
Istanbul: Basilica Cistern Skip-the-Line Guided Tour
On this 30-minute tour, visit the 4th-century Basilica Cistern and discover the mystery of Medusa heads from Greek mythology.
GetYourGuide uses cookies to give you the best possible service. If you continue browsing, you agree to the use of cookies. More details can be found in our privacy policy.
On this 30-minute tour, visit the 4th-century Basilica Cistern and discover the mystery of Medusa heads from Greek mythology.
See the sights of Istanbul that most interest you on a customized, 1 or 2-day tour with a professional guide. Marvel at monuments from the Byzantine…
See the sights of Istanbul that most interest you on a customized tour with private guide. Marvel at some of the city's most significant sights…
Istanbul
See all 375 tickets & toursSign up for our newsletter and discover travel experiences you’ll really want to try.
By signing up, you agree to receive promotional emails. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, read our privacy statement.
Want to discover all there is to do in Basilica Cistern? Click here for a full list.
The meeting point is very clear then a quick visit to the Basilica Cistern. The guided tour was at 3 different points inside the cistern and the guide was detailed and informative, the tour took about 30 min then we were left on our own to explore further or leave. The cistern is not too large so spent about 20 mins walking around and taking some photos. This ticket definitely saves time as there was a decent line for the general admission tickets.
The guide took us underground to see the cistern which is no longer in use but was used as a water reservoir for Istanbul for many centuries. We can only marvel at the ability of people all those centuries ago to bring water to Istanbul from outlying areas and provide the city with a water supply. We saw the Medusa heads and heard the legends about Medusa.
It was great to skip the line. Well organised and easy to book on my phone. Our guide was very good. The Basilica was amazing but the atmosphere was seriously degraded by the unnecessary tacky area where tourists could dress up in costume for photographs. Slinging that outside would improve the experience by a mile.
I did the one day tour. I would highly recommend it if you have a short time in Istanbul. My guide tailored the tour to include something extra that was recommended to me by me cutting short my Grand Bazaar visit. Tip - wear your walking shoes.
Professional and very experienced guide. Also, very service-oriented and flexible, i.e. taking into account our interests and those of our two children. Overall, very good overview and introduction given to this impressing city. Much thanks.
Loading...