Pera Museum - Another very beautiful and attractive museum is located in the Tepebaşı district. The modern building in which it is located is breathtaking. With a very rich art collection, it was opened to the public on June 8, 2005. It represents a private museum established by the Sun and Inan Kirac foundation.
The stunning building is the work of architect Achille Manusos, built in the neoclassical style, and its original purpose was to be a hotel. The building was completed in 1893 and belonged to the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate. Hotel Bristol was one of the most famous hotels, and was visited by many important guests of that time. It was one of the best hotels, it offered comfortable suites, a large and beautiful hall, marble stairs, an elevator. The hotel was run by many famous managers, and Omer Lutfi Bengu bought the hotel and ran it until the 1980s, when the building served as Hotel Bristol. In that period, other hotels began to develop, the competition of new hotels had already taken off and Hotel Bristol could not compete with them. In 1983, the owner passed away, Omer Lutfi Bengu, and the hotel was bought by Iıldız Lastikcilik, a tire manufacturer at the time, and then the national bank Esbank became the owner. The building was renovated for the bank and served as such until 2002.
Sinan Genim, a famous architect and restorer, renovated the building in 2003, and an impressive building with modern elements was created, perfectly fitting into the architecture of Istanbul. He managed to preserve the appearance of the exterior facade, while the interior was given a modern look.
The main exhibition collections of the museum are "Oriental Paintings", "Anatolian Weights and Measures" and "Kutahia Tiles and Ceramics". The museum's goal is to continuously expand its collections and to create an interactive relationship with visitors, emphasizing the identity and richness of the collections. In order to convey all the uniqueness and value of the collections, the museum was created so that its offer includes publications, audio-visual events and various activities. Screenings are organized under the name Pera film, which refer to several types of films, classic, animated, documentary, as well as showing shows that contain many details related to the temporary collections in the museum.
Joint projects with other international museums are often organized, which contribute to the work and development of the museum itself. Some of the museums with which the Pera Museum cooperates are the Russian State Museum of Saint Petersburg, the Tate Britain Museum as well as the New York School of Visual Arts and the Maeght Foundation.
The museum also supports exhibitions and artists of the new age in cooperation with national and international institutions of art and education. It is considered one of the most important museums in Istanbul.
Ticket price
Regular price: 50 TL
Reduced price: 25 TL
(12 years or younger, students, college, 60 years and older)
Groups: 40 TL (minimum 10 people)
Working Hours
