nice to see the spice bazaar and the grand bazaar. Didem was a great tour guide as well!

Such an amazing experience!

Experience_T, Mar 2022

This was probably the best food and hidden tour experiences booked during our visit in Istanbul. I really had a great time. Lots of walking, sight seeing, plenty of information shared and lots of wonderful foods to enjoy. I also had the pleasure of meeting some nice new people that were also visiting Istanbul that booked the tour. It was an early start to the day, which was definitely needed, as I had lots to do! Highly recommend booking your experience here! Thank you again Didem, for your time, attention to detail and for being so welcoming.