Sirkeci Station, Istanbul, Turkey

Sirkeci Station (Turkish: Sirkeci Garı) is Istanbul’s historic railway terminus on the European side, near the Golden Horn and the Galata Bridge, a few minutes from Topkapı Palace and Hagia Sophia. It was built in 1888–1890 to a design by the German architect August Jasmund as the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from Paris, and its Orientalist facade, with horseshoe arches, clock towers and round stained-glass windows, mixes European and Ottoman motifs. To bring the tracks into the city, the railway was laid along the Sea of Marmara through the outer gardens of Topkapı Palace.

Main-line trains stopped using Sirkeci in 2013, when the Marmaray line opened a new underground station beneath it that links Europe and Asia through a tunnel under the Bosphorus. In February 2024 the old surface line to Kazlıçeşme reopened as a modernised suburban railway, so trains again leave from the historic platforms. The station also houses the small Istanbul Railway Museum, opened in 2005, and the Orient Express Restaurant, once a meeting place of writers and journalists.

Key points:

• Opened: 1890, architect August Jasmund.
• Orient Express: eastern terminus of the line from Paris.
• Trains: Marmaray (underground station) and the Sirkeci–Kazlıçeşme line (since 2024).
• Inside: Istanbul Railway Museum, Orient Express Restaurant.
• Nearby: Galata Bridge, Eminönü Pier, Topkapı Palace, the Spice Bazaar.