The seat of three empires and a major 21st-century world city, İstanbul has always been a centre of culture, trade, and power. As one would expect of a majestic city with a history of thousands of years, İstanbul lays claim to countless architectural wonders. Listed below are some of the city’s architectural marvels that every visitor should see.

Perhaps the most famous of all the awe-inspiring buildings in İstanbul, Ayasofya’s iconic silhouette perched atop İstanbul’s Historical Peninsula is recognizable in nearly any photo of the city’s striking skyline. Upon its completion in 537 CE, this magnificent and colossal structure defied all logic. Constructed over a period of five years, it is known for its 32.6-meter diameter central dome which, at a height of over 55 meters, appears to be floating in the air.

Topkapı Sarayı, or Topkapı Palace, was the seat of the Ottoman Empire in its capital, İstanbul, for 400 years. Positioned at the most strategic point of İstanbul’s Historical Peninsula, jutting out into the Bosphorus Strait, spectacular views are one of the many attractions of Topkapı.

This museum is a sprawling complex, the summation of centuries of construction and renovation following the orders of the Ottoman sultans in 1459, a couple of years after the conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror.

Sitting right along the Bosphorus in the lively district of Beşiktaş is Dolmabahçe Palace. Built in the later years of the Ottoman Empire, İstanbul’s third largest palace is a magnificent work of Western architecture. Now a museum, visitors today have the opportunity to admire the craftmanship of its ornate exterior before being enchanted by the imperial luxury of the rooms and their furnishing.

Peeking out above the cluster of surrounding high-rise buildings, Galata Kulesi (Galata Tower) beckons visitors to the energetic neighbourhoods of Galata and Taksim. Although the site has laid claim to a tower since 507 CE, the current structure was built by the Genoese.

A lesser-known fact about the Byzantine Empire was its remarkably successful use of hundreds of underground cisterns in İstanbul for the purpose of water management. The largest and most noteworthy of these cisterns is Yerebatan Sarnıcı or the Basilica Cistern, located on İstanbul’s Historical Peninsula.

Following the transition of power from the waning Byzantine Empire to the rising and expanding Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, İstanbul once again transformed into a thriving metropolis. As the population and economy boomed, many Ottoman monuments were erected.

The chief contributor to these architectural achievements was the Ottoman Empire's most prolific and famous architect, Mimar (Architect) Sinan. Of all Sinan’s works in İstanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque stands alone as his magnum opus.

Across the Bosphorus in the hip neighbourhood of Kadıköy sits the old Haydarpaşa Station. This beautiful structure abuts the Bosphorus Strait and is hard to miss by anyone ferrying over to İstanbul’s Anatolian side.

Built in the late 19th century, Haydarpaşa Station gained fame as the terminal station for railways connecting İstanbul to the Ottoman Empire’s Middle Eastern provinces during the late Ottoman period. Up until its closure for renovation, Haydarpaşa continued to be the busiest railway station in Türkiye. While the plans to reopen this iconic building as a functional railway station are still underway, visitors to the Anatolian side can visit the museum site to take in one of the finest examples of Neoclassical architecture in Türkiye.