A 3-Day Itinerary for First-Time Visitors to Istanbul.

You cannot see Istanbul in three days, but you can fall in love with it in three. The plan below answers the question first-time visitors ask most — 'what must I not miss' — while leaving each day a little room to breathe. Day one belongs to the historic peninsula. Start early at the Hippodrome, be among the first into the Blue Mosque, join the Hagia Sophia queue before 10:00. After cooling off in the Basilica Cistern, have lunch around the Arasta Bazaar. In the afternoon tour the courtyards and Harem of Topkapı Palace; rest in Gülhane Park and look at the Bosphorus from Sarayburnu. Late in the day take the tram to Beyazıt and lose yourself in the Grand Bazaar before it closes. End with sunset in the courtyard of Süleymaniye. Day two joins the two shores. In the morning walk from Eminönü across the bridge to Karaköy, go up Galata Tower (or just wander its streets), ride the Tünel up to Beyoğlu and walk İstiklal Avenue to Taksim. The Pera Museum is the cultural pause. In the afternoon take the ferry from Kabataş to Kadıköy: a late lunch in the market, sunset on the Moda shore, and dinner in Kadıköy's meyhanes or back in Beyoğlu at Nevizade. Day three is for the Bosphorus. Dolmabahçe Palace at opening; then coffee under the bridge at Ortaköy. Walk the shore to Arnavutköy, lunch in Bebek, climb the walls at Rumeli Fortress. In the afternoon cross the bridge to see mosque, church and synagogue side by side on Kuzguncuk's single street, and close the day on the Üsküdar waterfront facing the Maiden's Tower. Marmaray takes you back to Sirkeci in four minutes. Some general notes. Most museums close on Mondays and Topkapı on Tuesdays, so swap days accordingly. In mosques shoulders and knees must be covered and women wear a headscarf; the wraps handed out at the door are enough. Mosques close to visitors at prayer times, especially Friday noon. Breakfast is a serious matter, do not skip it; tradesmen's restaurants are cheap and good for lunch. Balat, the islands and Eyüp do not fit into these three days — if a fourth day exists, they are the first candidates. Finally: Istanbul's best moments are the unplanned ones. Boarding a ferry and coming straight back, sitting an hour in a tea garden, turning down the wrong street. Use this plan as a skeleton; the city adds the flesh.