Is the Basilica Cistern Worth Visiting? + Everything to Know!

The Basilica Cistern is one of 100’s of ancient cisterns located below the city of Istanbul. Once used to store water, they are now architectural gems underneath the city!

The Basilica Cistern is the biggest cistern open to the public and has features that are unique compared to the others making it the most-visited of all the cisterns.

With popularity comes longer lines and bigger crowds. Is it worth visiting if there are other cisterns to visit?

Here is everything you will need to know including if it is worth the money and crowds, which tickets to get, how to get there, how much time you will need to visit, alternative options to the Basilica Cistern and more!

About the Basilica Cistern

During the era of Constantinople, in the 4th-6th century AD (!) cisterns were built underneath the city to store water for the palace and people of the city.

There were once several hundred cisterns. Now, there are probably a little over 100 with a handful of them being open to the public.

Of the ones open to the public, Basilica Cistern is the largest and most popular.

It was built around 532 AD and then went through restorations within the last decade to increase safety and the experience (more lighting, better walkways, etc.)

With its unique design it has also been a filming site for several movies. Have you ever saw Inferno with Tom Hanks? Me either, but apparently part of it was filmed inside Basilica Cistern!

Other notable movies that have had airtime inside the Basilica Cistern are From Russia with Love with James bond, The International, The Accidental Spy and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

Is the Basilica Cistern Worth Visiting?

The cost to visit is a little steep. While general admission is only 17-20 euros, skip-the-line tickets (which you are going to want to buy!) are around 35 euros.

While once serving a purpose, the cisterns are now just for looks. And, again, the crowds can be large and the lines can be long.

Plus, it isn’t super large, so within an hour you will have seen the whole thing.

So are the looks enough to pay 35 euros to enter the cistern for a short time?

While it is a little pricey to enter for the time it takes to see it, it really is a cool experience!

It is different than anything I have visited before. The lighting with the reflection from the water that sits in the bottom of the cistern makes for such a unique ambience.

It ended up being one of my favorite things we did in Istanbul!

Snag your tickets to the Basilica Cistern!

Alternative Cisterns to Visit

Wondering if there are less popular, cheaper cistern options in Istanbul?

There are a few other cisterns that have been renovated and prepped for visitors.

Theodosius Cistern (Şerefiye Cistern)- This is probably the second most popular cistern to visit due to the light show that is displayed in the cistern. While it has a small reflection pool for the show, unlike the Basilica Cistern, it does not have water throughout the cistern.

Binbirdirek Cistern (Cistern of Philoxenos)– The second largest cistern and known for its 1000 columns. This cistern is a water-free cistern and most known for its dramatic size and amount of columns.

Zeyrek Cistern– This cistern is the smallest cistern located below the Zeyrek Mosque and partially exposed above ground.

While I didn’t visit these other cisterns, I think there is a reason that the Basilica Cistern is the most popular. The lighting combined with the shallow water throughout the cistern make for a really amazing atmosphere!

Everything to Know About Visiting Basilica Cistern!

If you are deciding to go with Basilica Cistern, here is everything you need to know including information on getting tickets, how to get there, how much time you will need and more.

Do you Need to Pre-Book Tickets?

You can book tickets AT the Basilica Cistern, but I HIGHLY recommend NOT doing this.

We arrived at the cistern around 11am and there was already an hour-long wait to get in.

Instead, you can opt to purchase skip-the-line tickets which grants you access to the cistern at any time; once you arrive you literally just skip the line and hop to the front to enter.

The price of skip-the-line tickets is about 35 euros (compared to around 17 euros for general admission.)

How to Get There

The Basilica Cistern is located in the Sultanahmet district, just across from Hagia Sophia. From the Galata Bridge, the walk to Basilica Cistern is about 27 minutes (and a bit uphill!)

However, you can ride the T1 train to within a 4 minute walk of the cistern.

The Basilica Cistern can be hard to find; it is located near the Hagia Sophia, but since it is underground, it isn’t quite as easy to find.

We ended up asking someone how to get to it once we were close; but, in hindsight, the long line should have been a giveaway 🙃

How Much Time Do you Need?

It doesn’t take much time to see the inside of the Basilica Cistern. We spent about an hour at the cistern, including the time to skip the line and then explore the cistern.

The only reason you would need more time than this is if you want to spend more time taking photos or if you want to look around the exhibition/museum/shop.

Hours of Operation

Basilica Cistern is open from 9am until 10pm.

General admission or regular skip-the-line tickets include entry from 9am until around 6 or 6:30pm.

At 7:30pm, something call the “night shift” starts, which is basically just entering the cistern during the darker hours.

It is said that the ambiance is better during these hours and the crowds are much less, thus the price goes up to nearly 70 euros per ticket.

What Is There to See Inside the Cistern?

Aside from just the columns, there are a couple of other things to see at the Basilica Cistern.

One of the other reasons people choose to go to the Basilica Cistern is because of the Medusa heads. I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about the heads.

I know that there are two of them and it is believed that they were either repurposed to serve as the base of columns for practical reasons or that they were put in as “guardians” of the water.

Or just to give people something to talk about and pique peoples interest lol. I don’t know. But, I do know that they sit within the cistern and draw people’s attention!

The Basilica Cistern also has a little museum/exhibition area before you enter the underground cistern. It often holds some contemporary art but also has information regarding the cistern.