The Istanbul Museum Pass is a very useful card for those who come to the city for a cultural trip. Those who will visit several museums can easily cover the money they pay for the museum card. So is the Museum Pass Istanbul worth it? You can find insider tips about the museum card in this post.
The museums in Istanbul are very crowded between April and November, the city’s tourist season. Especially in the spring and autumn, there are long ticket queues in front of the museums. The biggest benefit of the Museum Pass is that it saves you from waiting in lines.
However, if you go to very crowded museums such as Topkapi Palace to get your museum card, you will still have to wait in line. Of course, waiting in line for the Museum Card can still save you time at other museums. But there are also much faster ways to purchase the card. In this article, I will tell you about these time-saving tips about Museum Pass Istanbul.
Useful Tips About Museum Pass Istanbul
Museum Pass Istanbul allows you to visit the best museums of Istanbul. It is valid in places such as Topkapi Palace, Galata Tower, Istanbul Archeology Museum, which are among the most popular museums of the city.
However, there are some places where the museum card is not valid. Among them, we can count Dolmabahce Palace and Basilica Cistern. The Museum Pass is not valid as these two important museums are operated by other institutions.
1. How can I get the Museum Pass fast?
In order to get the Museum Pass quickly, you need to go to one of Istanbul’s relatively less popular museums. You can especially try the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, which is adjacent to the Blue Mosque and Hippodrome.
Today’s Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art (picture above) was a palace belonging to a Grand Vizier (Prime Minister) during the Ottoman period. Easily distinguished from afar by its reddish shutters, this building is now a place where artifacts from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods are exhibited.
The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts is one of the places where the Museum Pass is sold in Istanbul and it is very quiet in the morning. You can get your Museum Pass from this museum, which is very close to the Sultanahmet Tram Station, and go to visit the Topkapi Palace and the adjacent Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
2. How do I get the Museum Pass Online?
In order to purchase the Museum Pass online, you can access the official website of the Turkish Ministry of Tourism from this link.If you buy the card online this way, you can enter the museums via QR code.
As a local guide, I prefer to physically purchase the pass for my guests. However, instead of buying it from crowded places like Topkapi Palace, I prefer places like the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum or the Great Palace Mosaics Museum.
3. What is Included in the Museum Pass Istanbul?
Below you can find a list of museums included in the Museum Pass Istanbul. All sections in these museums can be visited with the Museum Card. On the other hand, unfortunately the pass is not valid in some very popular museums in Istanbul.
Don’t be surprised when you don’t see Hagia Sophia in the list below. Hagia Sophia became a mosque and foreign Muslim visitors can enter free of charge during prayer hours. The upper floor is a museum that can be visited for 25 Euros. However, unfortunately, Museum Pass is not valid in Hagia Sophia.
- Topkapi Palace Museum (including Hagia Irene Church and Harem)
- Istanbul Archaeological Museum (Inside Topkapi Palace Complex)
- Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (Near Hippodrome)
- History of Islamic Science and Technology Museum (within Gulhane Park)
- Great Palace Mosaic Museum (Near Blue Mosque)
- Galata Tower (Near Taksim Square)
- Rumeli Fortress (Citadel at the Bosphorus)
- Galata Mevlevi House Museum (Whirling Dervishes Lodge near Galata Tower)
- Adam Mickiewicz Museum (near Taksim Square)
4. How much is the Museum Pass Istanbul in 2024?
Museum Pass Istanbul price is 105 Euros as of May 2024. The price was last revised on March 1, 2024. In previous years, the price of the museum card was determined in Turkish Lira, but as of 2024, it is now sold in Euros.
5. Alternative Museum Cards in Istanbul
There are three more museum cards offered by private companies in Istanbul as alternatives to the official museum pass. I have tried to provide you with general information about these cards in the following lines, but for more detailed information, you can access a useful article from the link at the end of this specific section.
Istanbul Tourist Pass is the oldest and most well-known of the three. For this reason, it is the best-selling alternative pass in Istanbul. You can see local guides from this company all over the Old City with a red banner as they lead groups. You can review the features of this card via this link here.
Istanbul Welcome Card is the Istanbul version of a brand that provides services in Europe’s most popular cities and has a very widespread service network. The card is physically delivered to your hotel desk before you arrive. You can review the features of this card through this link.
Istanbul E-Pass stands out as the newest pass among these three and has a very user-friendly system. If you buy one of the 2, 3, 5 or 7-day versions of the card, you will have access to more than 60 museums and activities during the membership period. You can review the features by clicking this link.
6. Skip-the-Line Tickets
If you do not want to buy the museum cards mentioned in the article, but still want to skip the queues in front of the museums in a short time, you can also choose skip-the-line tickets.
These tickets can be purchased individually for each museum. Thus, if you are staying in Istanbul for a short time, you can see your favorite historical monument without wasting time.
Those who have tickets that provide fast track advantage meet their guides at the entrance and enter the museum as a small group. You can buy these tickets from the links below.
- Hagia Sophia skip-the-line ticket
- Topkapi Palace skip-the-line ticket
- Basilica Cistern skip-the-line ticket
- Dolmabahce Palace skip-the-line ticket
7. Is the Museum Pass Istanbul worth the price?
The Istanbul Museum Pass is definitely worth its money. In fact, even just visiting the museums in Sultanahmet (Old City) can cover the cost of the Museum Pass. Because Topkapi Palace (with its Harem Rooms and Hagia Irene Museum), Istanbul Archeology Museum, Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum and the Great Palace Mosaic Museum are within the boundaries of the Sultanahmet district.
In my opinion, Museum Pass Istanbul is worth buying just to avoid waiting in line at ticket offices. Because waiting for a long time at museum entrances can ruin your day. For this reason, the museum card can be bought even for fast track advantage.
8. In which museums is the card not valid?
Unfortunately, the Museum Pass Istanbul is not valid in all museums of Istanbul. Among the museums where the card is not valid are Basilica Cistern, Dolmabahce Palace (picture above) and Beylerbeyi Palace, which are among the best places to visit in Istanbul.
Some of these museums are operated by the National Palaces Administration, while others are operated by the Istanbul Municipality. For this reason, the Museum Pass, a product of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is not valid in them.
Conclusion
In order to conclude, the museum card is a must-have for those visiting Istanbul. Thanks to the Istanbul Museum Pass, you can visit state-affiliated museums in Istanbul without buying a ticket. In addition, there are discounts between 10% and 20% for the museum card in some private museums.
The only thing to keep in mind about the card is that it is not valid in popular museums such as Basilica Cistern and Dolmabahce Palace. You will need to buy tickets for these museums separately. However, you can still buy skip-the-line tickets to avoid waiting in line.
If you came to Istanbul for a few days and you are going to visit 5-6 museums, the museum card is definitely worth the money you pay. Moreover, getting rid of waiting in ticket queues in museums is another plus of having a museum pass.
Written by Serhat Engul
Hi,
About 50% of the websites say harem is covered under the pass and 50% say it’s not. As of today is the Harem entrance covered with the Museum Card?
Thanks
Hi Rick,
I am a tour guide and I recommend that my clients buy the Museum Pass on my tours as it is practical. Even this year alone, dozens of my customers entered the Harem with the Museum Pass. So the Museum Pass is 100% valid in the Harem.
If someone says that the Museum Pass is not valid in the Harem, they either do not know what they are talking about or they are talking about the version of the Museum Pass for Turkish citizens (Muzekart). Because the Museum Card for Turks is much cheaper and is not valid in the Harem.
However, this is not your problem, as the Muzekart is only purchased by those with a Turkish ID. As of 2022, you will purchase the Museum Pass Istanbul worth 360 Turkish Liras and it will be valid in the Harem.
Hi, I just purchased the ticket but I’m not going until next week! Can I get a refund or will it valid until then?
Hi Sana, the 5-day period will not start unless the Museum Pass is activated. So as far as I know you can start using it next week. When you enter a museum for the first time with the Museum Pass Istanbul, the 120 hours (5 days) period of the card begins.
Hi Serhat,
Turkey Museum Pass is worth 1000 TL? I couldn’t find list of places covered under Turkey pass (official website says more than 300).
We are visiting Cappadocia, Antalya, Pamukkale, Ephessus and Istanbul. Wondering if we should choose Turkey Museum Pass instead of Istanbul Museum Pass (700 TL). Thanks in advance of your suggestions.
Ketan
Hi Ketan, yes, I think the Turkey Museum Pass is definitely worth the price. If you are going to visit places other than Istanbul in Turkey, it will definitely be useful for you.
The Turkey Pass covers museums all over the country as well as every place within the Istanbul Museum Pass. These include museums in popular places like Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cappadocia and Antalya.
The price difference is only 300 TL, but the services it offers are incomparable. Of course, the more you travel in Turkey, the more advantages you get.
The Turkey Museum has just jumped from 1,000TL for 15 days to 2,500TL for 15 days.
1st APRIL 2023
The price of Museum Pass Türkiye which is valid for fifteen days starting from your first museum and archaeological site entrance is 2500 TL.
March 2023
The price of Museum Pass Türkiye which is valid for fifteen days starting from your first museum and archaeological site entrance is 1000 TL.
Now thats what you call inflation, and also its a rip-off
Hello Glenn Stedman, yes you are right. The prices of Museum Pass Istanbul and its more comprehensive version, Museum Pass Turkey, have been increased excessively due to the last price regulation.
In previous years, the price of the Museum Pass Istanbul was adjusted according to the price of certain museums and would have been a profitable purchase for the buyers.
However, I could not understand the logic behind the price increase this time. If the Dollar gains value against the Turkish Lira in the coming days, this price may also become reasonable.
But wait, it gets worse! The current web price for the Museum Pass Türkiye (March 2024) is almost 6000 Turkish lira (165 euro, $271 Australian per person). This is getting a little out of hand. Is the Turkish Ministry of Tourism actually discouraging visitors to these world heritage sites?
Hello Paul Cullen, yes, there is no point in comparing the passes sold for Istanbul or Turkey museums with their previous prices.
Previously, the price increase was made to correct the difference between the Turkish Lira and foreign currencies, but now we see that the prices have also increased on a USD and EURO basis.
Apparently, the Ministry of Tourism is trying to remove Turkey from among the cheap countries for tourists. Time will tell whether this policy will work.
However, the fact that museums are getting more expensive and fewer people will visit these ruins is good, at least for the sake of the historical monuments themselves.
Because I don’t know how many more decades they could handle the weight of mass tourism.
Hi, I am planning to travel to Istanbul and plan to visit quite a lot of these museums included in the Istanbul Pass. So I am wondering if it’s worth it for a family of 4, compared to buying individual passes. And also we are travelling in the summer.
Hi Nammi, unfortunately I cannot give a direct answer to this question. Because there are many travel cards that are alternatives to the official Museum Pass and I haven’t been following their services lately.
You will have to review services such as E-Pass, Istanbul Tourist Pass and Istanbul Welcome Card, which are alternatives to the Museum Pass, and decide for yourself whether they are suitable for your budget.
From the official website, I found that
Topkapi Palace Combined Ticket II (Topkapı Palace + Hagia Irene + Harem)
Ticket Price For Foreign Visitors: 950 TL.
From another official website, I found that
Istanbul Archaeological Museum entrance costs 340 TL, with the Museum Of The Ancient Orient and Tiled Pavilion both closed for renovations.
Adding these two together, you get 1290 TL. How is the sum larger than the cost of the Museum Pass (2250 TL, as of August 2023)?
My conclusion: the Museum Pass now is too expensive.
Hello AMT, yes, with two price increases in 2023, Museum Pass Istanbul first increased from 700 TL to 1750 TL on April 1 and from 1750 TL to 2250 TL on 1 August.
In this case, the part of the article that compares prices between museums and museum pass is no longer up to date. Because there used to be a correlation between certain museum prices and museum pass cost, and now it doesn’t exist.
Due to the post-pandemic inflation, museum prices increase every 3 months, and therefore, although I note the latest prices, some parts of the articles that I make suggestions may not be up-to-date.
I’ll update the price comparison section when I have time soon.
Hi Serhat,
I had just bought the Museum Pass Istanbul mobil (via their website and recieved the email with QR code after a few minutes ) for my readings on your great website. There should be no issue of the purchase date (today) 12th September as we will only be in istanbul by 29th and hence will “activate” the card by that day.
One minor question is: As we received the email with e-ticket (apologies if my question seems unnecessary) do I need to go to ticket counter to get the physical museum pass or we can directly go to the ticket turnstile at the entrance?
Kindest regards for any assistance and clarification. I am very earger to visit the Topkapi Palace. Hopefully early morning on Friday is considered okay to visit that place.
Hello Mohamad,
To be honest, I have never used Museum Pass Mobile. However, if you are given a QR code, you can enter directly from the museum turnstiles with the code without having to go to the ticket office.
Because turnstiles in museums such as Topkapi Palace can read QR codes on mobile phones. Every day I see many people passing by by scanning the code on their mobile phone.
Kind regards,
Serhat