Hammams in Istanbul: nine Turkish baths compared, with each hammam's own prices, hours, sections for men and women, and the GetYourGuide packages

💡 The Short Version: The historic hammams print their prices: Çemberlitaş ₺3,200 for entry, Cağaloğlu €95, Hürrem Sultan €110 (beside Hagia Sophia), Kılıç Ali Paşa ₺4,700, Süleymaniye €90 and Gedikpaşa €70, or €50 without a therapist. Men and women have separate sections except at Süleymaniye, which is mixed and communal, with male therapists only. Kılıç Ali Paşa is women only until 16:00, then men only. Zeyrek Çinili is closed on Mondays. Or book a package: Cağaloğlu Hammamad is from €95, the same as the hammam’s own entry price.

The hammams, compared

A hammam is a Turkish bathhouse. You sweat on a heated marble platform, the göbek taşı, are scrubbed with a kese, a coarse mitt, and washed in foam, and the services run from the entry price to a massage. The prices are the lowest package on each bath’s own site, in the currency it prints, and lira prices rise with inflation. The counts are the number of English and Turkish publishers, out of 41 and 25 read, that name the bath.

Çinili Hamam in Üsküdar is named by four English and one Turkish publisher. Tarihi Çarşı Hamamı, also called Mahmutpaşa Hamamı, is named by two Turkish publishers.

Before you go

• Separate sections. Every hammam above except Süleymaniye has a men’s and a women’s section with same-gender attendants.
• Swimwear. Çemberlitaş and Süleymaniye allow it. Galatasaray says it is not allowed to be totally naked on its premises.
• Supplied. Towels and slippers are provided at Çemberlitaş, Cağaloğlu, Süleymaniye and Ağa.
• Tipping. Ağa calls tips welcome and Süleymaniye calls them optional.
• Children. Cağaloğlu admits no one under 6, and under-18s must come with an adult. Ağa lets children 0 to 3 in free and charges half price from 4 to 12. Zeyrek Çinili admits children 0 to 5 free and offers “Little Bubbles” for ages 6 to 11.
• Pregnancy. Cağaloğlu does not admit pregnant women to a service, and Zeyrek Çinili advises against it.
• Temperature. Süleymaniye gives its hot room as 38 to 40°C.

The hammams

Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamamı

Ayasofya Meydanı, Sultanahmet · from €110 · hurremsultanhamami.com

A hammam of 1556 by the architect Sinan, in Ayasofya Square beside Hagia Sophia, with separate sections for women and men. The shortest service, Pir-ü Pak, takes 45 minutes and includes a kese scrub and a foam wash with the bath’s own redbud (erguvan) products, water, soda and Ottoman sherbet. Keyf-i Hammam is 60 minutes at €155, Zevk-i Sefa 80 minutes at €220 and Ab-i Hayat 110 minutes at €300. It is in the same square as the sights in the Sultanahmet walk.

The dome of the Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamamı, lit through its glass roof lights. Photo: Gryffindor, Wikimedia Commons.

Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamamı

Hamam Sokak 1, Tophane · ₺4,700 · kilicalipasahamami.com

Beside the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque at Tophane, a stop on the T1 tram. Women go from 08:00 to 16:00 (last reservation 14:15) and men from 16:30 to 23:30 (last reservation 22:00), every day. The traditional ritual is ₺4,700: the heated platform, a scrub with a handwoven kese cloth and a foam bath at the basins. Children from 4 to 12 are ₺3,000 and infants are free. Massages start at ₺3,200 for 25 minutes of foot massage and ₺5,000 for a 50-minute full body, and a deep-tissue massage of 75 minutes is ₺7,700. The bath takes 5% off for cash, in euros, dollars or lira, and most cards except American Express. Reserve a week ahead and cancel 48 hours ahead.

Cağaloğlu Hamamı

Prof. Kazım İsmail Gürkan Caddesi 34, Cağaloğlu · from €95 · cagalogluhamami.com.tr

Built in 1741, in Fatih in the old city, with a section for women and one for men. Monday to Thursday it is open 09:00 to 22:00 and Friday to Sunday 09:00 to 23:00. The İstanbul Dream (€95) is 15 minutes in the hot room, 10 minutes of kese, 20 minutes of bubble bath, then Turkish tea, sherbet and Turkish delight. Every guest gets linden shampoo, hair cream, body lotion, olive-oil soap, slippers, a towel and a loincloth. Above it are Tip to Toe at €135, Cağaloğlu Hammam at €170 with an oriental massage, Ottoman Luxury at €240, Sultan Mahmud the First at €300 and Elixir of Cağaloğlu at €400. The site also carries an undated winter-hours notice of 11:00 to 21:00. Lokanta 1741, in the same building, takes no guests under 15.

Çemberlitaş Hamamı

Vezirhan Caddesi 8, Çemberlitaş · ₺3,200 · cemberlitashamami.com.tr

Built in 1584 by Sinan, a stop from Sultanahmet on the T1 tram, open every day 06:00 to 00:00 with separate men’s and women’s sections. Entrance is ₺3,200 (€57 on the site) and includes a towel, soap, shampoo, slippers, a changing cabin and the hot room, the marble platform and the cooling room, with no time limit. The scrub and bubble wash, 15 minutes, is ₺4,050 (€72) and the most chosen. The Luxury Package, ₺5,200 (€92), adds a 30-minute aromatherapy oil massage, and VIP Plus is ₺8,600 (€152). Swimwear may be worn. Reserve by phone or WhatsApp.

The Çemberlitaş Hamamı beside the Column of Constantine on Divan Yolu. Photo: Enrique Freire, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Galatasaray Hamamı

Turnacıbaşı Caddesi 8, Kuloğlu, Beyoğlu · 09:00 to 21:00 daily · galatasarayhamami.com

The bath says it was founded in 1481. It has separate sections and a service for children from 6 to 12. Its prices are in its booking engine, for a scrub, a foam bath and the Pasha service of hammam, scrub, foam bath and a 40-minute oil massage.

Gedikpaşa Hamamı

Emin Sinan Caddesi 61, Fatih · from €50 · gedikpasahamami.com

A bath that calls itself 550 years old, near the Grand Bazaar, open Monday to Thursday 09:00 to 22:00 and Friday to Sunday 09:00 to 23:00, with a same-gender therapist for each ritual. The Hammam Ritual (€70) is 15 minutes on the hot marble, 10 minutes of kese and 20 minutes of foam massage. The do-it-yourself entry (€50) gives the bath and its equipment with no therapist, after a short demonstration. Dearer: The Lost in History at €110, Pasha’s Dream with a 30-minute massage at €140, Ottoman Treasure at €190 and Sultan’s Ego at €260.

Zeyrek Çinili Hamam

İtfaiye Caddesi 44, Zeyrek · from €125 · zeyrekcinilihamam.com

A restored bath of Sinan’s time that is run as a hammam and a museum, open Tuesday to Sunday 08:00 to 22:00 and closed on Mondays. The Original is 50 minutes at €125, and the dearer services run from Refresh (70 minutes, €160) to Reborn (125 minutes, €300). Arrive 15 minutes early and allow 90 minutes in all. It is a protected monument with no wheelchair or pushchair access.

Süleymaniye Hamamı

Beside the Süleymaniye complex · €90 per person · suleymaniyehamami.com.tr

A hammam that dates to 1550, and the only one here that is mixed and communal: the bath says it is designed for couples and families, shared with other guests, and that all its therapists (tellaks) are men. Couples must take the scrub and massage together. The €90 service is 30 minutes warming on the marble platform, a 30-minute scrub, soap wash and soap massage, and 30 minutes in the cooling room with drinks, with a private lockable changing room, wraps, towels and slippers. Men wear shorts and women a bikini, shorts and wrap. Arrive 15 minutes early; the deposit is non-refundable.

The domes of the Süleymaniye Hamamı, beside the Süleymaniye complex. Photo: Dosseman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ağa Hamamı

Cihangir, Beyoğlu · ₺3,100 cash · agahamami.com

The bath says Mehmed the Conqueror built it in 1454 as a hunting house with a hamam, and it is open daily 10:00 to 22:00. The Traditional Package (entry ₺1,800, scrub ₺900, foam bath ₺900) is ₺3,100 in cash and ₺3,600 by card, and every package comes with tea, home-made sherbet and Turkish delight. The Massage Package adds 20 minutes of oil massage and is ₺5,100 in cash and ₺5,600 by card; a face mask is ₺600 more. Prices include taxes.

Packages on GetYourGuide

The two packages that match the hammams’ own entry prices are the first two below. The others are listings by other businesses, with their own bathhouses, so read each description for what it includes.

Where to fit one in

Hürrem Sultan and Çemberlitaş are on the T1 tram line in the old city, and Cağaloğlu is a walk from Sirkeci. The sights round Hürrem Sultan are in Hagia Sophia tickets, visiting the Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern tickets and Topkapı Palace tickets. After a bath, where to eat in Istanbul has the restaurants and Istanbul food tours the tastings. Hotels near the Blue Mosque lists the Sultanahmet hotels, among them AJWA Sultanahmet, whose Michelin entry singles out its hammam, and where to stay in Istanbul compares the areas. Istanbul in one or two days and 3 days in Istanbul show where a bath fits, and the best time to visit Istanbul gives the weather. The sights that need booking are in what to book before you go to Istanbul.