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The Maiden's Tower on its islet in the Bosphorus 4 more photos
Photo: A.Savin / Wikimedia Commons, Free Art License 1.3, resized

Culture · Istanbul · Üsküdar

Maiden's Tower

Kız Kulesi

A small tower on a rock just off the Asian shore, reached by boat, with a museum inside and the whole Bosphorus mouth around it.

Today: sunrise 07:24 · sunset 18:12 (calculated for this spot)

  • Open now Closes 21:00 · last entry 20:00
  • Ticket €27
  • Visit ~1.5 h
  • Museum Pass

Directions See it on the Istanbul map

Build a day-by-day plan with closing-day warnings and ticket totals.

What to see

The islet has carried a fortification, a lighthouse and a quarantine station over the centuries; the present tower dates mainly from the Ottoman period and reopened as a museum after restoration. Exhibits cover its legends and its long history as a lighthouse.

Count on about an hour and a half including the boat transfer. The terrace views take in the historic peninsula, Galata and the start of the Bosphorus.

Go in the late afternoon for the light on the old city across the water. Boats run from the Salacak shore in Üsküdar and from Karaköy.

Getting there

Boats to the tower leave from Salacak (Üsküdar) and Karaköy; the ministry lists ticket booths at both piers. Reach Üsküdar by ferry or the Marmaray/M5 lines, then walk south along the shore to Salacak.

Nearest rail & tram stops

  • M5 Üsküdar in Turkish Metro station ~850 m~14 min walk (estimate)

Straight-line distance; the walking time adds a rough allowance for detours. Stops on operating lines only (OpenStreetMap, via ilçemde, our sister directory); station pages open on ilçemde and show what is around each station (in Turkish — names, phone numbers and map work in any language).

Open in OpenStreetMap See it on the Istanbul map

Nearby

Open now near me →

Eat & drink nearby

Restaurants

  • Kız Kulesi Restaurant · ~50 m (straight line) 4.3 on Yandex (527 reviews)
  • Filizler Köftecisi Kebab & grill · ~300 m (straight line) 4.1 on Yandex (311 reviews)
  • Rastgele Restaurant Restaurant · ~600 m (straight line) 5.0 on Yandex (24 reviews)

Cafés

  • Vav Kahve Coffee shop · ~650 m (straight line) 4.4 on Yandex (51 reviews)
  • Korcan Aile Çay Bahçesi Tea garden · ~450 m (straight line) 4.2 on Yandex (175 reviews)

Bakeries

Listings from ilçemde, our sister directory; ratings from the map service shown. We don't rank by payment. Nearer places come first (within 300 m, then 700 m), then ratings weighted by how many reviews they have. Opening hours can change; “Open now” uses Istanbul time.

Also in this area

Featured in Viewpoints.

Straight-line distances.

Where to stay nearby

Üsküdar has 26 places to stay licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Ministry list, counted on ilçemde on 30 Sep 2026).

Hotels and guesthouses in Üsküdar ↗

How we rank: Nearby Ministry-licensed places first (matched to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism list), then other places by distance band (within 5 km, 15 km, 40 km; straight line) and public map ratings and review counts. A licensed place never jumps ahead of a closer band. Places more than 25 km away in another town are shown only when there are few options nearby. No business pays to be listed. A high score from a handful of reviews counts for less than a slightly lower score from hundreds. Ratings and counts come from ilçemde's data (source shown on each card, checked 1 Oct 2026); read the reviews themselves on the map services.

Accommodation lists open on ilçemde, our sister directory of Turkish businesses (new tab). We do not take bookings or commissions.

Pharmacies on duty tonight in Üsküdar ↗ The list changes every day; on-duty pharmacies stay open when the others are closed.

About this page

Location: Wikidata Q848397 (P625). Ticket, hours and closing days: only from the operator's own pages; anything we could not confirm there is marked “Not verified”. Last checked 30 Sep 2026.