Photo: Jorge Franganillo / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Pera Palace Hotel
The grand hotel of the Orient Express: chandeliers, striped arches and the room where Agatha Christie is believed to have written her most famous novel.
Overview
Walk down from İstiklal Avenue toward the Golden Horn, and on a corner of Tepebaşı, a grand hotel of the 1890s rises above the street. From 1895, passengers of the Orient Express began to stay here. Diplomats, statesmen and writers followed. This is the Pera Palace Hotel, a grand hotel of old Istanbul. With a guide, join our Belle Époque Pera tour.
- Good for
- Literature lovers, Orient Express romantics, architecture fans
- Best combined with
- İstiklal Avenue, Pera Museum, Galata Tower
The Hotel of the Orient Express
In the late 19th century, the Orient Express linked Paris with Constantinople, and its passengers needed a European-style hotel to match. So, construction began in 1892, and in 1895 the Pera Palace opened with a ball.
The architect was Alexandre Vallaury, an Istanbul-born architect of French family, who also designed the Ottoman Bank building and the Imperial Museum, today’s Istanbul Archaeology Museums. Its neoclassical exterior hides orientalist halls and Art Nouveau details. Our literary Istanbul tour stops here.
Firsts in the empire
Apart from the imperial palaces, it was the first building in the Ottoman Empire with electricity. It was also the only place in the city with hot running water for its guests, and it had the first electric elevator in Constantinople.
What to See at the Pera Palace Hotel
The grand hall of the Pera Palace Hotel
First, step into the great hall. Striped arches rise overhead, while crystal chandeliers hang over red velvet chairs.
Agatha Christie’s room
Next, the legend. Agatha Christie stayed here and wrote Murder on the Orient Express in her room. Whether or not every page was written in Pera, the hotel has an Agatha Christie Room, number 411.
Room 101
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, stayed in Room 101. Today it is a museum room, with some of his personal belongings and books.
The Pera Palace Hotel in books and films
Finally, the hotel lives in fiction. Hemingway’s hero stays here in The Snows of Kilimanjaro, and Graham Greene sent his characters here in Travels with My Aunt. In 2014, the historian Charles King wrote Midnight at the Pera Palace about the birth of modern Istanbul, and in 2022 a Netflix series took the same title.
Our notes for the Pera Palace Hotel
- Read firstMidnight at the Pera Palace by Charles King is a good read before the trip.
- NearbyThe Pera Museum is just around the corner.
- RespectIt is a working hotel, so ask at reception before you wander.
Our suggestion Pair the hotel with a walk through old Pera: start at the Pera Museum around the corner, then stroll up to İstiklal Avenue and the Church of St. Anthony of Padua.
How to Visit the Pera Palace Hotel
The hotel stands in Tepebaşı, a short walk from İstiklal Avenue and the Tünel funicular. We suggest a night here for history and book lovers, and for couples who want to book the Agatha Christie Room. It is a working hotel, and we book your stay or your visit; tell us which Pera Palace room you would like.
On request, we add the Pera Palace to our Beyoğlu and Galata tour. Around it, explore the Pera Museum, İstiklal Avenue and the Galata Tower, and visit Sirkeci Station. For more places to sleep, read our guide to where to stay in Istanbul.
Because Istanbul's belle époque still has an address. Step from the busy lanes of Pera into a hall of marble, velvet and crystal, and imagine the trunks of the Orient Express coming up the stairs.
Map
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Frequently asked questions
Did Agatha Christie write Murder on the Orient Express at the Pera Palace?
So the story goes. The 1934 novel is believed to have been written here, and the hotel keeps her room as a memorial to the author.
When was the Pera Palace Hotel built?
Construction began in 1892, and the hotel opened with a grand ball in 1895 to host passengers of the Orient Express.
Who designed the Pera Palace?
Alexandre Vallaury, a French-Ottoman architect who also designed the Ottoman Bank headquarters and the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.
Can I see Atatürk's room at the Pera Palace?
Room 101, where Atatürk stayed, is kept as a museum room with some of his personal belongings. Ask the hotel about visiting.
