Dolmabahçe Sarayı Dolmabahçe Palace (Turkish: Dolmabahçe Sarayı, IPA: [doɫmabahˈtʃe saɾaˈjɯ]) located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coast of the Bosporus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1887 and from 1909 to 1922 (Yıldız Palace was used in the interim period).

This palace is absolutely worth visiting. You can’t take pictures inside, queue for long if you don’t book in advance, have to cover your shoes with plastic bags and need to give proof of ID to get the audio guide but is worth it. The interior is mesmerizing, opulent and just breath taking. The audio guide is highly recommended so you can understand the narrative of the place, I really recommend getting one. Going back to the interior, the level of detail, history, details and rooms are just an amazing piece of history

It is a must see place in Istanbul. Amazing interior design and decoration. It is a pity that they don't allow people to take photos. It is advisable to get a ticket for the whole compound including the museum of paintings. In the latter people are allowed to take photos, which is bizarre to allow to take photos of piece of art and not the interior of a historical building.

It was a really beautiful place but the ticket was so pricey, I mean even visiting historical places in Europe are not that expensive. I didn’t buy the ticket just because I felt it wasn’t worth it.

Very beautiful palace! A calm and wonderful place away from the bustling city. We went at 2 pm on a Saturday and it was great, it charges around 650 lira for tourist (less for locals logically). There’s a cute little cafe in the entrance and by the sea which is nice for a coffee after or before your visit.

First day we visited all old town experience and next day we visited Dolmabahce Sarayi....A must see palace. It's worth seeing . Beautiful Architecture and Beautiful carvings ....only one thing we cannot take photos inside.

Photos not allowed! Not even without flash. It's like in a discount store you are guided through the rooms using one way. There is an audio guide against depot.

If you are in Istanbul this is the place from To Visit List!!! 100% ticket fee is 450 but the place is so beautiful and you will spend there definitely more that 3 hours so take your time and enjoy. Unfortunately you can not take pictures in the palace

Beautiful palace with beautiful architecture and beautiful history. It is a 3-4h hours tour and at the entrance they give you listening guidance for free. We enjoyed the beautiful paintings and the beautiful peace of arts inside the palace. It is interesting to see and I recommend it.

Brilliant palace museum that houses the best art museum in Turkey on Ottoman and Republican War of Independence. Keep ample time (ideally 6 hours) to truly enjoy this place

Nice and interesting place to visit. Take your time to see many works of art over a large area.

Very beautiful place, must visit and , and worth doing inside tour

The Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul served Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as the seat of government until the capital moved to Ankara and later as his Istanbul residence. No significant modifications were made to this. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk died there on November 10, 1938 at 9:05 a.m. After this, all the clocks in the palace were set to 9:05 and stopped; This was maintained for decades; the clock in his death room still shows this time today. source Wikipedia

Dolmabahçe Palace was originally a wooden building, but after most of it burned down in a great fire, it was rebuilt and built as a splendid stone structure. ​They say it was decorated luxuriously after the Palace of Versailles, but it was nothing compared to the Palace of Versailles! Photography inside is prohibited! It is said that six sultans of the Ottoman Empire lived in this palace, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey's first president, also used this place as his official residence and is said to have died in his office at 9:05 a.m. on November 10, 1938. That's why all the clocks in the office and bedroom show 9:05. After the palace tour, I was reluctant to leave so I looked around the garden. Although it was a small garden, it was a wonderful garden with trees, flowers, and decorative items. From the garden facing the Bosphorus Strait, you can see ships passing through the strait and Turkey on the Asian side across the street.

Very nice place I prefer all my friends to visit this palace

Beautiful place must visit but no camera and no pictures captured and close at 4pm if want audio guide then you have to carry your passport

Beautiful and worth a visit. Very expensive for tourists (€30), for Turkish people it only costs €4!

For foreigners the entrance fee is 1050 lira, for Turks only 150. We found it outrageous, we come from a country where foreigners and locals are NOT discriminated against!!!! You are NOT allowed to take photos of the interiors, some parts of the palace are being renovated, some buildings are completely closed, but charge full price for that!! We have seen more impressive places in the world where you are not so blatantly excluded as a foreigner! We were in Istanbul 10 years ago and it wasn't like it is now, the authorities' behavior towards tourists has simply become outrageous, see also Topkapi, where foreigners have to pay 1500 lira for entry!

Must see on your list of places to visit in Istanbul! Also don’t miss out on the gallery next to the palace, which has paintings by Aivasovsky.

A very beautiful place.

Amazing palace and stunning architecture. Unfortunately, we visited it during public holiday and it was packed with people so we had to wait in line for so long.

It is definitely one of the places you should see and the price is very reasonable for such a museum.

It’s really beautiful to see and discover this amazing place! It will take from you around 2 hours btw, so we lan ahead to have enough time! Dolmabahçe Mosque is also very close, so take a look at it.

Huge collection, needs half day - no rush when we entered, muzekart advantage but no use of Istanbul museum pass Loads to see, lots of walking - no seating place available within the palace. No photography or videos allowed inside. Also you have to leave your passport or driving license as deposit to get an audio guide which is bizarre Discount for turkey muzekart, Istanbul museum pass doesn’t work here

Amazing experience, Better to visit in early hours and stay long time to enjoy the place. The cafe inside was very good. The best was the sea facing gates awesome view.

Absolutely beautiful. However, be advised that you are NOT allowed to take pictures inside the palace. Security will remind you. Be respectful even though i know it sucks.

This is a beautiful palace! The lines are long to get in but the grounds and rooms are spectacular. I actually enjoyed the Museum of Painting which is on the grounds. The collection there was enormous and some of the art breathtaking! Not to be missed when enjoying the palace.

Should be top priority if you’re visiting here. It usually takes 3 hours for the tour so better wear comfortable shoes and try to take tour time while visiting the cafes, museums and sit outside the beautiful garden. Almost half of the palace was closed due to construction but was still very beautiful to see the architecture and views. At peak hours, you have to wait in line to get through security and to buy the ticket. If you want audio guide, you have to bring your ID or passport. Since it doesn’t allow tou to take pictures inside the palace or the museum, I recommend to take enough pictures outside the palace and through the beautiful white door on the Bosphorus side. Make sure to check the weather when you’re visiting since everything looks so much better when it’s sunny.