Rahmi Koç Museum

Rahmi Koç, the industrialist, opened this in 1994 in the Lengerhane, an eighteenth-century Ottoman anchor foundry on the Golden Horn, and expanded it into the Hasköy shipyard next door. It is the country's first museum of industry and transport and it is genuinely large: steam engines, machine tools, a full-scale marine engine you can walk through, vintage cars including Atatürk's, motorcycles, horse-drawn carriages, aircraft hanging from the roof and parked outside, model railways, scientific instruments, an Orient Express carriage restored inside and out, and the submarine TCG Uluçalireis moored at the quay and entered by a guided visit. Much of it is hands-on, with cranks to turn and mechanisms to operate, so it works very well for children while remaining serious enough for adults. There is a good restaurant in the old shipyard building. Allow more time than you expect - most people run out.

What you actually see

• The shipyard halls - engines, machine tools and industrial plant.
• The transport collections - cars, motorcycles, carriages and aircraft.
• The Orient Express carriage - restored and walked through.
• The submarine - the Uluçalireis at the quay, by guided visit.

When to go

Year-round; much of it is indoors, though the outdoor exhibits want dry weather. Closed on Mondays. Weekday mornings avoid the school groups.

Honest expectations

The submarine and some rides cost extra on top of entry, and the submarine involves ladders and tight spaces. It is spread over two sites either side of a road. It is on the upper Golden Horn with no metro at the door.

Nearby

Miniaturk is along the same shore; Balat and Fener are across the water.