Istanbul is the largest and one of the most impressive cities in Turkey. Although it is not the capital, some of the fundamentals of Turkey's culture and history originate here. It was listed as the European Capital of Culture in 2010 and nearly 12 million tourists came here in 2012. All major airlines fly to this Turkish city and direct flights to Istanbul are available from Manchester, Paris and Amsterdam. If you are looking for a direct Istanbul flight from London, you will benefit from using our online comparison tool. You will be able to compare the prices of several operators and find yourself a cheap flight to Istanbul from London. A flight to Istanbul will allow you to explore this historic and mesmerising city where the sights, sounds and other attractions here are vast in quantity. Renowned largely for its Ottoman and Byzantine influence, many of the buildings in this city reminisce the empires that have previously ruled including the Romans. Genoese influences remain too. This city is one of the region's artistic centres and both European and Middle Eastern artists have been coming here for over a century.
The transportation system in this city is highly complex and very extensive with excellent links to the Trans European motorway. The public transport network is primarily made up of trams, metro lines, ferries and buses. The tram line alone accommodates for the movements of nearly 300,000 passengers per day and the subterranean rail line is one of the oldest in the world. There is a huge number of things to see and do in this city including countless attractions of historical importance. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque and Galata Tower are both incredible pieces of architecture and the Chora Church is well worth a visit too. Other attractions include Emirgan Park, Golden Horn and Rumelihisar.