The Grand Bazaar Istanbul

Choose an Istanbul hotel which is close to the Grand Bazaar as you’re sure to have a lot of shopping to take back to the hotel with you once you visit! Whether you plan to do any shopping or not, Istanbul Hotel Booker thoroughly recommends you visit this, one of the world’s oldest shopping malls, just for the experience if nothing else!

 

 

Where to Stay

The Grand Bazaar is on the historic peninsula and is situated a little way up the hill from the tip, where many of Istanbul’s attractions, like Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque, are located. But there are still a multitude of hotels in Istanbul to choose from here, and you may find you prefer to stay here rather than down in the thick of the old city.

If you do prefer to stay in an Istanbul hotel near to the Grand Bazaar, look for a hotel on Istanbul Hotel Booker which is in the area called Bayazit. There are many here to choose from and if you can book a hotel which is not too far off the main thoroughfare (Divan Yolu Caddesi) it’s just a short walk down hill to the other attractions. When you need to make your way back to your Istanbul hotel, you can either walk or take the tram which will have you back to your hotel in just a few minutes.

 

When to Go

The Grand Bazaar is open every day except Sunday from 9am to 7pm. It’s quite busy with tourists at most times of the day during the summer, though you may find it busiest on Saturday as the locals do shop here as well!

To really make the most of the place you’ll want to spend several hours, and you could easily spend a day here. There are a number of restaurants where you can have a spot of lunch or just a drink whilst you watch everyone go about their business.

 

About the Grand Bazaar

In Turkish it’s called Kapali Çarşi, which means covered bazaar, and it’s apparently the largest one in the world. There are said to be about 4,000 shops here and you can find just about everything in this place, which is a town in its own right!

You’ll find leather goods, silver, gold, carpets, pottery, copper and brassware as well as many things which look nice but probably actually serve you no purpose!