Beylerbeyi Palace is one of the most important Ottoman monuments located on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. The palace, which was used as a summer palace, and the other buildings in its garden, are in the big garden and hosts one of the most beautiful views of the Bosphorus. The palace, which was built in its current form between 1863-65, was used especially to host foreign guests. Everything you wonder about Beylerbeyi Palace, where is the palace, how to get there, what is the entrance fee, is it possible to have breakfast, its history, and much more in this article! Happy reading!
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What You Will Find In This Article
Where is Beylerbeyi Palace and How to Go?
The palace is located in the Beylerbeyi district between Üsküdar and Çengelköy, right at the foot of the first bridge.
- If you are coming from the Anatolian side with your own vehicle; When you go to the Bosphorus Bridge and take the last exit before the bridge towards Çengelköy, the palace will be right in front of you on the beach.
- If you are coming from the European side with your own vehicle; When you exit the first exit after the bridge and continue in the direction of Çengelköy, you will come to the palace.
- If you are coming by public transport, the easiest way to get to Beylerbeyi is to take any bus or minibus that uses the coastal road from Üsküdar. There is a bus stop 50 meters from the palace.
- Beylerbeyi Palace is 3.3 kilometers from Üsküdar Ferry Port, if you like walking like me, you can reach it in 40-45 minutes on foot.
The Palace on Google Maps click for location.
Open address: Beylerbeyi, Abdullahağa Cd. 34676 Uskudar/Istanbul
Phone: (0216) 321 93 20
Beylerbeyi Palace Entrance Fee and Visiting Hours
When I say "Let's see Beylerbeyi Palace" and make a plan, the first thing that comes to my mind is "who knows how much the entrance fee was this year?". Because the entrance fees of historical and cultural assets were increased at high rates. But a surprise awaited us at the door. I have great news for you! The Museum Card has also become valid in the palaces affiliated to the National Palaces.
Beylerbeyi Palace entrance fees as follows:
- Full 30 TL
- Student 10 TL
- Garden Ticket 5 TL
- Free for Turkish citizens over 65 years old.
- Free with the Museum Card.
- 60 TL for foreigners, 20 TL for students.
The palace is open to visitors every weekday except Mondays. It is also closed to visitors on January 1 and the first day of religious holidays. You can visit the palace and its garden between 09:00-17:30.
General Information About Beylerbeyi Palace
In addition to the main palace building, the palace has structures with different functions in the garden and is spread over a total area of 3000 square meters. On the map above, you can see the information about the area covered by the palace and the building in which area. right now only The main palace building, where the Mabeyn and Harem sections are located, is open to visitors.
The sea pavilions on the beach, the historical tunnel, the embankment gardens, the Yellow Kiosk by the big pool, the Marble Kiosk and the Stable Kiosk, which was built to house the sultan's horses, are unfortunately closed to visitors, and there is no exit even to the upper part of the garden. I mean, I won't go into the mansions, you just can't say I'll take a tour in the garden.
In the photo above, you can see the Marine Mansion on the right at the entrance to the palace garden. These mansions were built in pairs, one Mabeyn and one Harem mansion. These small mansions, which were built in the form of a Garden Gazebo, were given names such as "tent mansion" and "nevres (new) mansion" in old official documents.
The palace has two gates opening to the Bosphorus. The structure and embroidery of these gates, which open the garden walls between the sea and the palace garden, to the Bosphorus, are also quite impressive.
When you buy an entrance ticket to the palace, you can also benefit from the free audio guide service. By leaving your ID, you get the device you see below. Inside the palace, numbered signboards have been placed in areas where explanations are required. When you approach those signs, the device automatically starts to tell. If you want to listen to it again, simply dial the relevant number. I love these audio guide apps because I enjoy learning the details about the places I've visited. However, I think it would be much more efficient both in terms of hygiene and ease of updating if we could listen to these huge devices via a mobile application instead of giving them away.
Before entering the palace building, I recommend you to visit the garden. It has a small bamboo garden, sculptures, beautifully landscaped flowers, ducks and cats roaming around, and a delightful garden.
Beylerbeyi Palace Garden 
Beylerbeyi Palace Garden Beylerbeyi Palace Garden
History of Beylerbeyi Palace
The area where the palace is located has been used as a settlement since the Byzantine Period. In the Byzantine Period, there was a grove known as the Cross Gardens because of a large cross inside it. It was recorded that there was a church and holy spring here until the 17th century.
In the Ottoman period, the first palace built here was II. It was Selim's daughter, Gevher Sultan's Palace. Afterwards, structures such as Şevkabad Summer Palace, Ferahabad Mansion and Ferahfeza Summer Palace were built in the region. III. Mustafa had all the buildings in this area demolished and sold the land to the public. Mahmud II took back the sold lands and built a wooden palace here. However, this palace was severely damaged in a fire in 1851. Abdulaziz had the existing palace and additional buildings built between 1863-65 instead of the burning palace.
The palace was used as a summer palace and a state guesthouse. The palace was mostly used to host foreign state guests. Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph, French Empress Eugenie, Montenegrin Prince Nikola, German Emperor Wilhelm II were hosted in this palace.
Another feature of Beylerbeyi is Sultan II. After Abdulhamid was deposed, he was kept in this palace until his death in 1918. In fact, he was allowed to meet with his family only on holidays, and the room where those meetings were held is open to visitors.
The architect of the palace is the famous architect Sarkis Balyan and his brother Agop Balyan.
Beylerbeyi Palace – Interior 
Beylerbeyi Palace – Interior Beylerbeyi Palace – Interior Beylerbeyi Palace – Interior Beylerbeyi Palace – Interior
The 3-storey palace building with its basement consists of Harem (northern section) and Mabeyn-i Hümayun (southern section) apartments. The palace has three entrances, six great halls and 24 rooms. The palace architecture, which was built by fusing the Renaissance, Baroque and east-west styles, was built by analogy with the Turkish house plan.
One of the points that caught my attention in the palace was the floor coverings. Since it is a summer palace and it is on the seaside, almost all of the interior floors of the palace (there are exceptional rooms/halls) are covered with mats. These mats were brought from Alexandria, Egypt.
The interior decoration of the palace is very magnificent. One cannot help but look at every corner and every detail. French crystal chandeliers; Clocks made in British, French and Haliç Shipyards; Chinese, Japanese, French, German and Turkish porcelain vases; Hereke carpets and much more.
It is forbidden to take photos inside. Camera or cell phone doesn't matter. There are many security guards constantly roaming around the palace, so "can't I just shoot?" you can get caught.
Beylerbeyi Palace Cafeteria
It is possible to benefit only from the garden without entering the palace section of the palace. Garden entrance fee is 5 TL, if you have a Museum Card, you can enter it for free. Although it is not big enough to be worthy of palaces, there is a cafe in the garden of the palace. While the winter garden-style area seen in the photo above is used for the winter months, in the summer months tables are placed around the pool in front of the palace and you can have your tea, coffee, ice cream, dinner and breakfast in the shade of the lush trees against the Bosphorus view. As we were not given a menu when we sat down, I could not learn all the prices, but we paid 19 TL for Turkish Coffee and soda. So I'm guessing normal cafe prices.
Beylerbeyi Palace Cafeteria - Winter garden 
Beylerbeyi Palace Cafeteria
Don't Come Back Before You Come To Beylerbeyi Palace
While you are in Beylerbeyi, do not forget to take a walk into Beylerbeyi. If you come in the morning, you can have breakfast at the places around Beylerbeyi Pier, if you come in the afternoon and afternoon, you can drink your coffee or beer, and in the evening, you can set up delicious raki tables. In addition, Beylerbeyi Profiterole is very popular, you can meet your sweet needs there.
Beylerbeyi Palace Photos
You can see the photos you see in this article and more below:
Beylerbeyi Palace – Interior Beylerbeyi Palace – Interior Indoor Beylerbeyi Palace – Interior Beylerbeyi Palace – Interior 
Beylerbeyi Palace – Garden Beylerbeyi Palace Garden Beylerbeyi Palace Garden Beylerbeyi Palace Beylerbeyi Palace playground audio guide 
cafeteria Sea Pavilion Beylerbeyi Palace
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