Its interesting to think that the ruling family moved from the ancient traditions of Topkapi to what then must have been the ultramodern and luxurious Dolmabahce Palace. Its is without doubt way over the top in its excessive use of gold leaf and crystal and I am sure must have given visiting dignitaries a few giggles when they arrived from... more

Just entering the Muayede hall with the 4.5 tonne chandelier is breathtaking and worth the entrance fee in itself. But the whole palace is a must see place. A guide (not optional)takes you throught the palace and you need to keep up and close if you want to hear what is said. more

The staggering opulcence of this palace may be impressive, but I found it very shallow and artificial! It looks like an overdressed wedding cake ... totally out of place and nothing Turkish about it! It costs 20YL for the guided tour! And a guided tour is the only way to visit the palace. Our English group was a huge group... more

This is by far the best attraction in Istanbul in my opinion. The blue Mosque has all the publicity but this Dolmabahce Palace (Dolmabahce Sarayi) is one not to be missed. The palace is so grand and beautiful. One has to experience it for themselves. You also get free English speaking guide which is a nice touch. more

WOW a must!!!!!!!!! BREATHTAKING i loved ittttttttttt u see alot of interesting things and u find urself imagining how the sultan lived there! also loved the area around... u have to go! more

This visit was quite a deceprtion. You have to wait and to queue everywhere. First, in the middle of august, full saison, there was only one place opened to buy ticket. After that, you have to wait the next visit, because you MUST join a group. You can't be free. So, one more time, you wait. When you are in... more

As someone who has visited many palaces and stately homes in the U.K. and elsewhere, having to have a guided tour is often a bit of a chore, stopping you from browsing at your own pace etc. It can, however, sometimes be a revelation - opening your eyes to things you may have missed. Sadly, the only revelation about the... more

Don't bother with this tourist trap. It's expensive to get in. Guards arbitrarily let some people enter with backpacks and make others check in theirs. The tour guides are the worst I've ever encountered. One - a tall, thin, bald man - was barely intelligible and kept barking out orders for guests not to talk with each other while he... more

I quote a previous reviewer: "Our tour was in acceptable English, but there was no time to linger or even look at most of the palace - guards were following behind and constantly moving us along. The guide had difficulty answering questions about material outside the scripted tour." I bought the "camera tag" and took quite a number of photographs,... more