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.
Black Sea
Museums in Kastamonu
2 museums and archaeological sites in the province of Kastamonu, with hours and what to see at each.
Kastamonu
Kastamonu Museum
An ashlar-stone building of 1910 in Kastamonu, now a museum of finds from the Paleolithic to the late Ottoman era, including Hittite and Roman pieces.
Visitor guide
Kastamonu
Livapaşa Mansion Ethnography Museum
A rare 19th-century civil mansion in Kastamonu, now an ethnography museum showing craft workshops and family life.
Visitor guideIstanbul 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.