Dolmabahçe Palace was the first European-style palace in Istanbul and was built by Sultan Abdülmecid between 1842 and 1853, at a cost of five million Ottoman gold pounds, the equivalent of 35 tons of gold. Fourteen tons of gold in the form of gold leaf were used to gild the ceilings of the palace. The world's largest Bohemian crystal chandelier, a gift from Queen Victoria, is at the center hall. The chandelier has 750 lamps and weighs 4.5 tons. Dolmabahçe has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world, and one of the great staircases has bannisters of Baccarat crystal.

The site of Dolmabahçe was originally a bay in the Bosphorus which was filled gradually during the 18th century to become an imperial garden, much appreciated by the Ottoman sultans; and it is from this garden that the name Dolmabahçe (Filledgarden) comes from, dolma meaning 'filled' and bahçe meaning 'garden'. Various summer palaces were built here during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The palace that stands here today was built between 1842 and 1853 during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid, on the site of the old coastal palace of Beşiktaş, by the Armenian architects Garabet Amira Balyan and his son Nigoğayos Balyan. The Sultans moved here, since the old Topkapı Palace lacked the modern luxuries that the Dolmabahçe could provide.