Istanbul "Orient Express" Walking Tour
İstanbul, Turkey
Trip Type: Walking Tours
Duration: 4 hours
Track the story of the original "Orient Express" train on this 4-hour Istanbul tour. With a knowledgeable guide, visit the station where the gleaming Wagon-Lits carriages arrived from 1883 through 1977. Hear how the train inspired a famous Agatha Christie whodunit novel, and see sites that were around during the train's heyday. After a Golden Horn boat ride to Galata and Beyoğlu, ride the Tünel, one of the world’s oldest subways. Numbers are limited to 15 for a more personalized experience.
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Track the story of the original "Orient Express" train on this 4-hour Istanbul tour. With a knowledgeable guide, visit the station where the gleaming Wagon-Lits carriages arrived from 1883 through 1977. Hear how the train inspired a famous Agatha Christie whodunit novel, and see sites that were around during the train's heyday. After a Golden Horn boat ride to Galata and Beyoğlu, ride the Tünel, one of the world’s oldest subways. Numbers are limited to 15 for a more personalized experience.
Start your small-group tour with a pickup from your Istanbul hotel. Hop inside your air-conditioned minivan and travel to your first stop — Istanbul’s Sirkeci train station — one of the original terminals on the Wagon-Lits Orient Express route between Constantinople (later Istanbul) and Paris.
Head inside the impressive 19th-century station as your guide reveals colorful tales about the original train. Picture the polished carriages as they pulled up to the platform and hear about the onboard comforts, including plush sleeping compartments and luxurious dining cars.
After exploring the station, walk through the nearby streets to see the markets, mosques, churches and buildings linked to Istanbul during the train's glory days. On route, learn about the high-profile royals, diplomats and, even, con artists who used the service, and hear how the train inspired British murder mystery writer Agatha Christie to pen her 1934 classic, Murder on the Orient Express.
Stroll to the Golden Horn and admire views of Istanbul’s skyline on a boat ride across the water. Then, step back in time once more as you ride the Tünel subway, one of the world’s oldest underground trains. In operation since the late 1800s, the line once used lacquered-wood cars that echoed the stylish carriages of the Orient Express.
After emerging into the daylight, discover a few more historical sights in Beyoğlu and Galata as you explore by foot. Your tour then ends with a hotel drop-off.
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