Basilica Cistern Tour: Daily Guided Visits

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Get instant access to top museums and attractions in Istanbul with the Digital Istanbul Museum E-Pass. Enjoy guided tours, skip-the-line entry, and a digital guidebook in multiple languages.

Duration: 2 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Topkapi Palace Museum - Topkapi Palace Museum Guided Tour free entrance.
It is the biggest museum in Istanbul. The location of the palace is just behind the Hagia Sophia in the historical city center of Istanbul. The original use of the palace was the house for the Sultan; today, the palace is functioning as a museum. Important highlights in this palace are; harem, treasury, kitchens and many more.
Hagia Irene Museum - Hagia Irene Museum Free Entrance.
The Church of Hagia Irene (Divine Peace) is a Byzantine church, which is in the first courtyard of Topkapi Palace. It was the first cathedral in Constantinapolis. Over the centuries, it was built 3 times. The church, as it currently stands, was built by Constantine V in the 8th century. It was an arsenal during the Ottoman Empire period. It became the very first museum in Turkey in the 19th century. After extensive restorations in modern days, it was opened as the “Hagia Irine Museum.”
Basilica Cistern Museum - Beautiful yet eerie, Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayi) isn’t your average underground well. Dating back to the Byzantine era, the huge cistern was built in the mid-500s on the former site of a basilica. More than 300 marble columns provide a grand, serene atmosphere to what was essentially subterranean water storage.

What's Included

Combo pass valid for three days after first tour
Professional guidance in English for 2 tours
Entry tickets to Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace (except Harem Section)

What's Not Included

Food and drinks, unless specified
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Harem Section of Topkapi Palace

Additional Information

Basilica Cistern Tour Times
Mondays:09:00,10:00,12:00,14:00,15:30,16:45
Tuesdays:09:00, 10:30,12:00,14:00,16:00
Wednesdays:09:00,10:00,11:00,12:00,14:00,15:00,16:00,16:45
Thursdays:09:00, 10:00,11:00,12:00,12:30,14:00,15:15,15:45,16:30
Fridays:09:00, 10:00,11:00,11:30,12:00,12:30,13:30,14:30,15:45,16:30
Saturdays:09:00, 10:00,11:00,12:00,13:30,14:00,15:00,15:30,16:30,17:00
Sundays:09:00, 10:00,11:00,12:00,13:30,14:15,15:00,15:30,16:00,16:30,17:00
Basilica Cistern: Front of the Busforus Bus Stop (D marked stop sign) in Sultanahmet Square

Topkapi Palace Tour Times
Mondays09:00, 11:00,13:45,14:45,15:30
Tuesdays: Closed
Wednesdays:09:00,10:00,11:00,13:00,14:00,14:45,15:30
Thursdays:09:00, 10:00,11:15,12:00,13:15,14:15,14:45,15:30
Fridays:09:00, 10:00,10:45,12:00,13:00,13:45,14:30,15:30
Saturdays:09:00, 10:15,11:00,12:00,13:00,13:45,15:00,15:30
Sundays:09:00, 10:15,11:00,12:00,13:00,13:30,14:30,15:30
Topkapi Palace: At the fountain of Sultan Ahmed III across the main gate of Topkapi Palace

Location

Fountain Sultan Ahmed III

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.8

(33 Ratings)

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1 star

Yvette_m

Jul 24, 2024

Amazing day in Istanbul - Tour guide for the places visited were very helpful. Amazing day out and great value for money. A must see in Istanbul.

Review provided by Viator

214josess

Jun 21, 2023

A must have when travelling to Istambul - It was an absolut pleasure and i was quite surprised about the excellency of the service provided. Although the guides were competent and the tours well prepared the thing that impressed me the most was the prompt responses here in whatsapp and the quality of the app.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Wijdaney

Oct 3, 2022

Just amazing - Available, professionnal, and very helpful. I highly recommand the epass services, especially for an Istanbul first visit; they answer all our questions on Whatsapp, in a very brief delay Thank you epass for this beautiful experience (museums, princess islands, bursa, diner cruise …)

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Omar_a

Sep 14, 2022

Worth every cent - The operator reached out to us quickly and we had a very seamless process filled with information on all the places we need to to, the guides that we met were all great!

Review provided by Viator

Mvrban1

Aug 24, 2022

Excellent for skipping ticket lines, included services are top of line! - Excellent experience with Istanbul epass. Used it on major attractions and for airport transport. Support is rapid and help to solve problems. Recommend!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Milicapetrovicmilly

Aug 22, 2022

Outstanding service - It was an absolute pleasure using Istanbul e-pass. Their guides were both wonderful and the customer service was very quick and efficient. You don’t need to wait in line and you have plenty of sights to choose from. :)

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Maifouad1

Aug 16, 2022

Great choice - It was amazing experience and worth the money, the team on what'sapp where amazing and great help. I would definitely recommend it. The night crouse was really very good, we enjoyed another.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Alessandroap6200uu

Sep 8, 2022

Pleasant - Best highlight of the whole package is the customer support. They really do their best to proactively reach and help you and I never found such a reliable service as a tourist or as a customer in general. The range of tours available is quite big, so you would be quite definitely busy for 5 days at least.

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Jyoti_b

May 23, 2024

Peep into history - Our guide was very good and energetic. Her knowledge was commendable. The cistern basilica was amazing. But the meeting points were not very clear especially since there were huge crowds. We didn’t know where to go. But after talking to the office things became better

Review provided by Viator

Salem4224

Jan 16, 2023

5 Days entry package - The advertisement of this package highlighted its benefits in terms of entry fee savings for Aya Sophia and the blue mosque. However, I discovered that there is no entry fee for Aya Sophia, since it became a mosque, and the blue mosque is closed for few months for maintenance. So, the advertisement is in a way misleading. However, the other attractions justify the package although the saving is not as one would have expected.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

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