Istanbul Archaeological Museum Guided Tour with Ticket
Three museums on one ticket, tucked below Topkapı Palace: the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Tiled Kiosk. Together they hold well over a million objects, drawn from across the territory the Ottoman Empire once covered.
- At the gate
- £15.30
- Allow
- 1h 30m
- District
- Sultanahmet
- Closed
- Open daily
The Archaeological Museums, in short
Three museums on one ticket, tucked below Topkapu0131 Palace: the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Tiled Kiosk. Together they hold well over a million objects, drawn from across the territory the Ottoman Empire once covered.
It is the least crowded of the major sights in Sultanahmet, and for anyone with an interest in the ancient world it is comfortably the most rewarding.
Opening hours
Open daily except Mondays, 09:00 to 18:00, with last entry an hour before closing.
What it costs
Walk-up entry is u20ac18, covering all three buildings. Included on the pass.
Getting there
Take the T1 tram to Gu00fclhane and walk through the park u2014 about five minutes. You can also come down through the first courtyard of Topkapu0131 Palace, which is free to enter.
How long to allow
Two hours does it justice; an hour will cover the highlights. If you are short on time, prioritise the Archaeological Museum's ground floor, where the sarcophagi are.
What not to miss
The Alexander Sarcophagus is the reason most people come u2014 fourth-century BC, carved with hunting and battle scenes, and with original paint still visible in places. It was found at the royal necropolis at Sidon in the 1880s and, despite the name, was almost certainly made for a Sidonian king rather than Alexander himself. Nearby sit the Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women and the Lycian Sarcophagus, from the same excavation.
Also here
The Museum of the Ancient Orient holds material from Mesopotamia, Egypt and Anatolia, including a copy of the Treaty of Kadesh u2014 the oldest surviving peace treaty in the world. The Tiled Kiosk, built in 1472, is one of the oldest Ottoman buildings in the city and displays u0130znik ceramics in the room they were made for.
Frequently asked questions
- Take the T1 tram to Gu00fclhane station and walk through the park. It is about five minutes.
- Over a million objects across the three museums, from Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.
- On the ground floor of the main Archaeological Museum. It was excavated from the royal necropolis at Sidon in the late 19th century.
- Yes. One admission covers the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Tiled Kiosk, and the pass covers all three.