Guided Tours

Hagia Sophia Guided Tour with Skip-the-Line Tickets

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Skip the lines and explore Hagia Sophia's splendours with an expert guide. Delve into its rich past with an audio guide in 23 languages!

Highlights

Enjoy fast-tracked entry and learn everything you can about Hagia Sophia, with a 1hr guided tour and a self-paced audio-guided tour.
Learn from a seasoned historian about Hagia Sophia, including its fascinating past as a church, then a mosque, and a world record holder.
Equipped with the knowledge you gathered from your guide, explore at your pace, with an audio guide available in 23 languages.
You'll be clicking away like there's no tomorrow: enjoy spectacular views by heading to the visitor's area on the second floor.
Fun fact: For over 1000 years, Hagia Sophia held the title of the world's largest dome (31-meters).

Inclusions

1-hour expert historian guide in English
Self-paced exploration after guided tour
Entry ticket to the Hagia Sophia visitors area
Audio guide app in 23 languages

Cancellation policy

You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.

Ratings & Reviews

4.1

2.8K Ratings

5/5

1.8K

4/5

411

3/5

121

2/5

107

1/5

365

Guests from United States, United Kingdom, Greece and over 49 countries have loved this experience

Stefan

4/5

May, 2024

Old guide with XP. Knew his topic and gave us useful non biased tips. No aggressive bakshish request but of course there was a "charity cause" at the end. I learned a lot about the history and the background of the site. The entry in the museum was very smooth.

Marjorie

5/5

May, 2024

Ticket experience was absolutely fine. Our guide was wonderful - so well informed and spent time explaining everything and asking our questions. He had a lovely manner.

Capucine

4/5

May, 2024

Although the platform Headout didn't help us with our requests and I had to restart the conversation with their bots many times and never got the help or information I needed. The actual tour and guide on location was super helpful, went the extra mile for us (we needed help for disability reasons). His tour was super interesting and I learned a lot even though I've been living in Istanbul for 10 years! Thank you 😊🙏🏻

Clemence

5/5

May, 2024

Great visit of the Blue Mosque with Gamze (sorry if misspelt!) Very clear explanations, Gamze took the time to answer questions and made sure everyone could hear her. She’s clearly passionate about Istanbul and its beautiful monuments ! Highly recommend, we had a great time and the Blue Mosque is absolutely stunning. No guides allowed in Hague Sophia but our guide still took some time to explain a bit and accompanied us to the security entrance.

3/5

May, 2024

The pre visit talk outside was interesting and well delivered but we hadn't been made aware that the guide would not be coming inside with us. And although we spent in total only 30mins queuing we skipped nothing at all so ticket sale promise was disingenuous . I also want to mention that as a picture conservator I was amazed by the quality of the overpainting of the interior Orthodox artwork ...such angel's wings in this site of legendary cultural importance.........

Your experience

Hagia Sophia, how historians see it

Fuel up at the Dsign Cafe, located quite near Hagia Sophia while you wait for your expert guide to join you. Eager as they are, and with so much to tell you, be prepared to start learning everything right from the get-go. Skip the lines and go straight in with your guide. In an hour, explore every nook and corner of Hagia Sophia and fall in love with it the way a historian does, knowing why they revere it so much. Learn exactly how this iconic mosque used to be a Greek Orthodox Cathedral once, and then a Roman Catholic Cathedral.

Take your time

With all the tidbits of knowledge you gathered from your guide, go back and see it all again and gain new perspectives. Oh, and you're not alone. To refresh your memory and gather more details, tune in to the audio guide app, available in 23 languages. Watch out for thrilling tales of hidden art that resurfaced when Hagia Sophia became the beautiful museum that it is. Treat yourself to some great views from the visitors' area for spending a day learning so much.

Know before you go

What to bring

Bring your headphones or rent a pair for 100TRY. Make sure your smartphone and headphones are charged.
Women should cover their hair partially with a scarf. You can buy clothes and scarves at the entrance.

What's not allowed

Hagia Sophia does not permit knee-length shorts, skirts, or clothing with exposed shoulders or chests.

Accessibility

This tour is not suitable for wheelchair users.

Additional information

Safety comes first, always. The mandatory security check at the entrance might take a bit long, but its worth the wait.

My tickets

Your voucher will be emailed to you shortly. You need not print your voucher.
Please display your voucher on your mobile phone with a valid photo ID to your host who will escort you.
Please ensure that you arrive 30 minutes before the start time of your tour to check-in.

Meeting Point

Please check your final voucher for the meeting point details and specific instructions.

Missing any information?