Istanbul Audio Guide
Professionally narrated audio tours of 40+ Istanbul attractions in 25 languages. Free with your Istanbul Tourist Pass®, online or offline, with a built-in AI travel assistant.
Beylerbeyi Palace
Galata Tower
Dolmabahce Palace Your phone becomes a personal Istanbul guide. Professionally narrated tours of every major attraction, in 25 languages, all included with the Istanbul Tourist Pass®.
The Istanbul Audio Guide brings Istanbul's rich history to life with professionally narrated audio tours of the city's most iconic attractions. Whether you are standing in the courtyard of Hagia Sophia, walking through the harem of Topkapı Palace, sailing past the Ottoman yalis of the Bosphorus, or wandering the alleys of the Grand Bazaar, the audio guide gives you context, stories and insider details that turn a sightseeing stop into a real experience.
Unlike a hired on-site guide (which can run €40–€80 per attraction), the audio guide gives you the same depth of historical, cultural and architectural commentary on every visit; on demand, in your own language, at your own pace. There are no schedules to keep, no group to follow, and no language barrier.
The app is available in the same 25 languages we support across the Istanbul Tourist Pass® platform, works online and offline, and includes a built-in AI travel assistant for personalised recommendations as you explore.
Five flagship attractions where the audio guide adds the most value; royal palaces, panoramic towers and historic neighbourhoods.
Every attraction below ships with full multi-chapter narration in 25 languages, included free with your Istanbul Tourist Pass®.
| Museum | District | Gate Price | With Pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beylerbeyi Palace | Beylerbeyi | €18 | Included |
| Dolmabahçe Palace | Vişnezade | €46 | Included |
| Galata Tower | Bereketzade | €40 | Included |
| Grand Bazaar Walk | Beyazıt | €10 | Included |
| Bosphorus Sunset Cruise | Mahallesi | €12 | Included |
Step inside the marble salons of the Ottoman royal residences with chapter-by-chapter narration on every room.
The Istanbul palace circuit is where audio guides earn their keep. Every room in Beylerbeyi, Dolmabahçe, Yıldız and the imperial pavilions has a story (which sultan slept here, who was received in this hall, what the ceiling frescoes mean) and the official Audio Guide app walks you through them at your own pace. Tap any chapter, listen, and look up. No queueing for a tour group, no rushing past the detail.
Audio guide narration included on every attraction.
Get Your PassFrom the Süleymaniye to the Galata Tower, hear the stories behind Istanbul’s most photographed silhouettes.
Istanbul’s skyline is not just a postcard; it is a historical record. The audio guide explains why Süleymaniye Mosque sits exactly where it does, how the Maiden’s Tower got its name, what the inscriptions on the Galata Tower commemorate, and how Çamlıca Tower reframes a 1,500-year-old skyline from above. Each tour is broken into 1–4-minute chapters so you can pause, replay or skip without breaking your walk.
Every attraction in this guide is included with Istanbul Tourist Pass®. No upcharges, no in-app purchases, no language packs to buy.
Get Your PassSelf-guided walking tours through the streets, markets and cisterns that built Istanbul’s soul.
Some Istanbul experiences are about wandering, not standing in front of a single monument. The audio guide is at its best in the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar, where it walks you through specific stalls, alleyways and architectural details you would otherwise glide past. Fener and Balat, Taksim to Galata, the underground Theodosius Cistern, and the panoramic terraces of Pierre Loti all come with self-guided routes; the app keeps your place even if you leave to grab a tea.
Sail with narration; the audio guide names every palace, fortress and yali as you pass.
A Bosphorus cruise is the single most iconic experience Istanbul offers, and an audio guide is what separates a boat ride from a tour. As the boat moves, the app narrates each landmark on the shore in real time: Dolmabahçe, Çırağan, Ortaköy Mosque, Beylerbeyi, Rumeli Fortress and the historic yalis. The Princes’ Islands tours add similarly rich self-guided walking routes once you arrive on shore.
Sunset, sightseeing and Princes’ Islands cruises; all with audio guide included.
Get Your PassBest Sights in One Day
Istanbul Must-Sees
Ultimate Istanbul Experience
Everything you need to know about the Istanbul Audio Guide app.
The audio guide is available in the same 25 languages we support across Istanbul Tourist Pass®: English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Simplified Chinese, Greek, Croatian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian (Farsi), Japanese, Korean, Macedonian, Urdu, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Traditional Chinese. Switch languages at any time inside the app.
You have three options, all using the same Pass ID login:
Yes. Every pass tier — FAST, DISCOVER and PRIME — includes the entire audio guide library at no extra cost. There are no in-app purchases for guide content and no language packs to buy.
No. Tracks can be downloaded over Wi-Fi at your hotel and played fully offline at the attraction. We recommend downloading the day’s tours in advance to save mobile data.
A limited preview is available in the standalone app. The full library and all 40+ attractions unlock with your Istanbul Tourist Pass®; same price as the pass alone, no upcharge.
Most attraction tours run 15–35 minutes total, broken into shorter chapters of 1–4 minutes per room or exhibit. You can pause, replay or skip chapters as you walk; the app remembers your place.
Yes. Each attraction tour starts with a brief "how to get there" segment, and many include in-site walking routes (e.g., a recommended order for rooms inside Topkapı Palace, the Hagia Sophia layout, the Grand Bazaar’s main streets, and self-guided routes through Fener & Balat).
iOS 15.0+ and Android 8.0+. Both phones and tablets are supported. The audio guide also runs inside the Istanbul Tourist Pass® and istanbul.com apps on the same OS versions.
Built into the app, the AI travel assistant answers free-form questions about Istanbul (where to eat near Galata, what time to visit Hagia Sophia, how to get from Sultanahmet to Beşiktaş) and recommends attractions based on your interests and how much time you have left in the day.
The app saves your position automatically. When you reopen it, you can pick up exactly where you left off; no need to restart the tour from the beginning.
Practical advice from travellers who use the audio guide every day.
Download the next day’s tours over hotel Wi-Fi the evening before. Saves mobile data and means the audio plays instantly on-site without buffering.
Wired or Bluetooth, either works. The audio guide is much better experienced in headphones than over a phone speaker; ambient noise inside busy mosques and bazaars can drown out narration.
Each tour is broken into chapters per room or section. If you are short on time, skip ahead to the highlights using the chapter list; the app keeps your overall progress regardless.
Pause the narration when you want to take a photo or sit down for tea. The app waits; some travellers stretch a 30-minute tour into a relaxed half-day.
Istanbul Tourist Pass®
40+ attractions, 25 languages, full offline support; all unlocked with one pass. Download the app today and start exploring on your own terms.
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