Editors' choiceIreland
Ashford Castle
A castle from 1228 on the shore of Lough Corrib, rebuilt in the Victorian era. Once owned by the Guinness family, now a hotel.
Castles & palaces
Photos: Ray Swi-hymn from Sijhih-Taipei, Taiwan, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0); Slyronit, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); Maksym Kozlenko, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0); HALUK COMERTEL, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0); Mmedina0322, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Istanbul, Turkey
Çırağan Palace Kempinski
The Ottoman palace of Sultan Abdülaziz (1863–1867) on the European shore of the Bosphorus, now a Kempinski hotel.
Çırağan Palace was built by Sultan Abdülaziz; it was designed by the court architect Nigoğayos Balyan and built by his sons Sarkis and Hagop Balyan in 1863–1867. It was the last palace built under the tradition that each sultan erected his own residence. A marble bridge links it to the Yıldız palace and park complex.
Today it is a five-star Kempinski hotel on the European shore of the Bosphorus between Beşiktaş and Ortaköy.
History
Abdülaziz died here in 1876 shortly after being deposed; his successor Murad V later lived in the palace under house arrest. In 1909 the Ottoman parliament met here, and in 1910 the palace burned down and lay in ruins until it was restored in the late 1980s.
Views from the rooms
The palace stands at the very edge of the Bosphorus — its terraces look over the strait and the Asian side of Istanbul.
Who it suits
For special occasions and for those who want to see Istanbul “from the water”.
What to see nearby
- Ortaköy Mosque and the Bosphorus Bridge.
- Yıldız Park, Dolmabahçe Palace.
Location
Çırağan Cd. No:32, 34349 Beşiktaş/İstanbul, Turkey
Open in Yandex MapsChecked by our editors: 28 October 2026.
Sources:
Wikipedia (EN); Wikipedia (RU); Official website; photos — Wikimedia Commons (free licences, authors credited under the photos)
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