Beylerbeyi Palace

Beylerbeyi was built in the 1860s for Abdülaziz as a summer residence and a place to house visiting heads of state, and it is the palace to see if Dolmabahçe's scale and queues put you off. It is a compact building of white marble on the Asian shore, with the first Bosphorus bridge passing directly overhead, formal gardens rising behind it in terraces with magnolias and a pool, and a pair of small seaside pavilions on the quay. Inside there are around twenty-five rooms, done in the same eclectic mix of Ottoman and European taste - Bohemian chandeliers, Hereke carpets, Egyptian reed matting under the carpets to keep the rooms cool, and a good deal of trompe-l'œil and marine painting, some of it by Abdülaziz's own hand. The Empress Eugénie stayed here in 1869, and the palace later served as the residence where Abdülhamid II spent his final years. Visits are guided and photography is restricted.

What you actually see

• The marble facade - the palace on the water under the bridge.
• The terraced gardens - magnolia grounds rising behind.
• The reception rooms - chandeliers, carpets and painted ceilings.
• The shore pavilions - the small kiosks on the quay.

When to go

April to June and September to October, when the gardens are at their best. Closed on Mondays. It is far quieter than Dolmabahçe at any time.

Honest expectations

Visits follow a guided route and photography inside is restricted. It is on the Asian shore with no tram - bus, taxi or a ferry to Üsküdar and then a ride. Some rooms and the gardens close for events.

Nearby

Üsküdar and Kuzguncuk are along the shore; Çamlıca hill and its tower are up behind.