Istanbul with Kids: Family Friendly City Guide

Many cities can fascinate families looking for a destination for their vacations or trips with babies on board. One of these is Istanbul! This city in the past was called Byzantium and then Constantinople. Between east and west, Istanbul is the city that lies on two continents and is only waiting to be discovered by you and your little ones. Naturally separated by the Bosphorus Strait, cross one of the two existing bridges to find yourself in either Europe or Asia! Kids will be delighted to fill their eyes with its colour and get drunk on the scents of the city.

One of the best ways we recommend you to enjoy Istanbul to the fullest is to walk in its streets so that even your little ones will have the opportunity to admire it at its best. For the success of your trip, you need to find solutions to move around comfortably. For this, we recommend you rent all the baby equipment you will need from our Babonbo providers in Istanbul! Without further ado, here is your new baby-friendly city guide for your next trip to Istanbul!

Where to visit in Istanbul? 

Miniatürk
One of the first concerns of any vacation is not having enough time to visit and admire all the main tourist places of interest in the chosen destination. To partially solve this problem when going to Istanbul, we recommend you visit Miniatürk. It is an amusement park that covers an area of ​​over 60,000 square meters. Here you will find more than 100 scale models of different buildings and tourist places in Istanbul and other cities in Turkey. The best-known buildings you can admire are the Blue Mosque, the Galata Tower, the Topkapi Palace, the Basilica of Saint Sofia, and the Atatürk International Airport. Children will feel like little giants in a big city in miniature! In addition, they can also have fun thanks to the various interactive activities organized here and the play areas.

Istanbul Toy Museum
It is always an enjoyable experience to learn something new from past eras, and this also applies to the field of toys. In Istanbul, if you want to do this, you can visit the Istanbul Oyuncak Müzesi, a famous shop that used to sell all kinds of traditional Turkish toys and dolls. More than 4000 ludic objects from all over the world are exhibited here. Coming here will allow the little ones to know the history of toys, some of which are even hundreds of years old! To make your visit here even more interesting, you can participate with your kids in laboratory activities of painting on wood and creating paper figures.

Princes’ Islands
After all of Istanbul's family tourist attractions, the Princes' Islands are the perfect destination for you. To reach them, you will have a brief ferry excursion. They consist of a small archipelago in the Sea of Marmara. Here you can admire picturesque villages made of wooden houses that climb the green hills of the different islands. The most popular way to visit the archipelago is by horse-drawn carriage. Motor vehicles are prohibited on the entire archipelago, meaning you will need to find different ways to move around. If the horse-drawn carriage is not for you, you can always rent a bicycle so you can still ride freely with your kids and explore this breathtaking location.

Where to eat in Istanbul?

Bitlisli
Going to Istanbul, you should try the typical Turkish cuisine, and the best place to do it is Bitlisli. Here you can savor the local flavors of southeastern and eastern Anatolian cuisine. The meat dishes you can taste will certainly make your mouth water and, to make sure you don't miss anything; you can also eat the most delicious Lahmacun in all of Istanbul. Real traditional Turkish food and special delicacies are the basis of Bitlisli, all prepared with fresh ingredients. You won't regret coming here!

Three Partners Cafe & Restaurant
Another restaurant we recommend you go to during your stay in Istanbul is Three Partners Cafe & Restaurant. It is a traditional barbecue house where you can taste and eat the finest cuts of meat. Small but super cozy, you will definitely want to come back several times, and it is not only because of the delicious food prepared and served here. The welcoming atmosphere you will feel, and that will welcome you, will make you want to eat here, over and over again!

Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir
To conclude, it takes a good dessert! For this, we suggest you go to Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir, a historic pastry shop managed for several generations since 1777. It follows products and manufacturing technologies of the past and applies them to traditional flavors. Here you can try lokums (also known as "Turkish Delight"), hard candies, halvas, pastes, baklava, and other sweets, all made with the best ingredients. It might be dangerous to come here with your children ... they might not want to get out anymore!

Where to Stay in Istanbul? 

Istanbul is the largest city in all of Turkey and, in general, one of the largest ones in the whole world! Precisely for this reason, and especially in the case of family vacations and trips, it is necessary to find the right place to stay for your little ones! So here is a list of a few hotels where you can stay with your kids. Just in case, remember that you can always rent cribs and cots and anything else they might need during your stay from our Babonbo providers in the area.

Ahmet Efendi Evi
Here you will find spacious family rooms and a quiet and comfortable atmosphere perfect for your little ones. Despite its central location, the hotel is in the historical center of Istanbul, which will only be an advantage. You will be able to easily reach the public transport stops and the main destination of interest and tourist attractions of the city.

Ada Karakoy Hotel
This is another hotel with family rooms where, if you want, you can also request a crib for your kid. Its central location, nevertheless very quiet, will allow you to easily reach places of interest such as the Galata Tower, the Blue Mosque, and the Basilica of Saint Sofia. It is also close to the Karakoy Port, so you can also take advantage of the ferry services.

Hotel Sultania Boutique Class
In addition to the usual spacious family rooms, here you can also request a baby cot and baby bathrobe and slippers for the little ones. Also located in the center of Istanbul, from here, you will be able to easily reach the Hagia Sophia, the Column of Constantine, the Suleiman Mosque, the Galata Tower, and the Maiden's Tower.

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