Yildiz Palace Museum

Yildiz Palace Museum is located in the Besiktas District on the outskirts of Istanbul along the sea. It takes a bit of a trek to get to, but is worth your time if you enjoy learning more about the governmental history of Turkey and the lives of its sultans.
Yildiz Palace Museum is located in part of Yildiz Palace, a massive property full of pavilions and gardens and which is an impressive example of a palace in the Turkish Ottoman style. The oldest buildings date back to the 16th century when the property was mostly used as a hunting lodge for royalty. It was largely expanded by Sultan Abdülhamid II in the late 1800s as he thought the location provided extra security and he wanted to use it as his official residence.
The carpentry workshop part of the palace was converted into the Yildiz Palace Museum and contains many palace artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries, including well-preserved furniture, thrones, wood carvings and porcelain artwork made in the palace's porcelain workshop. The property that Yildiz Palace Museum is on is also home to a garden you can walk around.

Practical Info

Yildiz Palace Museum is located at the northern end of Serencebey Yokusu street. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the summer season (April 16 to November 1) and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. the rest of the year. Yildiz Palace Museum is closed on Tuesday.