Pera Museum

Pera Museum review

In an 1893 building that formerly housed Istanbul's famous Bristol Hotel, this new, well-run museum combines permanent exhibitions, art galleries, an auditorium, shop and café. Exhibits range from the arcane - a collection of Anatolian weights and measures - to the decorative: Kütahya tiles and ceramics. There is a major collection of 17th- to 19th-century European Orientalist art. Also look out for work by Osman Hamdi, including his most famous painting, The Tortoise Trainer.