Hagia Sophia tickets and visitor guide
Hagia Sophia is the great domed building of Istanbul, a church for nine centuries and a mosque today. Here is how visitor entry works and what to know.
Photo: Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ticket options compared
What each kind of ticket lets you see, and how the options differ in price and cancellation terms.
| Option | What’s included | Good for | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor entry | A ticket for the visitor entrance and the upper gallery, from where you look down into the nave and see the mosaics. | A first visit at your own pace | Book now |
| Entry with audio guide | Visitor entry plus an audio guide to the building and its mosaics. | Context without joining a group | Book now |
| Guided tour | Entry with a guide who explains the Byzantine and Ottoman layers of the building, often with a faster entrance. | Understanding what you are looking at | Book now |
| Combination ticket | Hagia Sophia together with nearby sights such as the Basilica Cistern or Topkapı Palace. | Seeing several sights in one day | Book now |
Check live prices
Open each option to see the price and the cancellation terms for your date.
About Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia was completed in 537 under Emperor Justinian and was the largest church in the Christian world for centuries. Its dome, set on four great arches, still shapes the skyline of the old city.
After 1453 it became a mosque, and minarets were added. It was a museum for most of the twentieth century and has been a mosque again since 2020.
Today the ground floor is used for prayer and visitors see the building from the upper gallery. That is also where the best Byzantine mosaics are, at eye level.
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Good to know
Opening hoursOpen daily to visitors, with a pause around the Friday midday prayer. Check the hours for your date.
How long to allowAbout an hour for the upper gallery.
Dress codeIt is a working mosque. Shoulders and knees must be covered, and women cover their hair. Scarves are sold at the entrance.
EntrancesVisitors use a separate entrance from worshippers. Follow the signs for the visitor entrance on the square.
Nearby
Blue Mosque
The Sultanahmet Mosque. Free to enter, closed to visitors at prayer times.
Basilica Cistern
An underground Byzantine reservoir of columns and water, opposite Hagia Sophia.
Topkapı Palace
Home of the Ottoman sultans, with the Harem and the treasury. Closed on Tuesdays.
Sultanahmet
Walk to the main monuments. Quiet in the evening.
Also in Istanbul
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hagia Sophia free?
Worshippers enter free. Visitors buy a ticket and enter the upper gallery.
Can visitors go onto the ground floor?
No. The ground floor is reserved for prayer. Visitors see the nave from the upper gallery.
Do I need to book ahead?
It is not required, but a ticket bought ahead saves time at the ticket booth in busy months.
Can I see the mosaics?
Yes. The main surviving mosaics are in the upper gallery, on the visitor route.