Bosphorus cruise

The Bosphorus is the strait that runs through Istanbul and separates Europe from Asia. A cruise is one of the easiest ways to see the city from the water.

Boats pass Ottoman palaces, waterfront mansions, mosques such as the Ortakoy Mosque, the fortress of Rumeli Hisari and the bridges that link the two continents. Short tours turn back before the Black Sea; longer ones go further north.

Cruises leave from the Eminonu waterfront and other piers. Take a light jacket: it is cooler on the water than in the streets.