Historic Sites in Istanbul 2026
Palaces, mosques, museums, cisterns and historic bazaars. Every location has been individually verified; opening hours and entry details are on each place page.
45 places
Süleymaniye Mosque
One of architect Sinan's greatest works, this 16th-century mosque was built for Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent between 1550-1557.
Hagia Sophia
A monumental building completed in 537, used as a cathedral in Byzantine times and a mosque under the Ottomans; today it is once again open for worship as a mosque.
Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque)
Built in 1616, this active Ottoman mosque is known for the blue İznik tiles lining its interior.
Kariye Mosque / Kariye Museum
A historic building famous for its extraordinary Byzantine mosaics and frescoes, formerly known as the Chora Church.
Eyüp Sultan Mosque
One of the important pilgrimage sites in the Islamic world, built around the tomb of Halid bin Zeyd Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.
Topkapı Palace
The main residence and seat of government of Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th century, now a museum complex.
Istanbul Archaeology Museums
Home to one of the world's richest archaeology collections, a complex of three museums founded in Ottoman times.
Rahmi M. Koç Museum
Turkey's first industrial museum; a large indoor-outdoor collection full of old ships, trains, cars and aircraft.
Sultanahmet Square (Hippodrome)
Built over the Byzantine-era Hippodrome where chariot races were once held, this square holds the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpent Column and the Walled Obelisk side by side.
Basilica Cistern
A 336-column Byzantine-era underground cistern built under Emperor Justinian in the 6th century.
Rumeli Fortress
A fortress built in 1452 by Mehmed the Conqueror at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus, before the conquest of Istanbul.
Büyük Mecidiye Mosque / Ortaköy Mosque
The common name for the Büyük Mecidiye Mosque, built in neo-baroque style in 1856 right beside the Bosphorus Bridge.
Dolmabahçe Palace
Completed in 1856, this Bosphorus-side palace reflects the Ottoman Empire's era of Westernization.
Pera Museum
A private art museum belonging to the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation, known for Osman Hamdi Bey's famous painting "The Tortoise Trainer".
Istanbul Modern
Turkey's first modern and contemporary art museum; moved into its new Renzo Piano-designed building in 2023.
Sakıp Sabancı Museum
A private museum in the historic Atlı Köşk mansion on the Bosphorus, known for its Ottoman calligraphy and painting collections.
Kuzguncuk
A historic Bosphorus neighborhood known for its colorful wooden waterfront houses, where a mosque, a church and a synagogue stand side by side on the same street.
Pierre Loti Hill
Named after the French writer Pierre Loti, a historic hilltop café and viewpoint overlooking the Golden Horn.
Balat
A historic Golden Horn neighborhood known for its colorful Ottoman-era houses, narrow streets and multicultural heritage.
İstiklal Avenue
Istanbul's most famous pedestrian street, stretching from Taksim to Tünel, lined with 19th-century buildings, a nostalgic tram and arcades.
Grand Bazaar
Construction began in 1461; one of the world's oldest and largest covered markets, with over 60 streets.
Süreyya Opera House
Built in 1927, the Asian side's first musical theatre building, now used as an opera stage.
Galata Tower
A Genoese stone tower from 1348 in Istanbul's Galata district, now a museum with a 360-degree view over the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus.
Arnavutköy
A historic Bosphorus district between Ortaköy and Bebek, lined along the shore with 19th-century wooden Greek and Ottoman waterfront mansions.
Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
Housed in Ibrahim Pasha Palace, a museum with one of the Islamic world's most important collections of manuscripts, carpets and calligraphy.
Beylerbeyi Palace
A 19th-century Ottoman summer palace on the Bosphorus, completed in 1865 under Sultan Abdülaziz.
Galata Mevlevi Lodge
Founded in 1491, Istanbul's oldest Mevlevi lodge, now used as the Museum of Divan Literature.
Maiden's Tower
A small tower on a rocky islet off Üsküdar, once a lighthouse and quarantine station, reopened as a museum in 2023.
Sirkeci Terminal
Opened in 1890, Sirkeci Station in Istanbul was the end of the line for the Orient Express from Paris. Today it holds a small railway museum and a historic restaurant.
Fethiye Mosque
Once the Pammakaristos Monastery Church in Byzantine times, this building holds the richest Byzantine mosaics after Hagia Sophia and Chora.
Aynalıkavak Pavilion
In Hasköy on the Golden Horn shore, the only surviving pavilion of the old Shipyard Garden palace used by Ottoman sultans; the site where the 1784 Treaty of Aynalıkavak was signed.
Miniatürk
An open-air park displaying 1:25 scale miniatures of over 135 historic structures from Turkey and the Ottoman geography.
Eminönü Square
Surrounded by the New Mosque and the Spice Bazaar, the city's main trade and pier square throughout Byzantine and Ottoman times.
Çemberlitaş Hamam
A still-active historic bathhouse built in 1584 by architect Sinan for Nurbanu Sultan, wife of Selim II.
Küçüksu Pavilion
An elegant Ottoman hunting lodge on the Bosphorus, built in 1857 by architect Nikoğos Balyan for Sultan Abdülmecid.
Mihrimah Sultan Mosque (Üsküdar)
A 16th-century mosque built by architect Sinan near the Üsküdar pier for Mihrimah Sultan, daughter of Süleyman the Magnificent.
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Fener
The Church of St. George complex, home since 1601 to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, spiritual center of the Orthodox world.
Nuruosmaniye Mosque
One of the first examples of Ottoman baroque architecture, completed in 1755 and adjoining one of the Grand Bazaar's main gates.
Kilic Ali Pasha Mosque
Mimar Sinan's 1580 mosque in Tophane, built for the Ottoman grand admiral Kılıç Ali Pasha, with a restored hamam that is open again.
Zeyrek Mosque
Made up of two Byzantine churches and a chapel, the second-largest surviving Byzantine church complex in Istanbul after Hagia Sophia, and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Bayezid Mosque
Built between 1501-1506 under Bayezid II, one of Istanbul's oldest large Ottoman mosques.
Fatih Mosque
A complex mosque built between 1463-1470 in the name of Mehmed the Conqueror, on the site of the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles.
Anadolu Hisarı
A small fortress built in 1395 by Yıldırım Bayezid, one of the oldest Ottoman structures on the Asian side.
Rıza Paşa Slope
A steep, busy historic trading slope lined with hans and small tradesmen's shops, climbing from Tahtakale up to Süleymaniye.
Büyük Valide Han
Built in 1651 by Kösem Sultan, one of Istanbul's largest and oldest Ottoman caravanserais.