Topkapı Palace
The sultans’ palace on Sarayburnu: courtyards, the Imperial Council, the treasury and the terraces over the water. Dated entry, sold online on its own site.
Marmara
Museums in Balıkesir
3 museums and archaeological sites in the province of Balıkesir, with hours and what to see at each.
Balıkesir
Bandırma Museum
A museum built by the townspeople of Bandırma, showing finds from the ancient cities of Kyzikos and Daskyleion, above all carved tomb reliefs and painted pottery.
Visitor guide
Balıkesir
Kuva-yi Milliye Museum
A mansion where Balıkesir chose armed resistance in May 1919, now a museum of the War of Independence on the ground floor and of local archaeology upstairs.
Visitor guide
Balıkesir
Taksiyarhis Monument Museum
Ayvalık's first church, a three-aisled basilica with a carved marble iconostasis and a wooden women's gallery, restored as a museum in 2013.
Visitor guideOther cities in the region
Istanbul tickets online
Four Istanbul landmarks, each sold on its own site by the agency behind this guide — dated entry and free cancellation up to 24 hours.
Basilica Cistern
Justinian’s great underground reservoir: 336 columns in still water and the two Medusa heads. Fast-track entry with a digital audio guide.
Hagia Sophia
Justinian’s cathedral, the sultans’ mosque and a working mosque again today. The ticket admits you to the upper visitor gallery.
Dolmabahçe Palace
A nineteenth-century palace on the water’s edge: the Selamlık, the Ceremonial Hall under its chandelier, the crystal staircase and the Harem.