Here is a selection of the most popular spots in Istanbul for kids and parents alike to have fun:
- Viasea
One of the new venues in Istanbul, Viasea Aquarium, Theme Park and Aslan Park in Tuzla offers a wide array of entertainment to its visitors.
The world's first climatic-themed island of fun featuring five different attractions, Viasea educates and entertains at the same time while opening the doors of a completely different sea world with more than 12,000 species in 47 different thematic displays.
The visitors will take a journey into a fascinating underwater tunnel and bottle-feed the koi and ray fishes.
ViaSea Theme Park also has the "Red Fire", the 5th biggest rollercoaster in Europe, and appeals to all ages. It combines a modern and traditional theme park experience.
Last but not least, the 8-acre Aslan Park allows visitors to know more about these big felines.
- Miniaturk
A miniature park on the Golden Horn, Miniaturk, is one of the largest of its kind in the world where visitors marvel at more than 100 models completed in 1/25th scale.
Sixty-one of the structures represent famous landmarks around Istanbul, while 9 others represent buildings in Anatolia and 12 from the Ottoman territories that lie outside of Turkey today.
Also featured are historic structures from the antique era to the Byzantine and the Seljuks.
- Rahmi Koç Museum
The Rahmi Koc Museum, located in Haskoy at a 27,000-acre land is the first museum in Turkey dedicated to the history of transport, industry, and communications that hosts the Mustafa Koc Building, Historic Haskoy Shipyard, and an open-air exhibition area.
The museum itself is a living memory of Turkey with its numerous sections, including one for Ataturk, featuring items on roads, machines, communication, scientific tools, models and toys.
Decommissioned Turkish Navy submarine TCG Uluc Reis, historic recreational boat MV Fenerbahce, and a nostalgic ride along the shores of the Golden Horn should be in your to-do list.
The museum also features exhibits, workshops, and activities for children to try out their information on astronomy, maths and printing press.
- Istanbul Toy Museum
Founded by Turkish poet and author Sunay Akın, Istanbul Toy Museum exhibits some of the most exquisite samples of toys dating back to the 18th century.
Akın has collected these toys in 20 years from auctions, more than 40 collectors and antique shops in order to revive history in a more entertaining way.
One of the most family-friendly museums for a pleasant semester holiday, where each room resembles a different theater stage, the Toy Museum promises an enjoyable time to all three generations.
The gallery of space toys exhibits shining stars overhead, whereas miniature train sets are exhibited in a genuine train compartment whereby the progress of industry is depicted over the years by the language of the toys.
- Barış Manço Museum
The house where once Barış Manço, one of the most popular and influential singers in modern Turkish music history, had lived in Istanbul is now waiting for visitors in the semester.
When you got in his house, the address of which is probably known by everybody in turkey, 1/1
A real-size wax figure of Manço greets you as you step into his house standing next to his own grand piano.
The visitors will be happy to see his large collection of glass items, career awards, dining room, dressing room, winter, and summer gardens.
- Kite Museum
Founded by Mehmet Naci Aköz, an avid kite collector since 1986, this museum boasts a collection of more than 2,500 toys, related publications, material and kites from 6 continents and 33 countries. It is the first of its kind in Turkey and one of the 18 kite museums in Europe.
