Off-the-beaten-path Free Museum Route in Istanbul
Visiting Istanbul, how can you miss the various niche museums? Here are a few free museums, all located in the European side. Just walk around, and in half a day, you can get it all done with a full harvest!
IBB casa botter:
Free all day, closed on Mondays. It's currently hosting a special exhibition by the female artist Selma Gurbuz, which is incredibly creative. There are various silhouette shapes mixed with oriental design elements, truly an eye-opener.
Kamondo Steps:
Said to be an Instagram hotspot, there were quite a few people taking photos when I visited. The layered steps indeed make for great pictures.
Salt galata:
Ottoman Bank Museum, established in 2002, is part of the Ottoman Bank Archives and Research Centre. It's the first museum in Turkey founded by a private bank. The building was designed by Levantine architect Alexandre Vallauri in 1892, served as the headquarters of the Ottoman Bank, and was transformed into Salt Galata in 2011.
Cat museum:
As a city that loves cats, how can you not visit the cat museum here? Although it's small in size, it's free, and it's very close to the Galata Tower. There are also quite a few design shops nearby to browse.
After half a day of touring today, it felt pretty good. You can feel the city's new vitality. If you encounter bad weather, I highly recommend visiting these museums.