How to get there, the difference between the ground-floor mosque and the upper-gallery museum, and the small details — from the foreign-visitor gate on Soğukçeşme Sokağı to the Viking runes on the parapet — that make the difference between a rushed visit and a memorable one.
Hagia Sophia is now two visits in one: the working mosque on the ground floor (free, during non-prayer hours) and the paid Hagia Sophia Experience Museum on the upper gallery (€25 for foreign adults, timed entry). This guide walks you through the route most visitors find rewarding, the practical details that catch people out, and where each major mosaic and inscription sits. See also our opening hours and best time to visit guides for planning tips.
The vast nave under the dome of Justinian, in continuous use as a mosque since 2020. Look up at the four enormous calligraphy roundels naming Allah, Muhammad and the first four caliphs, the original 6th-century marble columns from Ephesus, and the surviving lower-register Byzantine mosaics flanking the apse. Carpets cover the floor; shoes must be removed.
The Hagia Sophia Experience Museum on the south and west balconies. This is where the Deesis mosaic, the Marble Door, the empress's viewing balcony and the famous 9th-century Viking runes on the parapet are. Allow 60–90 minutes. Reached only via a long stone ramp originally built for empresses on horseback.
The Imperial Door at the entrance, the 10th-century mosaic of Constantine offering the city and Justinian offering the church to the enthroned Virgin, and the small Ottoman royal tombs (türbe) attached to the south side — the resting place of Sultans Selim II, Murad III, Mehmed III and Mustafa I.
Hagia Sophia is at Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya Meydanı No:1, 34122 Fatih, on the historic Sultanahmet peninsula. Tram T1 stops at the Sultanahmet station, a 2-minute walk from the building. From Taksim Square, take the F1 funicular down to Kabataş, change to the T1 tram, and you'll be at Sultanahmet in about 25 minutes. From the airport, the M1A metro plus a tram is the cheapest route; a taxi takes 45–60 minutes depending on traffic.
For the upper-gallery museum, do not use the main mosque entrance — it's for worshippers. The dedicated foreign-visitor entrance is on the north side of the building, on Soğukçeşme Sokağı, the cobbled lane running between Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace. Pass through airport-style security, scan your mobile ticket, leave shoes at the cloakroom, then walk up the long stone ramp to the upper gallery. Start at the Marble Door, then circle clockwise to the Deesis on the south wall.
Practical answers to plan your visit