Turkey / Museum
Topkapi Palace
Once the seat of Ottoman power for nearly four centuries, Topkapi Palace unfolds across Istanbul's historic peninsula in a series of courtyards, pavilions and gardens overlooking the Bosphorus.
The palace complex rises on the Historic Peninsula, where the old city meets the water. From its higher terraces, the view stretches over the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn below. The approach through the main gate marks the passage from the city into the imperial world, each successive courtyard taking the visitor further into the heart of Ottoman court life.
The Courtyards and Palaces
The First Courtyard leads through to the Second Courtyard, historically the administrative centre where state business was conducted. The Imperial Council chamber still stands here, where the sultan's decrees were shaped. The Treasury occupies its own building, its collection a testament to the wealth of the empire. Beyond lies the Harem — a vast quarter of hundreds of rooms, corridors and courtyards that housed the sultan, his family and household. Its tilework and stone carving speak to the intimacy and complexity of palace life over centuries.
Collections and Treasures
The palace holds significant collections gathered over generations. There is Chinese porcelain, prized and collected by the Ottoman court. The Hall of the Sacred Relics preserves objects associated with the Prophet Muhammad and early Islamic history, brought to Istanbul after the conquest of Egypt. Calligraphy, manuscripts and court costumes fill the inner pavilions, each room arranged around courtyards fragrant with the scent of jasmine and cypress in the warmer months.
Gardens and Terraces
The palace is not only interior. Its gardens and terraces extend the complex toward the water, with pools and fountains breaking the summer heat. The Fourth Courtyard, the most private, holds the kiosks where the sultan retreated. Walking through the grounds, you pass under plane trees that have stood for centuries, with the movement of boats on the Bosphorus visible below. The palace remains one of the finest examples of Ottoman architecture and the civilization it housed.
On the map
Find it on the map
- Topkapi Palace Museum
Tours that visit Topkapi Palace
14 Nights / 15 Days
The Ultimate Journey Across Turkey
3 Nights Istanbul | 3 Nights Cappadocia | 1 Night Gaziantep | 1 Night Sanliurfa | 1 Night Diyarbakir | 3 Nights Mardin | 1 Night Van | 1 Night Kars
8 Nights / 9 Days
Turkey's Golden Triangle
8 Nights | 3 Istanbul · 3 Cappadocia · 1 Pamukkale · 1 Kuşadası — Hagia Sophia, fairy chimneys, white travertines and Ephesus.
9 Nights / 10 Days
Turkey's Grand Cultural Journey
9 Nights | 3 Istanbul · 3 Cappadocia · 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır — imperial capitals, surreal landscapes and the cradle of civilization.
6 Nights / 7 Days
Turkey's Timeless Classics
6 Nights | 3 Istanbul · 3 Cappadocia — imperial palaces, Byzantine churches and the surreal fairy chimneys of Cappadocia.
Good to know
Before you book you should know
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Is this trip right for you?
Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that.
Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in.
Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month.
How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above.
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Rooms, and travelling on your own
Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three:
- Twin share — two single beds, shared with someone you are travelling with or with a traveller of the same gender.
- Travelling as a couple — one double room.
- Individual room — a room of your own, for a single supplement on top of the trip price. Availability is limited, and the supplement for a given date is shown next to the option when you book.
Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard.
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Accommodation
The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip.
Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking.
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Passports, visas and insurance
Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight.
Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport.
We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well.
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Your departure is guaranteed — the day can change
Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around.
What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions.
