Galata Tower

What makes it special

The tower's best-known story starts on its roof. In the seventeenth century, the legend goes, Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi strapped on wings up here and flew across the water to the Asian shore.

Galata is one of the Genoese towers of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea that sit together on UNESCO's tentative list of World Heritage Sites.

A restoration by the General Directorate of Foundations took out the concrete added to the interior in later years, along with the old cafeteria.

The floors below the balcony now hold the tower's museum. Its exhibits cover the Genoese origins of the tower and the changes the Ottomans made to it, alongside artefacts from across Istanbul's history.

Visiting

The queue forms on the small plaza at the foot of the tower and on busy days runs right across it. In the last hour before sunset, the wait can run to 30 to 45 minutes.

Inside, go straight up to the balcony. The balcony is narrow, so walk it slowly and stop only where there is room, letting others pass.

Save the museum floors for the way down, and stop at each one before you step back out onto the plaza.

Tips

If you have not booked, same-day tickets are often still on sale in the morning, which makes a morning visit the safer bet without a reservation.

The museum offers an audio guide, useful for the exhibit floors you stop at on the way down.