Hellenistic & Roman Istanbul

Depart from the hotel to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. Housing over one million objects representing almost all eras and civilisations in world history, the museum consists of three sections: the Archaeology Museum, the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Tiled Kiosk Museum. Besides its importance as the first Turkish museum, it has the distinction of being one of the few buildings in the world purpose-built as a museum.

Established as the Müze-i Hümayun (Imperial Museum) by the famous artist and museum director Osman Hamdi Bey at the end of the 19th century, the museum opened to the public on 13 June 1891. Today it retains its outstanding place among the world's biggest museums, with more than a million works from various cultures. Its collections include rich and important works of art from the regions once within the borders of the Ottoman Empire — from the Balkans to Africa, and from Anatolia and Mesopotamia to the Arabian Peninsula and Afghanistan.

Then visit Pierre Loti, the popular café overlooking the Golden Horn in the Eyüp area, dedicated to the writer Pierre Loti. Pierre Loti was in fact a pseudonym; his real name was Louis Marie-Julien Viaud, a French sailor and writer.