What you see on a Bosphorus cruise, from start to finish
A walk along the rail, shore by shore: the old city, the palaces of Beşiktaş, the narrows at the fortresses and the way home past the Maiden’s Tower.
Istanbul · between two continents
The Bosphorus, from the water
A guide to the strait that runs through Istanbul — the palaces and fortresses on its shores, the bridges over it, and how to see them all from the deck of a boat.
A city on both sides of a sea lane
The Bosphorus joins the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and divides Istanbul between Europe and Asia. For centuries it was the reason the city mattered: whoever held it controlled the passage between two seas.
The best way to understand it is from the water. From a boat the palaces show the faces they were built to show, the fortresses face each other across the narrows as they did in 1452, and the city’s skyline turns slowly as you pass.
The strait in numbers
- from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara
- About 31 kmfrom the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara
- at its narrowest, between Kandilli and Aşiyan
- About 700 mat its narrowest, between Kandilli and Aşiyan
- suspension bridges, opened in 1973, 1988 and 2016
- Threesuspension bridges, opened in 1973, 1988 and 2016
- Europe on the west bank, Asia on the east
- Two continentsEurope on the west bank, Asia on the east
Seeing it from the deck
Two cruises sail from Istanbul’s old city. Both are booked on our sister site, bosphorustour.org.
Bosphorus sightseeing cruise
About two hours on the water from Ahırkapı Pier below Topkapı Palace: up the European shore to the fortress of Rumeli Hisarı and back along the Asian side, past the Maiden’s Tower.
Dates and ticketsBosphorus dinner cruise
An evening on the strait with dinner on board, as the lights come on along both shores.
About the dinner cruiseClicking a button takes you to bosphorustour.org, where the calendar, the prices and the booking are.
Two shores, one strait
The European shore carries the imperial palaces and the old villages; the Asian shore is greener and quieter, with summer palaces and wooden waterside mansions.
European shore
From the blog
Longer reads on the strait’s history, its landmarks and how to make the most of a cruise.
Sightseeing or dinner: choosing your Bosphorus cruise
Daylight shows you the landmarks; the evening shows you the city lit up. A short guide to picking the cruise that suits your trip.
Photographing the Bosphorus from a moving boat
Which side to sit on, when the light is best and how to keep a picture sharp when the deck is moving.