Билет в собор Святой Софии в 2026 году: сколько платят иностранцы сейчас

Hagia Sophia costs €25 for foreign visitors as of November 2026, the same fee charged since it was introduced on 15 January 2024, and no increase has been announced. The ticket covers the upper galleries, reached through a separate visitor entrance. The ground floor is a working mosque and stays free for anyone entering to pray. The Museum Pass Istanbul is not accepted. If you would rather not deal with the ticket queue yourself, our Hagia Sophia small-group tour includes the entry ticket.

What the €25 ticket covers

Hagia Sophia has been a mosque again since 2020, and since January 2024 foreign visitors follow a fixed route through the galleries, looking down into the prayer hall. From up there you see:

• the main dome and the Ottoman-era additions in the prayer hall below;
• the Byzantine mosaics in the galleries, including the Deësis panel showing Christ between the Virgin and John the Baptist;
• the marble door known as the Gate of Heaven and Hell.

Information along the route works through QR codes in 23 languages. You listen on headphones, either your own or disposable ones sold at the ticket booth, so that the people praying below are not disturbed.

Two things the ticket does not cover. The ground floor is for worship, not sightseeing. The Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum on Sultanahmet Square is a separate building with its own €25 ticket. It is open daily from 09:00 to 20:00, with the ticket office closing at 19:00.

Expect some restoration in your view. Reinforcement of the main dome is under way and a steel working platform with lifts and stairs has been built inside, according to Hürriyet Daily News in February 2026. The tunnels under the building are still closed. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said in early November 2026 that suitable sections will open after conservation work, but gave no date.

Tickets, entrance and queues

The ticket booth stands opposite the Fountain of Ahmed III, between Hagia Sophia and the outer gate of Topkapı Palace. After buying, you enter through a tunnel and ramp under the Bayezid II minaret on the south side, and leave by a ramp on the north-east side. Tour operators buy tickets in advance, but everyone goes through the same security check.

Queue tips from our guides:

• Arrive before the doors open. Queues are longest from late morning to early afternoon, when coach groups and cruise passengers arrive.
• Avoid Friday around midday, when entry stops for prayers and the queue builds up behind the closure.
• Visit Hagia Sophia first, then the Blue Mosque and Basilica Cistern, which are a few minutes' walk away across the square.

Opening hours and prayer-time closures

The mosque does not publish a visitor timetable on its own website. Ticket sellers and tour operators list a 09:00 opening and an early-evening close in winter, so plan to arrive by mid-afternoon.

The visitor route pauses around the five daily prayers. In early November 2026 the Diyanet timetable for Istanbul puts the midday prayer at 12:53, the afternoon prayer at about 15:35 and the sunset prayer at about 18:00. The longest break is on Fridays: visitor entry stops before noon and usually resumes in the afternoon, once the Friday prayer is over. If Friday is your only day in the old city, see Hagia Sophia first thing in the morning and do Topkapı at midday.

Dress code

Hagia Sophia follows mosque dress rules for everyone, including gallery visitors:

• Women: hair covered with a scarf, shoulders and arms covered, skirt or trousers below the knee.
• Men: long trousers, no sleeveless tops.

Headscarves are sold at the ticket booth, but a scarf of your own saves time and also covers you for the Blue Mosque.

Nearby sites: 2026 fees and the Museum Pass

Hagia Sophia is run separately from the state museums, which is why the Museum Pass does not cover it. These are the November 2026 fees for foreign visitors at the sites around Sultanahmet Square:

For a typical first day (Hagia Sophia, Topkapı with the Harem and the cistern), tickets come to roughly €25 plus 4,700 TL per person. The Museum Pass pays off only if you also plan the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, Galata Tower and several smaller state museums within five days. For a full breakdown of what tours cost, see Istanbul tour prices.

Tours that cover this

These tours include Hagia Sophia, with a guide who plans the order around prayer times:

• Hagia Sophia Small-Group Tour with Entry Ticket, Blue Mosque & Bazaar, from $120 per person.
• Istanbul Old City Tour: Small-Group Full Day with Tickets & Lunch, from $199 per person.
• Istanbul Old City Private Tour: Hagia Sophia, Topkapi & Grand Bazaar, from $200 per person.
• Topkapi Palace Small-Group Tour: Ticket, Hagia Irene, Grand Bazaar, from $150 per person, which pairs well with a morning at Hagia Sophia.

More options are on our Istanbul tours page and the Hagia Sophia guide.

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