Turkey, Istanbul Modern, Turkeys premier modern art gallery showcasing contemporary international art and photography.

Getty Images/AWL Images RM

İstanbul Modern

Top choice in Beyoğlu


This lavishly funded and innovative museum has an extensive collection of Turkish art and also stages a constantly changing and uniformly excellent program of mixed-media exhibitions by high-profile local and international artists. Its permanent home is next to the Bosphorus in Tophane, but the massive Galataport redevelopment project currently under way has led to it temporarily relocating to this site in Beyoğlu. A move back to a new building in Tophane is expected some time in 2021.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Beyoğlu attractions

1. Pera Palace Hotel

0.06 MILES

The Pera Palace was a project of Georges Nagelmackers, the Belgian entrepreneur who linked Paris and Constantinople with his famous Orient Express train…

3. Galata Mevlevi House Museum

0.14 MILES

The semahane (whirling-dervish hall) at the centre of this tekke (dervish lodge) was erected in 1491 and renovated in 1608 and 2009. It's part of a…

4. Pera Museum

0.17 MILES

There's plenty to see at this impressive museum, but its major draw is undoubtedly the 2nd-floor exhibition of paintings featuring Turkish Orientalist…

5. SALT Beyoğlu

0.2 MILES

With a brief to explore critical and timely issues in visual and material culture, the İstiklal branch of the SALT cultural centre is one of the city's…

7. İstanbul Arastırmaları Enstitüsü

0.22 MILES

Associated with the nearby Pera Museum, this institution incorporates a publicly accessible research library focusing on the cultural and social history…

8. Museum of Turkish Jews

0.22 MILES

Housed in a building attached to the Neve Shalom synagogue near the Galata Tower, this museum was established in 2001 to commemorate the 500th anniversary…