The Naval Museum and Library was founded by Admiral Hüseyin Hüsnü Pasha in 1897 and opened in its first location in the Taskizak dockyards. When World War II began, the contents of the museum were transported to Konya in Central Anatolia in 1939 for security reasons, then brought back to Istanbul at the end of the war. In 1960 the museum was re-opened in its present location, the coachmen's quarters of Dolmabahçe Palace. This museum contains over 4,000 items, including boats from the Ottoman period, plates written by famous scribes on naval matters, flags, maps including the Piri Reis maps, and other objects from Turkish naval history.

On order of Atatürk, this museum was opened in 1937 in the crown prince suites of Dolmabahçe Palace. It was the first art museum in Turkey and is still the only one in Istanbul. The permanent collection presents a panoramic view of the Turkish plastic arts and also includes works of world famous artists, an impressionist collection, sculptures and works of military painters.

A building on the Yeniçeri Caddesi in Çemberlitas, originally built as a university by Safvet Pasha and having served different purposes from then on, now houses the Press Museum. Its architect is believed to be Fossati. The museum displays documents on the history of the Turkish press and old printing machinery.

This museum is the former residence of famous Turkish poet Tevfik Fikret (1867-1915) who constructed the building himself. In addition to an exhibit of the personal belongings of Tevfik, there is a room devoted to the poet Nigar Hanim and some of the belongings of Abdülhak Hamit.

The museum was first located in the Bayezit Municipal Library in the year 1939 until it was moved to the Fine Arts building of the Yildiz Palace complex in 1988. On display are paintings depicting the social life of the Ottoman period in Istanbul, calligraphy, textiles, 18th and 19th century porcelains made in the imperial workshops of Yildiz Palace, various glass objects, calligraphy equipment and other objects of daily life.

Located near the Archaeological Museum, this museum includes curious objects from the Pre-Islamic Arab world as well as the Assyrian, Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations.

19th century documents and objects belonging to the Tanzimat period are displayed in this museum. It was first opened in the Ihlamur Mansion in 1952 and moved to its present location in 1983.