Taksim to Galata Walking Tour: Secret Passages & Local Hangouts
Overview
Available languages
3 hours
Mobile ticket
An interesting and entertaining afternoon walk down the Istiklal Street. Get insider look at the life beyond the main street, interesting historical highlights while zigzags towards Galata Tower. Well-paced and engaging, brimming with facts on everything from food, language, architecture, lifestyle, and eating and drinking customs, not to mention a span of history leaping between ancient times to the modern day!
• Learn about how cosmopolitan the neighborhood once was.
• Explore the out of the beaten path of Beyoğlu Pera
• Learn about where the local people hang out, eat and drink.
Additional Info
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
What To Expect
Taksim Square
Taksim square has a little bit of everything and is worth a trip to witness people and their interactions.
Hagia Triada Church
Hagia Triada Church*
Options
Modern City Walking
Beyoğlu - Istiklal Street : Unmistakable icons as well as the as well as the hard-to-find secret spots thatspots that make Beyoğlu so captivating.
What‘s Included
English Speaking Guide
Small Group
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
16 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Great Walking Tour of Istanbul
Brian,Apr 23, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Our guide, Erol, was also our guide for a similar food tour, but made this tour completely different. He shared incredible background of neighborhoods and took us to interesting places we never would have found on our own. Highly recommended.
Galata Tower
David W,Sep 13, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00A delightful trek through the less-traveled alleys, back streets, and hidden gems of the city. A look at local foods and where locals on a budget go to eat them. Didn’t get our guide’s name but it was something like “Errol.” In any event he knew his stuff and appeared to really love his job.
Very interesting tour
Jenny B,Jun 30, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.003 hour walking tour of back streets, passages and monuments of Taksim. Our guide made it really interesting and took us to places we would otherwise not have found.
unique Istanbul experience
T5517FPemmar,Jun 12, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Really great way to explore this part of the city. Erol was an amazing and detailed guide, he shared so many details and knows all the best spots you'll never find on your own!
A perfect way to spend two hours in Istanbul.
Michelle E,Apr 19, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour was exactly what was advertised. We enjoyed getting out of the Old City and seeing a different area. Kim, our guide, was friendly and knowledgeable. She recommended an excellent restaurant for dinner.
Take this tour as soon as you arrive in Istanbul- you’ll learn so much!
melbob920,Oct 17, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Erol was a terrific guide, informing and entertaining us with the history and landmarks of the area. Without him, we wouldn’t have known about places “off the beaten track”. Erol had great recommendations of areas to eat and suggested different foods that we knew nothing about. Our only regret is that we didn’t take his tour at the beginning of our stay in Istanbul.
Great and unusual tour
Angela T,Oct 7, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00Kim was an amazing guide-knowledgeable and charming. We saw places that we would never have seen on our own and got a lot of good tips for restaurants etc. Well worth doing.
Lovely and knowledgeable guide
Elizabeth K,Jun 2, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00Lovely walk around the new city, saw some very interesting and historical places. Elif was very knowledgeable and gave great recommendations!
Excelent I will recomended
507anamarial,May 26, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00My guide was Excelent, he explain many local costumes, coffe, food, secrets etc, zi enjoyed a lot and learnt also. His name is Erol Utgul
Worthwhile short tour to see how locals go about their daily lives
soulsing,May 14, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Glad I did this short tour as it gave a greater insight into life in Istanbul. What was of interest in particular was to see locals going about their daily lives. It gave me a different perspective than only seeing tourist destinations. The tunnel metro was also of interest, not speaking or reading Turkish I had walked past the bottom entry several times without understanding what it was. Erol the guide was good also and spoke good English and easy to understand. This tour is short but worthwhile and I would recommend it if you have seen all the historical sites
Related Experiences
Operated by Local Tour Guide Istanbul