Pera Museum

This is a small museum right off Istikal Caddesi and close to Taksim Square. I was interested in seeing its Orientalist paintings - particularly the popular "The Tortoise Trainer". This is generally interpreted as poking fun at how difficult it was to reform and modernize the Ottoman Empire. Like how hard it is to herd cats. The museum also had a delightful installation by Swedish artist Asa Jungnelius. She works primarily with glass (here) and stone. I didn't care too much about the other exhibits (weights and measures, some ceramics). Entrance is a reasonable TL300.

I enjoyed visiting this museum. There are five not very large floors. You're recommended to start from the top, you can see modern art there. From the third floor down, there are more traditional exhibits. They also have VR zone, but we've missed a session. I mostly liked "classic" part, but contemporary exhibition, as I understand, changes. Overall, different periods artworks mixed up here and it feels harmonious, which is usually difficult to reach.

The museum's collection is not too big, but it is very, very well curated and super interesting. Every floor has its secrets to unveil. There is a mix of classic and contemporary art. Once a week, the museum is free. It was super nice to visit the museum late at night: it was quiet, there were not too much people and it's quite close to other monuments (Galata tower) and the subway. I really loved visiting the Pera Museum!

What a lovely place, very beautiful museum, and had a student discount although I don’t study in turkey. It had such a beautiful set of art pieces specially the one they were showcasing dancing with the moon.

Fabulous little gem in this classy area of Istanbul. The museum was lovely and quiet after the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. The exhibitions were small and therefore manageable and not overwhelming. The descriptions in both Turkish and English were extremely informative. Labels on the exhibits were numbered and very easy to follow. The whole experience was very enjoyable from classic Ottoman art to the Art of Coffee to the fascinating exploration of weights and measures. The latter was particularly thought-provoking and intelligently depicted. I took my time and was probably there for nearly two hours. As an aside, I’d recommend looking at the two volumes of photos of the bygone days of Istanbul. You’ll find these in the gift shop. Particularly interesting at the end of your visit to the city when you can picture things as they are today. There was also a lovely looking cafe although I didn’t have time to stay.

Small museum but really wonderful. There's a small museum shop and cafe as well.

Worth a visit, but don't expect a museum full of oriental art. There is a floor of paintings mostly about European ambassadors to the Ottoman Sultans. One floor about Turkish literature and poetry an two floors with expositions, this time a Canadian artist, Marcel Dzama (which I liked).

The museum was lovely, very compact, with interesting works, and just a two-minute walk from Istiklal Street.

Love everything about PERA Museum. Be it a show, film or even a nice coffee at the coffee shop. Highly recommended

Pera muzeum is located behind Odakule. It's a little art museum, the thing I liked the most about this place is they bring so many different exhibitions from all the fields of art like modern, classic , traditional etc. Also they have tiny little cafe in entrance.

Pera Museum houses wonderful pieces from Osman Hamdi Bey. If you are a fan, Pera Museum is a must. I especially enjoyed their Orientalist Painting Collection and Anatolian Weights & Measures Collection. The Museum overlooks Haliç, which gives a great view of İstanbul. They could upgrade the gift shop.

Hands down, my favorite museum in Istanbul. The floor plan is great, with a clean and understandable layout. The staff is friendly and don't hover about while you are viewing. And their choice of exhibitions is a well rounded mix of contemporary and historical. There's a superb relationship with a local Fine Art Univeristy, and a firm handle on Orientalist Art. It would be great to see more critical work in this regard.

Had a beautiful wander through Turkish history from the top to the bottom of this museum, ending with a very delicious tour through Turkish wine and cheese in the ground floor cafe.

Last month,I visited this art musem located in the toney Pera district of IIstanbul.I enjoyed its fine collection of paintings,many of them were Oriental in subject matter.In the permanent collection,I saw fine paintings by Osman Hamdi Bey("2 Musical Girls")("Tortoise Trainer"),Antoine de Favray,Fausto Zonaro("Daughter of English Ambassador Riding in Palaquin"),Georg Schroder,Louis Francois Cassas("View of Istanbul"),and the combination of Valentin Mueller,Hans Grimminger,and Franz Hermann("Harem").I liked the temporary exhibit featuring Oriental subject matter by Polish painters which ends on January 18th,2015.I saw fine Polish paintings by Stanislaus Chlebowski("Guard of Mosque"),Josef Mehoffer("Portrait of Sculptor"),Jan Ciaglinski("View of Istanbul"),and Jan Matejko lent to the Pera by different Polish art museums.I liked their collection of Anatolian weights and scales,including one of Heracles.There was plenty of information in English as well as Turkish and the works of art were arranged in a very appealing manner.