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Basilica Cistern Skip-the-Line Ticket with Guided Tour
4.1
189 Ratings
Fatih
Embark on a captivating journey through history and architecture with a skip-the-line tour of the Basilica Cistern. Discover the intriguing stories behind this ancient marvel and marvel at its unique features, including the medusa-head column bases. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the essence of historical architecture and capture stunning photographs!
Duration:
30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Basilica Cistern - You will meet with our guide at the meeting point and continue to the museum. The guide will explain the history of the place and the tour will end at the museum.
What's Included
- Admission to Basilica Cistern
- Professional licensed guide
What's Not Included
- Transportation
- Meal
Additional Information
Discover the ancient cistern escorted by an expert guide with priority access to bypass long queue lines. Its unique history pulls adventurers from around the world to witness its majesty firsthand. Walking on elevated wooden walkways with water droplets falling from the vaulted ceilings adds to the captivating allure of this historical marvel. If capturing captivating images is your forte, the medusa-head column foundations will indeed enthrall you.
Location
At Meydanı Cd No:3
At Meydanı Caddesi
At the Busforus (Red Double-decker Bus) Stop across the Hagia Sophia in Sultanahmet Square.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.1
(189 Ratings)
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1 star
Esmariev
Aug 20, 2024
Basilica Cisterne - Anxient Genius Water System. MUST VISIT - This skip the line, guided tour was excellent. What a marvel of ingenuity for anxient water supply. Istanbul has many cisterns, many now restaurants and shops.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Travelbloganna
Aug 19, 2024
beautiful underground water reservoir - Cisterna Basilica - the Sunken Palace. This underground water reservoir was originally built to supply water to the imperial household. It is a magical place and an impressive structure. The cistern also became famous through several major films. You might know James Bond - Love Greetings from Moscow or the adaptation of Dan Brown's novel Inferno starring Tom Hanks.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joanne_a
Aug 14, 2024
Fantastic Experience - Excellent tour. It was beautiful with all the lights changing colour. Worth doing. Our guide was great.
Review provided by Viator
Safari01673193096
Aug 11, 2024
Enjoy Istanbul. - ramazan kindly Guided me. It was an interesting place with a deep history. Thank you very much.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Margarita_f
Aug 5, 2024
Great tour. - Very interesting historically. Would never have thought it existed. Guide was very informative and then we had free time so could explore at our leisure . Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Derek_b
Aug 14, 2024
A beautiful look at a lost world - Amazing to see such fantastic Roman engineering below street level. A little over-priced but a should-see right beside the main mosques. Pre-book and skip the crowds.
Review provided by Viator
Claire_p
Jul 29, 2024
Beautiful appreciation of Roman columns and sculptures - Amazing place to visit. A view into the past. It reveals how columns from other parts of the country were re-utilized to support the building of the cistern to store water. Perhaps the birth of recycling. Some of the carvings are the columns are beautiful. There are other statues and sculptures placed here that are beautiful to view. Only wished the guide stayed with us the entire time as we walked through the Cistern.
Review provided by Viator
Anthony_l
Aug 10, 2024
Skip the line but don’t expect much from the guide - Guide seemed to be uninterested and the tour felt very rushed. Skipping the line was the main advantage of buying these tickets.
Review provided by Viator
Chifanle
Aug 6, 2024
THE GUIDE DID NOT APPEAR - The guide didn't show up. I called the agency and they told me if I wanted the ticket not to cancel. In the end I paid for a guide who never arrived and I was not refunded anything
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephen_p
Jul 26, 2024
Basilica Cistern Tour - The basilica cistern itself was extremely intriguing.
However, the tour guide assigned spoke to whole tour details at the entrance to the cistern, he never came along explaining the various parts of the tour.
His English was good but trying to hear over everyone else shouting and the noise ofnghe cistern itself was very annoying.
Review provided by Viator
