Blog
Which palace to choose, how to combine them, and what the official pages do not tell you.
There is no official online ticket for Topkapı. Here is how the ticket office works, what booking ahead through an authorised partner gets you, and what the combined, Harem and Hagia Irene tickets actually mean.
Read — How to Buy Topkapı Palace Tickets: Ticket Office, Booking Ahead and What Each Ticket Covers
Ticket office, National Palaces e-ticket or a partner booking: the three ways into Dolmabahçe, what the ticket covers, when the palace is closed and how to keep the queues short.
Read — How to buy Dolmabahçe Palace tickets
Not a pleasure garden but a household with its own rules, ranks and schools. What the Harem of Topkapı really was, the rooms you walk through today, and whether the separate ticket earns its place in your day.
Read — The Topkapı Harem: What It Was, What You See Today and Whether It Is Worth the Ticket
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stayed at Dolmabahçe on and off from 1927 and died there on 10 November 1938 at 09:05. What happened in the palace, what you see in Room 71 today, and how the day is marked.
Read — Atatürk and Dolmabahçe: the palace where the Republic’s founder died
The Prophet’s Mantle, the keys of the Kaaba, swords of the first caliphs and the sound of the Quran being recited. What the Holy Relics chamber at Topkapı is, how the relics came here, and how to dress and behave inside.
Read — The Chamber of the Holy Relics at Topkapı: History, What You See and How to Visit Respectfully
The Selamlık was where the Ottoman state met the world, and the Ceremonial Hall was its stage. What the rooms were for, how to read them, and what is and isn’t known about the great chandelier.
Read — Dolmabahçe’s Ceremonial Hall and Crystal Staircase
Where to start, when to do the Harem, how long the Treasury and the Holy Relics take, and what to drop if you only have half the time.
Read — Topkapı in three hours: a practical route through the four courtyards
Where to go in, how the one-way route works, how long to allow, what to leave at the hotel, and how to get there by tram or ferry.
Read — Visiting Dolmabahçe Palace: practical tips
Built after the conquest, rebuilt after fires, redecorated in the Tulip Era and left for Dolmabahçe in 1856: how Topkapı grew, and how it became the Republic’s first museum.
Read — Four centuries at Topkapı: the palace from Mehmed II to the museum
Three National Palaces sit within a short distance of each other in Beşiktaş. How to see Dolmabahçe, the Ihlamur Pavilions and Yıldız in one day — and which days it actually works.
Read — A palace day in Beşiktaş: Dolmabahçe, Ihlamur and YıldızThe last great Ottoman palace was a walled town on a hill, with a theatre, a library, workshops and its own porcelain factory. What survives, what opened in 2024 and how to visit.
Read — Yıldız Palace: the palace-city of Abdülhamid IIAbdülaziz’s summer palace on the Asian shore, where emperors stayed and a deposed sultan spent his last years — its history, its rooms, its gardens and which parts are closed today.
Read — Beylerbeyi Palace: the summer palace under the Bosphorus BridgeThree imperial buildings on one shore road, south to north: a summer palace, a jewel-box pavilion by a meadow and a hilltop mansion that was a gift from Egypt.
Read — A day on the Asian shore: Beylerbeyi, Küçüksu and Beykoz MecidiyeThe last building of a vanished palace on the Golden Horn, a sultan who ranked his music above his poetry, and two poems written over the windows. Why Aynalıkavak is Istanbul’s palace of music.
Read — Aynalıkavak Pavilion and the music of Selim III
Nine palaces and pavilions, most visitors have time for one or two. How to choose between Topkapı, Dolmabahçe, Yıldız and Beylerbeyi — and when a pavilion is the better answer.
Read — Which Istanbul palace should you visit?Both were the home of the sultans, three hundred years apart. What each one shows you, how long they take, which days they close and how their tickets differ.
Read — Topkapı or Dolmabahçe? The two palaces comparedBeylerbeyi, Küçüksu, Beykoz Mecidiye, Ihlamur, Aynalıkavak and Maslak — what each one is, and how to fit them into a trip.
Read — The smaller palaces: six pavilions most visitors miss