Türkiye, TR
Discover the Basilica Cistern beneath the streets of Istanbul with a guided tour. Skip the long queues and wonder at the ancient site as you admire the architecture and Medusa heads.
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
English
Get insights from local guide that bring this hidden marvel to life and transforms your visit into a truly memorable experience.
Built in Byzantine times as a grand water reservoir, the cistern’s vast underground space is filled with hundreds of towering marble columns, their reflections shimmering on the water, creating a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. Your guide willl share the cistern’s fascinating history, from its engineering feats to its vital role in Istanbul’s development, revealing details most visitors miss—such as the mysterious Medusa head columns with their intriguing legends.
With your guide, you’ll understand not only the cistern’s function but its importance in both Byzantine and Ottoman times. The architectural brilliance and ancient stories woven into this space become clear, adding layers of depth to the experience. Guided insights elevate your visit, allowing you to truly appreciate the Basilica Cistern as more than an ancient structure—it becomes a doorway into Istanbul’s rich, storied past.
Guide
Skip-the-line entry
Unlimited stay inside after the tour
Hotel pickup and drop-off
You will skip the ticket lines, but you cannot skip the security line
During high season the security check can take up to 30 minutes
It was very difficult to hear the guide speaking due to all the background noise. We gave up after a while and walked off.
Cenker, thank you. I detest all the other guides because they just brought me to the entrance and said bye. But you asked me about what happened that I was upset when you met me and you were empathetic about how I felt when that guy harassed me only because I’m was a woman alone trying to enjoy my day at the basilica. Thanks again
Skipping the line was very helpful as the line was quite long when we went. Having a guide tell us the history was also helpful. Our guide (I believe Mehmet) was friendly and gave us a lot of information. Would recommend for the busy season to save time.
Someone who spoke better English would have been better
Very well organized, the guide told interesting stories about history. We recommend it.
Smooth process. Small group (5 total).
Sadly, we weren’t really giving any information that couldn’t have been grasped from the first three lines of a Google search there were no dates given no measurements given the information given within the tour was woefully lacking. The information given was quite disjointed I would not recommend this particular tour guide,. The only real advantage was skipping the line, but the line wasn’t even that long. He was very polite. He was very friendly.
The guide was not at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start as announced, which made me feel uncertain. But 10 minutes before the start, the guide was there with a flag and after that everything went great. A beautiful cistern that is definitely worth visiting. And thanks to the guide, there were some explanations and questions were also answered very well. I would spend the extra money on a guide again. In addition to the stories, we also got tips for the best photo spots.
Great knowledgeable guide, Mehmet was great. very streamlined process for getting into the cistern.