The Fenerbahçe ferry and the quay
A historic Bosphorus ferry moored at the museum quay that you board and sit in as a café, with boats and yachts lined up along the Golden Horn.
Александр Сигачёв — CC0 · Александр Сигачёв — CC0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rahil Rupawala — CC BY 2.0
A 1950s Bosphorus ferry is moored on the Golden Horn and you can walk aboard her and drink a coffee in her saloon, while a Douglas DC-3 airliner sits in the yard behind. That is the image that stays with you from the Rahmi M. Koç Museum, and the odd thing is how few Istanbul visitors have heard of it, because it sits in Hasköy on the northern shore of the Golden Horn, well off the Sultanahmet circuit. The industrialist Rahmi Koç opened it in 1994 inside a restored Ottoman anchor foundry, the Lengerhane, then in 2001 spread into the 1861 shipyard next door; it was Turkey's first major museum of transport, industry and communications, and it has kept growing ever since. Inside it feels like a colossal warehouse of everything that ever moved under its own power: classic cars lined up like a 1950s showroom, steam locomotives and Istanbul's old trams, aircraft hanging from the roof, boats and yachts along the quay, and a reconstructed Ottoman street complete with a pharmacy and a clockmaker's shop. The hands-on science gallery is where children happily lose an hour, which makes this one of the best choices in the city for a family that wants a day without queuing outside a palace or a mosque. The halls are wide, pushchairs roll through easily, and almost everything is under a roof, so it is a fine refuge from August heat or winter rain. The submarine that drew the crowds here for years, TCG Uluçalireis, left at the end of 2023 for a refit and has since been moved for good to the Naval Museum in Çanakkale, so ignore older guides that promise it. What is on the water instead is the historic Fenerbahçe ferry with a café aboard, and a short Golden Horn boat trip from the museum quay for an extra fee, around 250 TL per adult, cancelled when the weather turns. Allow two to four hours; the site is genuinely large and does not reward a quick sweep. Getting there: a bus from Eminönü along the Golden Horn to the Kırmızı Minare stop, a taxi from Taksim in about fifteen minutes, or, the nicest way, the Golden Horn ferry to Hasköy pier. Miniatürk is two kilometres further along the same shore, and pairing the two makes a full family day.
A historic Bosphorus ferry moored at the museum quay that you board and sit in as a café, with boats and yachts lined up along the Golden Horn.
Wide indoor halls of classic cars, Istanbul's old trams and aeroplanes hung from the ceiling.
Where children spend a happy hour pressing and pulling things, the reason this museum is worth the trip with a family.
Rahmi M. Koç Caddesi No. 3, Hasköy, Beyoğlu
Eyüp Sultan MosqueA mosque at the head of the Golden Horn, the most significant Islamic religious 18 min walk4.7
Chora (Kariye)A Byzantine building in the Edirnekapı district west of historic Istanbul, holdi19 min walk4.4
MiniatürkHagia Sophia, the Dome of the Rock, the Mostar Bridge and Rumi's tomb in Konya s25 min walkIf your children are under ten, yes without hesitation: here they touch, climb and try things, while Topkapı is queues and rooms where nothing may be touched. If you only have two days in Istanbul, put Topkapı and Hagia Sophia first and keep this museum for a longer stay or a hot or rainy day.
Easily; they are two kilometres apart on the same shore. Start at the Koç museum in the morning since it is the bigger of the two, then take a taxi or bus to Miniatürk in the afternoon. Walking between them is possible but tiring in summer heat.
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