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The Grand Bazaar is located at a tram line T1 north of Beyazit station. I love walk from mosque to grand bazaar then take the tram back to my hotel. The bazaar entrance is very small. There are several of them. So watch out for the direction. The bazaar paths are many. You can pin the location on your phone before entrance to get back to original location or gate. This bazaar is big. The vendor here range from gift to jewelry. Many to choose from. The interior of the bazaar was beautiful on certain part. I was able to explore myself from one entrance and exit on the opposite gate. Many of the visitors are tourists. Not sure there much local residents there.
This is a must see, must do while in Instanbul, but the shop owners and sales people while kind, are also aggressive. If you ignore them in English, they will try talking to you in Spanish. They immediately want to know where you are from (probably to adjust the price). If shopping for rugs or gold, it's imperative you haggle with them otherwise they will not respect you. I only bought costume jewelry, cocktail purses, some silk shawls, a cotton table cloth and pillow cases....I bought so much that I had to buy another suitcase.
I overheard a French tour guide telling her tourists: "Le Grand Bazaar c'est genial!". I don't how if the Grand Bazaar is so great or if I am as enthusiastic as her, but I am glad I checked it out because I had to! You see it in every travel show about Istanbul, so you feel like you need to go and you do! It's easier to find, there are even signs for tourists on the streets (not as many as you'd like but...). We stumbled onto it after exiting the Egyptian Bazaar which we enjoyed more, but that's for later! I am glad we took a juice break between visiting the Bazaar-s because it ain't easy. We stopped for a freshly squeezed orange juice to get our strength in order to conquer the Grand Bazaar, the Beast of all the Bazaar-s in this world. There are decent eateries around and fruit stalls! I can tell you it's big, but it's way bigger that you can imagine! Than I thought! Once inside, there are 100 ways to walk it, many hallways, left, right, stay straight. You will probably wonder off, get lost, we did. It was crazy in there, the merchandise generic, expensive, I honestly felt overwhelmed. You do have some Turkish merchandise, but you'd be better off to buy similar items at the Egyptian Bazaar (or outside of it), it's cheaper and better quality! When we tried to exit, we didn't want to go back and the place has many entrances and exits, so we got lost. And this girl usually doesn't get lost easily. We ended up in a Grand Bazaar adjacent with more sellers and stalls of every designer brand copy of everything! It covers 61 streets and over 4,000 shops, dating from 1456! So no wonder! We got lost some more in a fashion like district, retract on a boulevard with a tram (the tram line helped me orient myself in Istanbul since street signs are scarce) and stumbled upon the Istanbul University area in Beyazit square with Sultan Beyazit Camii Mosque and later on the Column of Constantine because of the labyrinth that Grand Bazaar is! Which was good! Otherwise, we wouldn't have seen these historic places! I don't advice you to buy things here, watch the prices, the quality of products if you decide to do so. I liked the Spice Bazaar more and shopping there is easier! But you should explore it and might even get lost! That's the fun of the Grand Bazaar! C'est genial!
What an amazing place this was. It was a cultural experience. The vendors are all very good at upselling lol. They have an art for it, or maybe it's me just wanting more. I noticed that they leave you alone if you tell them you are not interested. They don't push like you see on videos of the country. This is because of the amount of tourism this Bazaar has. The cruise ships, locals and tour groups all stop here at some point. The vendors know they are going to make a sale with someone and so they also don't have to lower their prices or push. Things have change in this market. The Grand Bazaar is like one long covered hall with many, many stands. You find mostly gold in the main hall. You find the most beautiful and unusual things here, pretty things. The roof is actually cool-looking. It is shaped like an arch. I mentioned it because when you go in, you get overwhelmed, and not many think about looking up. The main hall has halls in between. It is where you find other things. It is something to check out. I saw vendors that sold purses, scarfs, perfume, Turkish towels, toys, etc. To get here is crazy. The traffic is crazy. The market is in the middle of a hectic town with many shops. Rush our is something to consider here. I suggest to avoid it it.
You know that feeling when you walk into a place and immediately think... yes, this is how I die. That's the Grand Bazaar. First off, 4000 stores. FOUR. THOUSAND. And here's the kicker: nobody is carrying bags. Not a tote, not a plastic sack, not even a sad little gift bag clutched in sweaty hands. Are people buying anything? Are they just practicing the ancient art of vibe commerce? Is it all a simulation? Questions without answers. Where do you start? Excellent question. Answer: you don't. You just enter one portal and hope you emerge from another dimension hours later, slightly dazed, wearing a knockoff Gucci belt, running from broken English and wondering what year it is. Also, shoutout to the architecture. I thought I was stepping into some ancient, bustling market from Ottoman times. Nope. Instead, I'm in a very clean, brightly lit shopping mall. By aisle 37 or possibly 742 but who's counting?, I was overwhelmed. All I could think was: Where's my helicopter, bruh. Get me outta here. Definitely bring flares for an emergency.
I don't know why the market is a MUST to visit in Istanbul. The huge market is well organized and clean. However, it ldid not do any magic to me. The traditional spice part is absolutely great but the fashion part is filled up with of fake luxurious brand names such as bags, clothes, perfumes etc unfortunately. Be very cautious of all sorts of scams. We encountered ice cream scam and shoe shining scam. Be street smart. Lol. The food is absolutely great!
It's a huge labyrinth of shops with clusters of similar shops and in the more touristy areas the shop owners are kind of aggressive but the further and more distant you get from the central area and main entrance the more it becomes locals only. It's another must see Istanbul site, but you have to be mentally prepared for it, there's a lot of stimulation in terms of sights, sounds, smells, and, well you probably don't want to touch too many things. We made it an especially unique adventure on one of our three trips through here as we (we meaning the Chief of Staff who has taken up knitting) set out to find some yarn. We ended up far away from any tourists where a cluster of knitting related shops were on three levels in the same vicinity. We used a combination of Google Maps walking (limited by Google Maps only thinking in two dimensions like Khan in Star Trek), exploring and wandering, and asking for directions with the help of Google Translate (limited also by Google Translate's inability to understand context or dialect variations). When you get away from the places where tourists concentrate you also get away from the annoying guides (you absolutely do not need a guide, they just steer you to their network of stores) you find the best little Turkish coffee places and street food.
The oldest market in the world. Everything is more expensive inside and you have to haggle your price down anywhere and everywhere inside, but it is quite a sight to see, and you will be able to find any spice or tea imaginable. I must visit and see although you might want to purchase the same thing right outside of the market for a little bit cheaper.
This is one of the most famous sites in Istanbul...it's the place to go for anything from food to jewelry to gold to lamps, to spices. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of over 330,000 square feet, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. A few years back, it was listed No.1 among the world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world. We found it too big and too difficult to navigate. Still a fun place to shop for anything you want....
It actually 65 winding covered streets crammed with over 4,000 tiny shops, cafes, restaurants and mosques. Amazingly built in 1461 as probably the largest concentration of stores under one roof. Rebuilt twice in 1943 and 1954 because of fire. Be prepared to hounded by some of the most aggressive sales people. Also you must bargain.
It's humongous, like an octopus, countless alleys. Vendors selling everything ... you can't leave and you can't find your way out ... smile Not sure I'd recommend it - I for one, doesn't really like shopping. We went by chance after visiting Nuruosmaniye. Many areas are being repaired. But the roofs that aren't being covered/repaired are enchanting. If you something you have to buy, you should buy it - it's not easy to find it in a maze.
This is one of the oldest and biggest covered marketplaces in the world. It is impossible to describe the scale of the place adequately. It simply must be experienced. At first it seems like an endless maze but is a method to the madness and its not too difficult to find you way back if there is somethign you want to pull the trigger on. We had hired a guide for the day and this was our last stop. As she took us around it became pretty obvious she seemed to know everybody. The spice vendor she knew was fantastic I was able to pick up a a kg of salt free sumac for home that he let me sample, weighted out and vacume sealed for travel. Along with a ton of lokum samples that were delicious. My son was staying in our final stop in Florence for a few months and needed another towel. She showed us this out of the way shop that had fantastic towels of high quality and reasonable pricing. A silversmith that had been in the same family for 7 generations With the tour over we stayed to wander ourselves. It was fun and corwded for sure. The ebb and flow of merchants, customers, and the vendors bringing trays of tea to shop keepers was mesmerizing. On the downside it is packed, and it became rapidly apparent that many of the shops are selling exactly the same stuff literally as if they all ordered out of the same book. It was an experience and I am happy we were able to walk about this incredible menagerie
There are thousands of shops inside the Grand Bazaar and most of them seem to sell the same stuff. None the less it was pretty cool to explore and bargain with the shop owners. It was an decent distance walk from the cruise port or you can take the tram which wasn't too expensive. This is a must visit location when in Instanbul. read more
2 years ago
It is huge bazaar, make sure you half a day planned for if not more. Most of the businesses were reasonable but 1 business "Saffron Center" that lied to us and scammed us into buying Turkish Tea packets and Turkish Delight Box at approximately 3 times higher than the other store prices. We did not feel good about our experience at this store and there checked other stores and that's when we realized we were scammed. We returned to the store and shared our findings and the sales person or store owner took us out of the store so his scamming business continues to scam others. Be Careful of the two men in the picture. If the store owner pushes/rushes you into buying, DON'T fall into the trap of buying. read more
The Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest covered bazaars in the world, yes, one of the oldest shopping malls! It was completed by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1461. It's also one of the largest markets in the world with over 4,000 shops! Trust me, one visit is not enough. You will see gold shops, carpets, lamps, leather, handbags, tea shops, tea cups, dishes, decorations, pottery and so much more. It's usually very crowded. You will get lost here, even if you think you finally know the way. I recommend you don't focus just on shopping. Notice the architecture, the fountains, the ceiling, and there is even a prayer area inside. read more
This is one of the most famous indoor markets in the world and one you do not want to miss. Not going to lie.....we got lost in the maze 100 times but it was worth it. You can find whatever you are looking for or not looking for in the Bazaar. There are over 1000s of shops and haggling is definitely encouraged and expected! Originally the shops were for textile and jewelry sales but now there is everything.....pottery, clothes, rugs, antiques, food, belly dancing outfits!, etc. The place is crowded and loud so if you don't like lots of people or people shouting at you...please don't go. I personally loved it.....the vendors were very gracious to Americans and would work with you on prices. We had lunch at a lovely cafe and oftentimes vendors would give you water or tea in their shops if they saw a sale coming! One thing to note....bathrooms are hard to find and they charge so have a coin ready! Make sure the Grand Bazaar is on your list of sites for your visit to Istanbul and schedule a whole day!!! read more
Grand bazaar was a great place for shopping. I could have spent hours there! I went there on a city tour. So many things to see. So many shops. Lots of outdoor shops as well. Also love learning the history behind the bazaar. The architecture was fascinating. Make sure when you go here you have enough time to bargain! Such a fun place to be. Although it is busy and can be overwhelming as they literally have Everything!! it's a paradise for a shopaholic. I would visit again! read more
6 years ago
There are bargains in the Grand Bazaar but only for the most astute shoppers. The Grand Bazaar "Kapalicarsi" or covered market dates back to 1455-56 AD. It is considered to be by some as the first shopping mall. Today it has over 4,000 shops covering over 30,700 meters of space. For the most part that space is sub-divided into shopping areas for jewelry, textiles, furniture, spices, electronic goods, etc..With 250,000 - 400,000 visitors per day, it can get really crowded. If you are going to the Grand Bazaar, there are some things to keep in mind. Come with Turkish money so you don't get clipped by the exchange rate. Come with small change as well or dealers will round you up. Know what a fair price is before you attempt to bargain. Pre-pricing is a must. Your smart phone is going to get a work out. You are going to run into fake items and knock-offs. Walk around and check out other dealers. Dealers are very good at selling and getting you into their stores. A common line is "come into my store and just have some tea". This is their world and culture and they are very good in this environment. I found the jewelry, particularly the gold jewelry exceptional in design and quality but you need to be a very, very, knowledgeable buyer. To complicate matters even further, some items are cheaper when bought from street vendor. read more
3 years ago
6 years ago
Walked in on a Friday afternoon expecting that the rush was going to be hectic, but truthfully the Grand Bazaar was so huge that it had plenty of room for everyone to navigate through. I also thought we were going to get lost, but everything was separated as if they had departments and lanes separating it all. All the souvenir, Turkish delights, the beautiful lamps, and rugs were found in the heart of the Bazaar. The "designer" clothes, sneakers, bags, and belts were mainly found on the outdoor area of the bazaar. Now we did walk in with an open mind and ended up picking a few items to remember our trip. We spoke with the owner of a carpet shop who was very informative of the traditions and the difference in the rugs they produce in Turkey. He was very helpful and non aggressive. Granted we didn't want to hail around a huge rug, we told him our price range and pointed a few rugs to our size and liking. The owner gave us a great deal which on top took more off for being the first customers of the day. Lamp shopping!! So tempting and so hard to not take a picture of. So when you walk around the shops with lamps, you'll see signs which tells you not to take photos. That's because the owners would lose sales for people who do desire to obtain a lamp for those occupying the store space for selfies and photo shoots. Speaking to the owners they don't mind as long as it is quick and not a busy time for them to sell. We were blessed to find a place which sold us a great lamp for the size and price we wanted. Please please please look around and not settle for the first 3 lamp shops. read more
6 years ago
Must see if you visiting Istanbul, couple of advise for everyone; the bazar is so big and contains lots of tiny allies, so you may want to have a map. Also, if you thinking of burying some local deserts consider to the the Egyption mark cuz they have same stuff but cheaper prices. Very nice bazar to walk around and see alot of local culture stuff read more
Built in the mid 1400s and containing over 4000 shops, the Grand Bazzar is one oldest and largest covered markets on the world. You might say this was the birthplace of the shopping mall. People may come here to shop but just coming is an experience unto itself. And oh how people come! It is said to be the most visited tourist attraction in the world claiming boasting over a quarter million visitors per day. That might sound like a lot, but given the enormity of the place it seems crowded but you're not packed in like sardines. There is so much to see here but fortunately (and unfortunately) you see the same types of shops over and over again. There are dozens, if not hundreds, each of candy shops, ceramic shops, textile shops, lamp shops, etc... some have higher quality than others so shop around (and be sure to haggle a little). There are sections that some types of goods are more prevalent so ask someone, especially give ther are around 60 streets within the building. Wandering aimlessly probably wont get you where you want to go. I found all shop keeping to be most helpful, many even owning different types of shops within the bazzar. Enjoy! read more
7 years ago
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More info about Grand Bazaar
Kalpakçılar Cd. No:22
34126 Istanbul
Turkey
Beyazıt Mh., Mercan, Beyazıt
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(0212) 5191248
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