Topkapı Palace was the home and seat of government of the Ottoman sultans for almost four centuries, from when Mehmed II had it built after the conquest of 1453 until the court moved to Dolmabahçe in the mid-19th century. It isn’t a European palace with one grand façade and a great hall: it’s a walled city of courtyards, pavilions and gardens on Seraglio Point, with the Bosphorus on one side and the Golden Horn on the other.
No other visit explains the Ottoman Empire so well in a single morning. Here you’ll find the Treasury, the relics of the Prophet, the kitchens that fed thousands of people and the Harem, where the family lived. If you only have time for one museum in Istanbul, my recommendation is this one, together with Hagia Sophia, which is five minutes’ walk away.
A little history
Mehmed II began building in the 1460s on the site of the ancient acropolis of Byzantium. Each sultan added new pavilions, which is why the complex has no single plan: it’s four linked courtyards, each more private than the last. Anyone could enter the first; only the sultan and his inner circle reached the fourth.
In the 16th century, under Suleiman the Magnificent, the palace reached the height of its importance, and the Harem moved inside its walls. The sultans lived here until 1856. Since 1924, under the Republic, it has been a museum — one of the first in the country.
What to see at Topkapı Palace
The First Courtyard and Hagia Irene
You enter through the Imperial Gate, next to Hagia Sophia. This courtyard was public, and it holds the Byzantine church of Hagia Irene, which the Ottomans used as an arsenal and which you can now visit with the combined ticket. To the left is the Archaeological Museum, best left for another day.
The Second Courtyard: the Gate of Salutation, the kitchens and the Divan
The Gate of Salutation, with its twin towers, is the classic image of the palace. Inside, on the right, are the kitchens with their conical chimneys, which now display a collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain numbering thousands of pieces. On the left is the Divan hall, where the imperial council met beneath the Tower of Justice; the sultan listened in, hidden behind a lattice screen.
The Third Courtyard: the Treasury and the Sacred Relics
You pass through the Gate of Felicity, where accession ceremonies were held. Just behind it is the Audience Chamber and, beyond, the Library of Ahmed III. The Treasury displays the Topkapı Dagger, with its three emeralds, and the 86-carat Spoonmaker’s Diamond. The Sacred Relics section holds the mantle and sword attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, with live recitation of the Qur’an. Photography is restricted in both, and there’s almost always a queue.
The Fourth Courtyard: the pavilions and the views
This is the loveliest part for a rest: the Baghdad and Yerevan Kiosks, the Circumcision Room, the marble terrace with the gilded İftariye canopy and the views over the Bosphorus. I usually finish here, with a tea at the terrace café.
The Harem
It has its own entrance and is worth every minute. You walk through the Courtyard of the Black Eunuchs, the apartments of the Valide Sultan (the sultan’s mother, the most powerful woman in the palace), the baths, the Imperial Hall and the Princes’ Rooms, with the finest İznik tiles in all of Topkapı. On our tours, the entrance ticket already includes the Harem.
Tips for your visit
Allow two and a half hours, which is the time we plan for in our itineraries. Go first thing and start with the Harem or the Treasury, which is where the queues build up by mid-morning. The palace is closed on Tuesdays.
- Bring water and a hat: the courtyards are large and there’s little shade in summer.
- Wear comfortable shoes; the ground is cobbled and there are stairs in the Harem.
- Photography isn’t allowed in the Treasury and Sacred Relics rooms; elsewhere it is, without flash.
- It works well with children: open spaces, the kitchens, the weapons and the views from the Fourth Courtyard.
Tickets and prices
At the time of writing (2026 prices), the combined ticket for the Palace, the Harem and Hagia Irene costs 2,750 Turkish lira, about €49 at an exchange rate of 56.2 lira to the euro. Prices change often, so check before you go. On our private tours and day tours, entrance tickets are included or handled by the guide, and we use the group entrance.
Where it is and how to get there
It’s in Sultanahmet, at the tip of the historic peninsula. The main entrance is behind Hagia Sophia, five minutes’ walk from the Hippodrome. By tram, the Sultanahmet and Gülhane stops are less than ten minutes’ walk away; from Gülhane you walk up through the park.
How we visit it on our tours
Topkapı is the second or third stop on the Classic Istanbul Day Tour, after Hagia Sophia, and it’s the star of the Palaces of Istanbul tour, where we compare it in the afternoon with Dolmabahçe. On multi-day tours such as Essential Istanbul, we leave it for the second day, once you’ve got a feel for the city.
If you’d like to combine it with other visits at your own pace, tell me your dates through plan your tailor-made trip and I’ll put the programme together for you.