Galata Tower

Overview

For almost seven centuries, one stone tower has watched over the meeting of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. The Genoese built it as the “Tower of Christ” at the top of their walled colony; the Ottomans used it as a prison and a fire lookout; and a 17th-century story says a man flew from its gallery across the water to Asia. Today Galata Tower is one of the best-known landmarks on the European side of Istanbul, and its gallery offers one of the great views of the city. On foot, join our Galata history walk. Our Istanbul photography walk stops here.

Genoese merchants raised it, the Ottomans turned it into a prison and then a fire lookout, and after its latest restoration it reopened as a museum. From the gallery you see the Golden Horn, the old city and also Asia across the Bosphorus. Come early in the morning, then see our Galata neighborhood guide for the streets around it. For ten days with a camera, see our Turkey photography tour.

Why Climb the Galata Tower

Galata Tower stands on the hill above Karaköy, in the Beyoğlu district, at the top of the old Genoese town of Galata. Today the tower is a museum with a panoramic gallery. It is open every day, and an evening session follows the day visits. For a table with a view, Peyvaz Rooftop Restaurant sits a few steps west of the tower and looks across the Golden Horn to the old city. See more in our best rooftop restaurants in Istanbul.

From Genoese Tower to City Landmark

The Tower of Christ

In the Middle Ages, Galata was a self-governing colony of merchants from Genoa, facing Byzantine Constantinople across the Golden Horn. In 1348, as the colony expanded, the Genoese built a new tower at the highest point of their walls and called it Christea Turris, the Tower of Christ. Our Istanbul jazz night stops here.

Prison, lookout and a lost roof

After the Ottoman conquest of 1453, the tower kept watch over a new empire. For a time it housed prisoners, and from the 18th century it was a fire lookout, a vital role in a city of wooden houses. Later, fires damaged it badly in 1794 and 1831. After the fire of 1831 it lost its conical roof. A restoration in the 1960s rebuilt the cone that defines the skyline today. Our Galata evening walk stops here.

The man who flew to Asia

However, Galata Tower’s most famous story comes from the 17th-century traveler Evliya Çelebi. He wrote that in Murad IV’s time a scholar named Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi strapped on wings, jumped from the tower and glided across the Bosphorus to Üsküdar. Sultan Murad IV, the story goes, rewarded him and then sent him into exile, afraid of a man with such powers. The story appears only in Evliya’s book, so it is probably a legend. Still, it is one of the most beloved legends in Istanbul.

The tower today

The tower was restored and reopened as a museum in 2020. Inside, display floors show finds from the area, while two elevators carry visitors most of the way up.

At the Top, and Around the Galata Tower

The view from Galata Tower

Walk slowly around the narrow gallery. To the south, the Galata Bridge crosses the Golden Horn toward the domes of the old city: the Süleymaniye, the New Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. To the east, the Bosphorus opens toward the Asian shore. Ferries criss-cross the water below you. So in one turn of the gallery, you see how three bodies of water and two continents made this city.

The museum floors

On the way up, the inner floors also display objects found in and around Galata, from pottery to tiles. Together, they are small displays, but they remind you that the tower stands on centuries of daily life.

Photographing the tower from outside

The best photos of Galata Tower, however, come from below or from across the water. Then try the narrow streets that run toward the tower from Galip Dede and Serdar-ı Ekrem, where it rises at the end of the lane. For the skyline, walk onto the Galata Bridge or take a ferry from Eminönü at sunset, when the tower stands black against an orange sky.

The Galata Tower Square, Day and Night

Below, the small square around the tower is also one of the liveliest corners of Istanbul, with cafés and people sitting on the steps. In the evening, the tower lights up. Then the streets around it, lined with old apartment buildings, return to the people who live there. To photograph the city lights, join our Istanbul night photography tour.

Cafés with tower views are everywhere, but the best coffee is a few steps away. For dessert, walk down to Karaköy, where Güllüoğlu makes baklava. Our Galata guide covers the whole neighborhood, and our Beyoğlu tour walks it from Karaköy up the hill.

How to Visit the Galata Tower

Visiting Galata Tower

• Hours: open every day, with an evening session. We arrange your entry to the tower and time it to the light you want.
• Tickets: required to go up, and we arrange them for you.
• Visitor limit: entry is capped each hour, so we plan your visit at the best hour. Children under 18 must visit with a parent.
• Time needed: 45 to 90 minutes. An audio guide is available.
• Getting there: walk up from Karaköy, or take the historic Tünel funicular to the top of Galata.

Local tips for Galata Tower

• Come at opening time or in the evening session.
• Go at sunset for the best light of the day.
• The gallery is narrow, so if you are uneasy with heights, stay close to the wall.
• Look across the Golden Horn to its old partner in fire-watching, Beyazıt Tower, which glows at night in weather colors.
• Combine it with the Galata Mevlevi Lodge of the followers of Rumi, then walk down to Karaköy past the Arap Mosque, a Gothic church of the same Genoese town.