This week, Travel Tuesday takes us to Istanbul.
What surprised me most was the incredible variety within one city. In just a short time, you can move from busy streets and lively markets to peaceful palace gardens, impressive mosques, waterfront neighbourhoods, and viewpoints stretching across the city.
I visited during winter, which made the experience even more memorable. Seeing historic courtyards and gardens covered in snow gave Istanbul a completely different atmosphere, quiet, beautiful, and almost unexpected.
One of my favourite experiences was taking a cruise along the Bosphorus. From the water, you get a completely different perspective of the city: palaces, mosques, bridges, modern buildings, and neighbourhoods on both the European and Asian sides. It really shows how Istanbul connects different cultures, histories, and continents.
Istanbul is busy, colourful, historic, modern, chaotic, and peaceful, sometimes all within the same day. That variety is what i remembered from this trip.
Have you ever visited Istanbul? What surprised you most or what would you most like to see there?
![Photo of Huwen Arnone [Deiser/Devoteam]](https://us.v-cdn.net/6038660/uploads/avatars/6f/bc/n6fbcb837e47ed9842db045142dbc9275.png)
