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Madame Tussauds Istanbul is a fun place to pop into if you have some extra time to kill. It’s located in the Grand Pera Mall on Istiklal Street in Beyoğlu.
Visiting Madame Tussauds Istanbul
Adult admission is 780₺ (as of February 2024) with a 10% discount for buying tickets online. It’s open daily from 11am to 9pm and the entrance is right on Istiklal Street. Check the official website for more info.
Visitors are allowed to touch the wax figures and take photos with them. Props are sometimes available to make photos more fun. We spent about an hour inside.
Our Experience at Madame Tussauds Istanbul
Madame Tussauds Istanbul is your typical wax museum, but this one is geared towards Turkish visitors. There are lots of Turkish entertainers, athletes, and historical personalities on display. At the entrance, there were figures of Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram and Bruce Willis.
After riding the lift down one level, there was a figure of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, which is to be expected in any Turkish wax museum.
Ottoman Historical Figures
The next gallery includes a handful of important people from throughout Ottoman history. They included sultans, architect Mimar Sinan, and Rumi.
Modern Turkish Historical Figures
Next is a room with a few modern Turkish historical figures. I sat down and had a deep “conversation” with author Yaşar Kemal (1923-2015). Turkey’s first female Prime Minister, Tansu Çiller, was at her desk nearby.
International Historical Figures
The next room consists of wax figures known internationally throughout history. Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, Steve Jobs, and Albert Einstein were all on display.
Another display nearby showed how Madame Tussauds creates wax figures, but it wasn’t very informative or interesting.
Athletes
A large section containing athletes follows. Tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova stood among Muhammad Ali and Usain Bolt.
There were also figures of footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar. I had a little fun with the Neymar figure.
A few Turkish athletes also featured. Basketball great Hidayet Türkoğlu and footballer Arda Turan were on display.
Musicians
Musicians are popular with visitors. Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Demi Lovato, and Lady Gaga drew lots of crowds as did Bob Marley.
Justin Bieber was also on display as well as Turkish rock star Barış Manço.
Movie Stars and Entertainers
One of the biggest sections of Madame Tussauds Istanbul contains movie personalities, including several actors and actresses as well as characters and other entertainers. We got to see Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. There were also figures of Marilyn Monroe and Vin Diesel.
Award-winning director Steven Spielberg stood near one of his most famous creations, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of flying on a bike with E.T. Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan, and Shrek all featured as well.
Another room included Turkish and Middle Eastern stars. I didn’t recognize most of them so this room wasn’t very interesting for me. Among the figures were Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ and Dubai-born comedian Bin Baz. American producer Carla DiBello sat on a couch in the next room.
The final room before exiting through the gift shop contained more of the world’s biggest stars. Footballer David Beckham as well as Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie were all on display.
Our Thoughts on Madame Tussauds Istanbul
Overall, Madame Tussauds Istanbul is a wax museum. It’s not a must see, but it’s good if you’ve run out of things to do in Istanbul or you need to get out of the rain.
