Buses, metro, high-speed and tourist trams, suburban trains, ground and underground funiculars, taxis, ferries and boats are all links of the Istanbul city transport chain. We will tell you how not to get lost in all this transport variety, it's easy and convenient to move around the eastern metropolis.

The site for organizing independent travels momondo has determined the main types of transport that may be needed by curious travelers in the process of city exploration:

T1 - a tram route that deftly slides through the narrow streets of the historic center and passes all the major city attractions. Conveniently sitting at the stained-glass window you can enjoy the views - the Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, the Cathedral of St. Sophia, etc.

M1 (red metro line) - this metro is also called hafif metro, in the light metro line, because its route passes mostly on the ground. Most travelers arriving at Atatürk International Airport begin their journey around the city on this metro. So, after passing 6 stops to Zeytinburnu station, you can change to the T1 tram and get to the historical part of Sultanahmet, to the Russian district of Laleli, to the suburban trains of Sirkeci station and other important transport hubs.

And if you sit on M1 at Akasaray station, then after 5 stops you can find yourself at the new, huge Forum shopping center, where there is also a museum of ice and a large aquarium, or to the Otogar bus terminal.

F1 - this underground funicular is .Its design is very similar to what we imagine a conventional funicular - 2 booths move towards each other on the rope due to the gravity of each .It just happens that it's not by air, but underground, and booths are comfortable wagons .It is surprising that the trains move towards each other along a narrow tunnel and diverge in the middle of the tunnel, where it expands .Each trailer passes a distance of 700 meters per minute, moving up and down respectively .Funicular solves the problem of movement in a mountainous area .For example, it can climb up to the shopping street Istiklal or Taksim Square .At the final stop of the tram M1, you just need to go down to the underpass, where you easily find the entrance to the funicular .

In Istanbul there is one more such $ ±​​$cable car (marked gray on the map), only it is several times older than the F1 branch. Like his follower, he can also take you to Istiklal Street, though on the other side. Right at the exit from this funicular, if you do not want to walk for about 30 minutes to the base of the street, you can stop by the Nostajik tramvay - a bright red tourist tram. Some Istanbul residents still use it as a kind of urban transport, although it has long turned into an attraction for tourists.

Teleferik - this is how the Turks call the ground funicular. Such in Istanbul - 2. The most famous is located on the site of the cemetery Eyup - Cafe Pierre Lotti. 2 small cabins, accommodating up to 6 people each, and similar to those used to move on the ski slopes, continuously ply up and down in centimeters above the white gravestones and deliver the locals and tourists to the very top of the hill. There is an observation deck with insanely beautiful views of the city and the historic café of Pierre Lotti.

This kind of view opens directly from the observation deck at the top of the Eyup cemetery. There is no grief and sullen atmosphere here, it's probably unusual and strange for us, but then you want to smile and enjoy life as ever. Such is the Eastern wisdom!

M2 - a branch of the present underground metro that will drive you from Taksim Square to the business district of the city - Levent. At the exit of the metro you will be surprised to see a completely different Istanbul. Skyscrapers, wide avenues, constantly plying cars on them - a modern modern metropolis. At station 4 Levent there is the highest building in Europe - the shopping center Saphire, with 54 floors of which you can once again admire the scale of this endless city.

Suburban trains in the European part of Istanbul depart from the station of Sirkeci station (Sirkeci), which is in the historical center. On such a train, you can easily get to the textile factories in the suburbs and to the Olivium outlet. Keep in mind that the travel token here differs from the tokens on public transport and costs a little more - 3 Turkish lira one way per person.

Feribot - regular routes of sea ferries, which can be boarded at the main quays of Eminenu, Karakoy and Kabatash. They can take you to the Asian part of the city in 15 minutes.

Also from the pier Eminyonu you can go to the sea walk on the Bosphorus on a private boat or municipal ferry.

City buses , which will certainly be useful to you in the study of the city, are also located near the pier Eminyonu and Kabatas (Kabatas). The bus is convenient to reach, for example, the Miniatürk park, where small copies of the main attractions of the Ottoman Empire are located, or in the fashionable Ortaköy district to the foot of the famous bridge over the Bosphorus and the Dolmabahçe Palace.

Sometimes, if your way is not very far, and you are traveling by company, it is more profitable to take a taxi. The fare in these yellow cars, which dotted the entire city, depends on the mileage. But be very attentive, the experienced Istanbul taxi drivers, swarming you, can long circling around the right place, winding along narrow, "one-face" streets, winding kilometers.

Going to Istanbul, by all means take advantage of its transport diversity, to learn this many-sided megapolis from all sides.