Anatolian lands are a unique and rich region with both their underground heritage and unearthed artefacts… If you have a Museum Card, you can visit affiliated museums and historical sites all over Türkiye. Visitors in possession of a Museum Card can visit museums which accept this voucher without waiting in line for a ticket.
What is a Museum Card, How to Get One?
The Museum Card programme consists of a variety of special cards that allows you to enter museums and ruins affiliated to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. There is a discounted option for students for the Museum Card, which you can only buy with an identification card. Student ID or document is sufficient for the discounted Museum Card. You can buy it by paying with a credit card on the Museum Card website or at the entrance of any important museums and ruins.
Where Can I Go with a Museum Card?
The number of museums and historical buildings accepting the Museum Card in Istanbul is quite high. Galata Tower, Topkapı Palace, Istanbul Archaeological Museums (the Ancient Orient Museum and Tiled Kiosk Museum), Galata Mevlevi Lodge, Great Palace Mosaics Museum, Dolmabahçe Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace, Yıldız Palace are among the places where you can enter with a Museum Card in Istanbul.
The Museum Card offers great convenience for those who love to travel and take in history. The offer means that you can easily visit intriguing mystical places such as Ankara Palas, famous for its Republic Balls, where the city elite gathered to show off the latest trends in European sophistication. In Hierapolis Ancient City, the travertine floors spread the clouds under our feet in Pamukkale, whose name means “Cotton Castle” in Turkish. You can also see the Göbeklitepe Ruins which are 12,000 years old and one of the oldest centres of centres in the world, and the beautiful Göreme Open Air Museum with its fairy chimneys.
For those who want to discover the Lycian Civilization, Antalya revives history for you with its 26 museums and ruins. From Olympos, a legendary capital from Greek mythology, to Phaselis, from Arykanda next to high rocks, to Patara, the capital of the Lycian union with its extended coast and glorious history, you can discover the Hellenistic Period here.
Where is the Museum Card Valid?
With the Museum Card, you can visit more than 350 museums, ruins, National Palaces, and ruins affiliated to the Çanakkale Area Presidency for a year without limitation. The card is ready to use from the moment you buy it.
Apart from museums and ruins affiliated to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, some private museums provide certain discounts for Museum Card holders. The Rahmi Koç Museum or the Sakıp Sabancı Museum in Istanbul are some of them.
Although the museum card provides many discounts and ease of passage, you need to buy a ticket separately in some ministry museums. You can enter Topkapı Palace, Ephesus Ruins or Göreme Open Air Museum with a museum card, but you need to buy a separate ticket for some museum sections such as the Harem Office or the Hagia Irene Monument in Istanbul, Yamaçevler in İzmir, the Dark Church in Cappadocia. Be sure to visit the museums page, where you can purchase a Museum Card and electronic tickets for other museums.
What are the Museum Card Types and How Much Are the Prices in 2022?
There are 6 different types of museum cards on sale in 2022. The validity period, the area covered and the fee for each of these are different.
Müzekart+ provides unlimited access to more than 350 museums and ruins in Türkiye for a year. You can buy the card, which has a fee of 60 TL, at a discount if you are a student. The discounted Müzekart+ only provides two entries for each museum. Müzekart+ is only valid for citizens of the Republic of Türkiye and those who have a residence permit in Türkiye.
Museum Pass Türkiye, is valid for 15 days throughout Türkiye. The cost of the card that gives a single pass for each museum is TRY 800.
Museum Pass İstanbul, you can visit 13 museums in Istanbul connected to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Palaces of the Republic of Türkiye for 5 days. The price of Museum Pass Istanbul is TRY 550.
Museum Pass Cappadocia, a card valid for 3 days, you can go on a historical journey to more than 10 museums and ruins affiliated to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye in Nevşehir and Aksaray. The price of Museum Pass Cappadocia is TRY 320.
Museum Pass the Mediterranean allows you to visit more than 40 museums and ruins in Antalya, Mersin, Adana and Denizli under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye for 7 days. The price of Museum Pass the Mediterranean, which provides one entrance to each museum, is TRY 500.
Museum Pass the Aegean, where you can explore more than 40 museums and ruins in İzmir, Aydın, Muğla and Denizli for 7 days. The price of Museum Pass the Aegean, which provides one entrance to each museum, is TRY 500.
Museums may be closed periodically due to maintenance, repair or restoration, do not forget to check the full list and status of the museums while planning your trip.
Museum Card Points of Sales
İstanbul
Istanbul Archaeological Museums
Topkapı Palace Museum
Hagia Irene Memorial Museum
Ankara
Museum of the Republic
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
İzmir
Bergama Acropolis and Asklepion Ruins
Ephesus Ruins
İzmir Archaeology Museum
Antalya
Antalya Museum
Alanya Museum
Aspendos, Olympos Ruins
Phaselis, Patara Ruins
Muğla
Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Kaunos Ruins
Datça Kaunos Ruins
Fethiye Ruins
Şanlıurfa
Göbeklitepe Ruins
You can also buy electronic tickets, which are another way to explore museums, ruins or national palaces without waiting in line, from the museums’ own websites.
Note: The information provided is valid as of July 2022, when the article was published, you can review the current information on the website https://muze.gov.tr/.
