This place is an extraordinary place to spend a couple of hours absorbing the ambience. You need to get the recorded tour device which is only 10 lira (50 cents US) as to just walk through looking at the cabinets would not tell you anything. The place is like a 3-D film in turns poignant, melancholy, nostalgic, creepy, macabre and totally fascinating. It is part Valentine / part Memento Mori to an obsessive love affair.

This is a very unusual museum and well worth a visit if you have read the book. There are two main floors of exhibits and it is very impressive how the author has brought the book to life. Worth paying the extra 10T for the audio guide. I didn’t listen to the explanation for each cabinet, but picked some highlights. My partner hasn’t read the book so was less interested but still enjoyed the insight into life in 1970s Istanbul.

I came across a listing for this museum while googling "museums in Istanbul" and right away was sure my husband would love it. This is hands down the very most amazing literary museum I have ever been to (and I am a retired professor of literature, so I've been to a few!). The audio tour is a must -- narrated by the author and also containing excerpts from "The Museum of Innocence," it takes the viewer case by case (one case per chapter) through four flours of astounding depth and beauty. I have not read the book yet, nor has my husband, but I have a feeling we will be reading it soon (I read aloud to him most evenings). Interestingly, there was a gentleman sitting in a chair on the second floor for much of the time that we were there, and afterwards I wondered if it might not be Mr. Pamuk himself, there to observe the reactions of those visiting this incredible work of art he has created... I would absolutely love to go back after we read the book, but as we live in the United States, this will not happen soon. A must for anyone interested in books or object culture or just a wonderful story (or two).

Lovely little museum in very interesting street full of shops with curios and little cafes. This would have been an excellent visit if firstly they had of supplied the head sets as mentioned when you buy the ticket! Having not read the book (this would be a huge bonus!) we thought the headset and commentary would suffice only to be told after purchasing the ticket that they had run out! So although interesting to look at it was all a bit meaningless as far as being able to decipher what all the displays meant and their relevance to anything. Definitely for fans of the book and if you can get a head set and commentary also worth it for others. Please advise visitors of this prior to selling the ticket as we would have been happy to wait until headsets became available!