Istanbul: Topkapi Palace & Dolmabahce Palace Combo Ticket
About This Experience
A combined skip-the-line ticket for the two imperial palaces — Topkapı, the Ottoman seat of power for four centuries, and Dolmabahçe, the nineteenth-century European-style palace on the Bosphorus that replaced it. Seeing both in one day is the clearest way to understand what changed in the empire's last century.
This is a ticket product with an audio guide in ten languages, not a guided tour. There is no guide walking you round; you collect your ticket from a host and then move through each palace at your own pace, staying as long as you like.
Two exclusions matter here and the operator states both plainly. The Harem section of Topkapı is not included — the Dolmabahçe Harem is, which is easy to misread. And skipping the security line is explicitly not included, which is simply the truth of the site rather than a shortcoming of this ticket.
Highlights
- Skip-the-line tickets to both Topkapı Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace
- Audio guide in ten languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, Arabic and Chinese
- Stay inside each palace as long as you like — no fixed tour schedule
- Join any available time slot through the day
- Includes the Dolmabahçe Harem section
What's Included
- ✓ Skip-the-line ticket to Topkapi Palace with a host
- ✓ Skip-the-line ticket to Dolmabahce Palace & Harem Section
- ✓ The audio guide app is available in multiple languages. (English, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Korean)
Not Included
- The Harem section of Topkapı Palace
- A live tour guide
- Skipping the security line
- Earphones
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
What to Bring
- Headphones — the audio guide runs on your own phone and earphones are not supplied
- A charged smartphone
- Photo ID for children, as under-6s enter free
Good to Know & Caveats
- The Topkapı Harem is NOT included in this ticket. If the Harem is on your list, this is not the right product.
- Every visitor passes an airport-style security check at the Imperial Gate. No ticket, tour or pass skips it — arriving near opening time is the only thing that shortens it. The operator lists 'skipping the security line' among the exclusions, which is accurate.
- Topkapı is closed on Tuesdays and Dolmabahçe is closed on Mondays, so neither Monday nor Tuesday works for using both halves of this ticket.
- Re-entry is not permitted once you leave either palace.
- Children aged 0–5 enter free and do not need a ticket.
- The Topkapı visit is not a guided tour — it is entry with an audio guide.
Not Suitable For
- Visitors who specifically want to see the Topkapı Harem
- Anyone who wants a live guide rather than an audio app
Meeting Point
Meet your host at the red City Windows kiosk inside the Chimney Bistro. Note that the Topkapı portion is a ticket with an audio guide, not a guided tour.
What Travelers Say
Rated 4.8/5 by 19 verified GetYourGuide travelers.
Its 2 locations are beautiful, but on the other hand, a combined price of €100 for both is really too expensive for Turkey. That's €50 per entrance, when you consider the difference in currency there.
— Raphael, June 21
Great things to do. One was closed, but I was immediately offered an alternative, which I took advantage of. I recommend it!
— Krystian, June 16
Everything went smoothly. We didn't have to wait in any lines and got through without any problems. Looking at the lines for tickets and at the entrance (especially at the Basilica Cisterna), you realize that this service is definitely worth the money. Very convenient, thank you!
— Kiselev, August
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this ticket include the Topkapı Harem?
No. The operator explicitly excludes the Harem section of Topkapı Palace. It does include the Dolmabahçe Harem, which is a different thing and easy to confuse. If you want the Topkapı Harem, book a ticket or tour that names it in the inclusions.
Which days can I use it?
Not Monday or Tuesday if you want both palaces: Topkapı closes on Tuesdays and Dolmabahçe closes on Mondays. Any other day works for both.
Is there a live guide?
No. This is a ticket with an audio guide app in ten languages. The Topkapı visit in particular is entry with audio, not a guided tour. You meet a host to collect the ticket and then go at your own pace.
Does it skip the security queue?
No — the listing says so itself, naming 'skipping the security line' among the exclusions. It skips the ticket queue at both palaces. Nobody sells a bypass of the security screening.
Do I need my own headphones?
Yes. Earphones are not included and the audio guide runs on your own smartphone, so bring headphones and arrive with the phone charged.
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