Day 1: take off from Paris CDG at 7.50am and arrive in Istanbul at 12.20pm (time difference: + 1 hour, winter and summer). Transfer to the InterContinental hotel, snack and free time. In the late afternoon, stroll around Beyöglu. Dinner at the Topaz restaurant.
Hotel intercontinental Istanbul - Electric views of the Bosphorus
Docked on the emblematic Taksim Square, this sure bet in the Istanbul business hotel sector is managed with precision by Inter-Continental. The hotel has 388 rooms and suites with neo-Ottoman decor. While the standard categories have views over the city, the Deluxe rooms and suites overlook the Bosphorus. The hotel has several bars and restaurants, including the gourmet Safran and the aptly named City Lights, both perched on the top floor and offering extraordinary views. Other facilities include a Club Lounge reserved for guests on the Executive floors, 13 meeting rooms including a sumptuous ballroom, a magnificent spa and an outdoor swimming pool in the gardens.
Asker Ocagi Caddesi n°1 Taksim - Phone: + 90 212 368 44 44 Email: ceyla.korur@intercontinental.com.tr - Internet: istanbul.intercontinental.com.tr
Dinner with a view - Topaz, a gourmet jewel
One of Istanbul's most renowned restaurants, located in the upmarket district of the former embassies, a ten-minute walk from Taksim Square. Its uncluttered decor is extended by huge picture windows, with the Bosphorus as a backdrop. On the menu: revisited Ottoman cuisine, Mediterranean specialities and a fine wine list. This is a chic address for an inspired gastronomic arrival. It's also an opportunity to see the Turkish megalopolis embrace its modernity, with bars, restaurants and designer roof tops that would not be out of place in New York.
Inönü Caddesi, Ömer Avni Mahallesi no. 50 - Tel: +90 212 249 1001 Internet: www.topazistanbul.com
Péra - Bohemian Istanbul
From Taksim Square, Istiklal Caddesi - the former cosmopolitan Grand-Rue of Péra - plunges gently down towards the Genoese quarter of Galata. Lined with Baroque and Belle Epoque buildings, this pedestrianised thoroughfare in the Beyöglu district, Istanbul's Soho, is bustling day and night. You have to walk down it to get back up in a retro tram. In the meantime, you'll need to take plenty of breaks and detours, take the covered "pasaj" and lose yourself in the labyrinth of side streets that have become the epicentre of bohemian life: alternative cafés in Cihangir, second-hand goods dealers in Çukurkuma, designer boutiques and art galleries alongside old traditional shops in Galata. It's a haphazard stroll, essential for sniffing out the zeitgeist, a far cry from the orientalist clichés that have forged the myth of Istanbul.
Day 2: Discovery rally in the historic district of Sultanahmet, followed by lunch in an Ottoman house. Afternoon at leisure. Cruise on the Bosphorus and gala dinner in a "yali". End of the evening in a trendy nightclub.
Sultanahmet - In the footsteps of James Bond
The stunning opening scene of Skyfall, the latest James Bond film, resurrects a legendary Istanbul. So it's in 007's footsteps - but more leisurely! - is the fun way to explore the historic peninsula of Old Stamboul. The Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Bazaar, the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and the Basilica Cistern are the main stops on this walking tour, which combines riddles about Her Majesty's most famous spy with questions about this world city, founded by the Greeks as Byzantium and later the seat of the Sublime Porte as Constantinople before being renamed Istanbul in modern times.
At lunchtime, the participants all gather in the courtyard of Erten Konak, a venerable Ottoman residence displaying ancient calligraphy, paintings under glass and distinguished toilets dating from the early days of Atatürk's Republic. The afternoon is free. Whether you prefer shopping or a moment of oriental indulgence at the luxurious Hurrem Sultan Hamami Turkish baths, it's up to you.
The Bosphorus - Istanbul's dizzying lifeline
If you want to be a pasha for a day, it's simply magical to charter one of the sublime Ottoman mansions - the 'yalis' - that line the Bosphorus. Dressed in gala, you board a yacht for a cruise on the magnetic waters of the strait. On the second deck is the Sait Halim Pasa Yalisi, whose pale yellow façade glows in the sunset light. This wooden palace houses several reception rooms with delicately frescoed walls and aristocratic gilding. The whole place looks stunning. Champagne! The first notes of the haunting music that accompanies the meditative dancing of the whirling dervishes can be heard. As the troupe takes off, the audience freezes, spellbound. Then it's time for dinner, which is one of the highlights of the trip. Some will extend the evening in a trendy club - Sortie - at the foot of the Ortakoy bridge, their feet in Europe, their eyes riveted on Asia...
Day 3: Transfer to the airport and flight to Bodrum. Arrive late morning at the Kempinski Barbaros Bay hotel. Lunch and discovery rally of Bodrum; dinner at the hotel, around the swimming pool. As an alternative, the agency suggested the Ramada Bitez hotel, closer to Bodrum.
Kempinski Barbaros Bay - In the hollow of a blue bay
Occupying an indented bay on the Bodrum peninsula, a 15-20 minute drive from the seaside resort, this resort boasts 149 rooms and 24 suites - all with impeccable comfort - opening out onto the sea. A minor miracle for the region: the surrounding area is still undeveloped! In addition to its four restaurants and cosy bar, the resort has a very large swimming pool around which you can set up tables for a private dinner. With a nautical base and a high-tech conference centre, the hotel is perfectly suited to a MICE operation. A pontoon for taking a cruise and a superb Sanitas spa complete the attractions of this address.
Kizilagac Koyu Gerenkuyu Mevkii Yaliciftlik - Tel: + 90 252 3110 303
Email: reservationoffice.barbaros@kempinski.com - Internet: www.kempinski.com/bodrum
Ramada resort - Design on the heights of Bodrum
Overlooking the village of Bitez, this bright, modern establishment boasts 107 rooms and suites, as well as around fifteen villas designed according to the principles of Feng Shui. With their fine materials and sober colours, they all exude a real sense of harmony, which is also evident in the design-oriented communal areas. There are several restaurants and bars, a fitness centre, meeting rooms and the option of holding a cocktail party in the pretty gardens or around the pool. Beach 10 minutes away, accessible by shuttle.
Kavakli Sarnic Caddesi 1531 - Tel: + 90 252 31 94 545 Email: info@ramadaresortbodrum.com Internet: www.ramadaresortbodrum.com
Bodrum - Discovery rally in the town of Herodotus
A few scattered ruins of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus bear witness to a time when the city was famous throughout the ancient world. Sic transit gloria... Little or nothing remains of the sumptuous tomb of Mausoleus, the 'satrape' of the region - in other words, its governor. In any case, there is nothing to suggest that this was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, on a par with the Pyramid of Khufu or the Lighthouse of Alexandria. On the other hand, the amphitheatre from the same period has preserved its former splendour. St Peter's Castle of the Knights of Rhodes, dating from the early fifteenth century, also still looks its best. Then there's Bodrum harbour, where varnished wooden schooners sway in the wind. And then there are the white cube-shaped houses and flower-filled alleyways... Despite the omnipresence of souvenir shops, Bodrum exudes an undeniable Mediterranean charm. Following in the footsteps of Hero Dote, the illustrious historian whose birthplace it is, travellers explore this little Turkish Saint-Tropez on foot. Along the way, they will have to find a traditional sandal workshop and an oven where a craftsman makes "nazar boncuk", amulets supposed to protect against the evil eye. Participants are rewarded for their quest with a drink at the foot of the citadel, in the beautiful evening light.
Day 4: Gulet cruise or discovery of the Bodrum peninsula by land, with lunch in the small port of Gümüslük. Farewell dinner at Yalikavak marina.
Schooner cruise - Blue waves and bling-bling marina
With clear skies and smooth seas, the weather conditions couldn't be better for boarding the schooners anchored for the occasion at the foot of the hotel. Sailing along the blue waves, they coast along a coast where nature too quickly gives way to the countless tourist resorts that dot the hills. But no matter! The atmosphere on board is relaxed, and the clear waters are inviting for a swim. Cheers! Raki and white wine are served chilled, to accompany a delicious fish lunch. The simple pleasures of the Mediterranean... We disembark in the late afternoon at Yalikavak, a small port transformed by the creation of a luxurious marina where the super-yachts of the ultra-privileged are moored. After a stroll through the bazaar-like alleyways and a chic dinner, the surprise for the sailors for the day is to be admitted to the very select Billionaire Club, where they are dazzled by the 100 % bling-bling.
Day 5: Free morning at the hotel; transfer to the airport in the late morning and flight to Paris via Istanbul. Arrival at CDG at 5.10pm.
More
- Direct air access and impeccable infrastructure.
- A prestigious past and an effervescent present.
- Local hospitality and kindness.
Minus
- Istanbul's traffic jams, which you need to know how to avoid.
- The concreting of the Bodrum peninsula, which we must learn to forget.
- High entrance fees to the sites.
Practical information
Flight plan > A member of the Star Alliance and regularly voted Best European Airline by Skytrax, Turkish Airlines operates four daily flights between Paris-CDG and Istanbul-Atatürk. It also offers flights from Basel/Mulhouse, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Toulouse. A dense network of domestic flights makes it possible to design combined holidays.
Tel: 0 825 800 902 - Internet: www.turkishairlines.com/en-fr
Incoming agency > Wisdom & Blue Days Travel. Asik Veysel Caddesi,Tepecik Sokak No:4. Bodrum Tel: +90 252 387 02 04 - Email: info@wisdomtravel.com.tr - Internet: www.wisdomtravel.com.tr Customer > An oil group Comments > Reward trip Group size > 140 peoples Duration > 5 days / 4 nights Information > Turkish Tourist Office. www.infosturquie.com
Special report - Istanbul and Bodrum: a wonderful duo
- Istanbul and Bodrum, a wonderful duo
Interview with Nurten Keskin Rollier, Wisdom & Blue Days Travel
