Hagia Sophia, Fatih, Istanbul, Türkiye

A photograph of Hagia Sophia — Photograph · Arild Vågen · CC BY-SA 3.0

Open today, 09:00 – 19:30

Today: Open today, 09:00 – 19:30
Visit duration: 1 hr 30 min Reviewed and set by an editor
Accessibility: Partly step-free
Price: Free entry
Standing: Must see · Heritage site
Rank: Rank 1 of 8,219

Editorial responsibility: Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

Plan your visit.

Opening hours

Monday	09:00 – 19:30
Tuesday	09:00 – 19:30
Wednesday	09:00 – 19:30
Thursday	09:00 – 19:30
Friday	09:00 – 19:30
Saturday	09:00 – 19:30
Sunday	09:00 – 19:30

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Admission

Per person	Free entry

Checked 2026-09-27 · Source

Access and facilities

Accessible toilets · Limited
Pushchair access · Limited
Step-free access · Limited
Toilets · Available

Read from the OpenStreetMap access tags; anything not listed has no tag recorded.

Set the group type to family in the planner and the day window contracts to about three quarters of a solo day.

About Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is the building that changed what a roof could do. Justinian I began it on 23 February 532 and it was inaugurated on 27 December 537 — five years and ten months — to designs by Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. It was the cathedral of Constantinople for nine centuries, a mosque from the Ottoman conquest in 1453, a museum from 1935, and a mosque again since 2020, when the Council of State annulled the 1934 decision that had made it a museum. The dome is the reason it matters. Prayer access to the mosque floor is free; the upper tourist gallery costs EUR 25.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

What's inside

The dome, the light under it, and the mosaics that survived being covered twice. Byzantine mosaic was stripped during the iconoclasm that began in 726 and replaced from the tenth century — a Christ on the dome, a Virgin holding the child between Peter and Paul. The Deësis is the one people come for. Nineteenth and twentieth-century restoration uncovered these gradually, and the building's current status as a mosque governs which are visible. Tourist access to the worship floor pauses during prayers, with the longest restriction around Friday noon.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

How long to spend

An hour to ninety minutes inside, and longer in the queue than in the building on a summer morning. The nave is one space and a slow circuit of it takes forty minutes. The galleries, where the Deësis is, add half an hour when they are open — access has changed with the building's status and is not guaranteed. Sultanahmet holds Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and the Basilica Cistern within a few hundred metres, so half a day covers the group and no more than that is needed. Yes. Shoulders and knees must be covered, women cover their hair, and shoes are removed in carpeted prayer space.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Season and crowds

The visitor gallery is open daily 09:00-19:30, with the last ticket and admission before closing. The ground-floor prayer area follows mosque access and closes to tourists during the five daily prayers, especially the longer Friday noon service. Prayer, maritime weather, conservation, security and dated events can replace ordinary access. No complete step-free gallery circuit is provided; the historic ramp and exit route limit access.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Tickets

Worship in the designated ground-floor mosque area is free. Tourist access to the upper visitor gallery costs EUR 25; the separate Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum also charges EUR 25 and is not the same ticket. The base amount and currency follow the official operator tariff. Transport, inner sections, evening programmes and separately operated venues remain excluded unless named. No. It occupies a separate building on At Meydanı and requires its own ticket.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Getting there

Use T1 tram to Sultanahmet, then walk about five minutes across Sultanahmet Square. The tourist-gallery entrance is on the northeast side facing Topkapı Palace, separate from the worship entrance. Use the named gate, pier or stop because the historic peninsula, hills and controlled compounds can separate entrances and exits. No. Visitors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

What to watch out for

The worship floor has a step-free entrance with staff direction, but the tourist gallery route uses a historic ramp and includes gradients, thresholds and a separate exit; it is not a fully accessible wheelchair circuit. Shoes must be removed and modest dress is required. Prayer access to the mosque floor is free; the upper tourist gallery costs EUR 25. Tourist access to the worship floor pauses during prayers, with the longest restriction around Friday noon. Yes. Shoulders and knees must be covered, women cover their hair, and shoes are removed in carpeted prayer space. Worship, shoe removal, crowds and historic surfaces remain relevant. The visitor gallery is open daily 09:00-19:30, with the last ticket and admission before closing. The ground-floor prayer area follows mosque access and closes to tourists during the five daily prayers, especially the longer Friday noon service.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Photography

The problem is dynamic range. The nave is dark and the dome windows are bright, and a phone will give you either a black interior or a white ceiling. Expose for the mosaics and let the windows blow out — the gold reads and the shape of the space survives. A wide lens is worth carrying; the dome does not fit in anything else. Outside, the classic frame is from the Sultanahmet park between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, late in the afternoon when the stone goes warm.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Place details and sources

Official name: Ayasofya-i Kebir Câmi-i Şerifi OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Address: Ayasofya Meydanı, 1, 34122, İstanbul OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Building: Church OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Heritage grade: Grade 1 OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Type of place: Attraction OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Established: 537 Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Heritage designation: part of UNESCO World Heritage Site Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Architectural style: Byzantine architecture Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Religion: Muslim OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Denomination: Sunni OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Material: brick Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Opened: 537 Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Architect: Trdat the Architect Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Architect: Anthemius of Tralles Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Architect: Isidore of Miletus Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Architect: Mimar Sinan Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Wikipedia article: Hagia Sophia Wikipedia · Checked 2026-09-09