Amazing Topkapi Museum ● Turkey Travel Journal

Sultan Mehmed (the Conqueror) built the Topkapi Palace between 1460 and 1478 after he Conquered Istanbul and it served as the residence of the Ottoman Sultans Until the 19th Century. Nowadays it serves as Topkapi Museum for local or foreign tourists.

We will write more about visiting information about the Topkapi Palace Museum rather than the history of it. It's a place that you must visit during your vacation in Istanbul.

Topkapi Palace Museum Visiting Hours

Winter time:

• Starting from 30th of October until 15th of April
• Topkapi Museum, Harem, Hagia Irene is open between 9:00 am and 4:45 pm

*Ticket offices close at 4:00 pm

Summer Time:

•  Starts from 15th of April until 30th of October
•  Museum, Harem, Hagia Irene is open between 9:00 am and 6:45 pm

*Ticket offices close at 6:00 pm

** Topkapi Palace Museum is closed on every Tuesdays.

*** Topkapi Palace is open all year long. The museum will be opened after 1 pm on the 1st day of Ramadan and on the 1st day of the festival of Sacrifice.

More information on Muze.gov.tr

Topkapi Palace Museum Tour Plan

Topkapi Museum Entrance Fee

Topkapi Palace Museum ticket price is ;

• 100 Turkish Liras .
• Harem section costs additionally 70 TL

*Non-Turkish Citizen children under 12 years old can enter to Topkapi Palace museum free of charge if they are accompanied by an adult who bought a paid ticket.

*Harem section is not included in the main ticket.

*Children under 6 years old can enter to Harem free of charge if they are accompanied by an adult who bought a paid ticket.

Hagia Irene church ticket price is ;

• 60 Turkish Liras

Museum Pass for Topkapi Palace Museum

Buying Museum Pass for Topkapi Museum is a smarter idea. The reason why is that;

• Museum Pass is Valid for 5 days
• It costs 325 TL.
• Harem section is included to Museum Pass price so it saves you 100 Turkish Liras from Main entrance fee and another 70 Liras for Harem Section.
• Hagia Irene is also included to price which is normally 60 Turkish Liras.
• It covers many museums. You can find the list below of the museums that museum pass covers.

*  Museum Card count down starts once you make your visit to one of the museums. It doesn't start when you buy it. So you can buy the museum pass today and start to use when you are ready.

** You can order your Museum Card online and give your hotel address as recipient. It saves you a lot of time.

*** If you want to buy Museum Pass from the ticket office, you may want to get it from less crowded museums such as Istanbul Archeological Museum behind the Hagia Sophia Museum, in order to prevent the queue.

Which Museums Can You Visit Museum Pass

List of the Museums that you can visit with Museum Pass Istanbul Card are;

• Topkapi Palace Museum
• Topkapi Palace Museum Harem Section
• Topkapi Palace Museum Hagia Irene Church
• Hagia Sophia Museum
• Chora Museum (formerly known as Chora Church)
• Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (Ibrahim Pasha Palace)
• Istanbul Archeological Museums
• Great Palace Mosaics Museum
• Fethiye Museum
• Galata Mevlevi House Museum (Whirling Dervishes)
• Rumeli Fortress (Rumeli Hisari)

and many more... You can find the full list in museum pass website.

What to See in Topkapi Palace Museum

Arms and Weapons, Chinese and Japanese porcelains, Copper and Goldplate Copper kitchen utensils, European porcelains, Imperial treasury, Istanbul glassware, and porcelain, Pavilion of the holy mantle and the holy relics, portraits of the sultans and the paintings, silverware, Sultan's caftans, fabrics, carpets and sacred coverings can be seen in Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.

For more details or permissions please get in touch with the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism Topkapi Museum Directorate

Address: Sultanahmet, Fatih / ISTANBUL

Tel : (0212) 512 04 80

Fax : (0212) 528 59 91

E-Mail: [email protected]