Maiden's Tower: Tickets, Opening Hours and How to Get There

The Maiden's Tower (Kız Kulesi) stands on a small rock about 200 metres off Salacak in Üsküdar, where the Bosphorus opens into the Sea of Marmara. Since a 2023 restoration it has been a museum you reach by boat. Here are the piers, boat times, tickets, pass rules and the stories behind its names.

How to get to Maiden's Tower

According to the ministry's official museum page, boats leave from two piers.

Get directions on the map

• Salacak pier (Asian side): Harem Sahil Yolu Cad. No: 26/1, Üsküdar, at the visitor centre facing the tower. Take the Marmaray or M5 metro to Üsküdar, or a ferry from Eminönü, Karaköy or Beşiktaş, then walk 15–20 minutes south along the shore. This pier has the most departures.
• Karaköy pier (European side): Rıhtım Caddesi, in front of the Ziraat Bank building, by Galataport. Take the T1 tram to Karaköy. Departures are at fixed times only.

Buy the boat ticket at the pier. Boats can be cancelled or delayed in strong wind.

Boat times and the last boat

Last boat: On standard hours the last departure from either pier is 17:00. The last returns leave the tower around 18:00 for Karaköy and 18:10 for Salacak. When summer hours apply, evening runs are added, up to 20:00 from Salacak and 18:30 from Karaköy.

The ministry's ticket page also notes that the 17:00 boat from Galataport does not return there. If you go late from the European side, plan to come back via Salacak.

Opening hours

The official museum page lists daily 09:00–18:00, with the ticket office closing at 17:00. There is no weekly closing day. Hours are extended in summer and on holidays; in May 2026 the tower stayed open until 21:00. It can also close for private events, as it did on 17 September 2026, so check announcements on muze.gov.tr before you go.

Maiden's Tower tickets and prices

Is the boat included? No. Entry and boat are separate. The ministry's site also lists a "transport included" e-ticket and an option with an audio guide; Turkish press quotes the audio-guide ticket at €35. Ask at the desk which package you are buying.

Where to buy: Online at muze.gov.tr or at the ticket office by the pier. Visitors under 18 must be accompanied by a parent.

Is Maiden's Tower included in Museum Pass Istanbul?

Yes, and Museum Pass Türkiye is valid too. You still pay the boat fare. For a full comparison, see our Museum Pass Istanbul vs Müzekart guide.

What's inside and when to go

The tower is a compact museum. An exhibition traces about 2,500 years of the islet's history: watch post, lighthouse, quarantine station and, more recently, restaurant. An audio guide is available. Stairs lead up to a balcony looking over Seraglio Point, Topkapı Palace and the mouth of the Bosphorus. Allow 30–45 minutes inside, about 90 minutes including the boat.

Is there a restaurant? Not anymore. The café and restaurant that ran here through the 2000s closed with the 2021 restoration. Recent visitors report a small tea and coffee point on the islet, but the official page does not mention it. Eat in Üsküdar or at the tea gardens on the Salacak shore.

Best time: Weekday mornings on the first boats are calmest. From October to March the museum closes before sunset, so watch the sun go down behind the old city from the Salacak shore instead. In summer, with longer hours, you can catch sunset from the balcony.

Was the Maiden's Tower demolished?

No. In September 2022 a video showed a ship visible through the tarpaulin-wrapped, domeless tower, and rumours spread that it had been torn down. The ministry denied it. Project adviser Prof. Zeynep Ahunbay said concrete added after a 1940s fire had corroded and weakened the tower. It was removed, the dome and balcony were rebuilt in timber, and the tower returned to its 1832 look. Critics questioned the closed-off site and the lack of transparency; the project team called the work "purification, not demolition". The tower reopened on 11 May 2023.

The story: a snake, a swimmer and a lighthouse

Tradition says that in 408 BC the Athenian general Alcibiades set up a post on this rock to watch ships coming down from the Black Sea. In 1110 the Byzantines built a wooden tower and stone wall here, and a chain is said to have run from it to the European shore.

The Turkish name comes from a folk tale. A seer warns a ruler that his daughter will die of a snakebite on her eighteenth birthday. He shuts her in a tower in the sea. On her birthday a basket of fruit arrives. A snake is hidden among the grapes.

Western visitors know it as Leander's Tower, after the Greek myth of Leander, who swam to his lover Hero each night guided by her lamp until a storm put it out. That story belongs to the Dardanelles and was attached here later.

Under the Ottomans the tower became a watchtower, fell in the 1509 earthquake, and was rebuilt after a fire in 1721 as a lighthouse. In the early 19th century it served as a quarantine station, and it took its present form in 1832 under Mahmud II. In 1999 it played the villain Renard's lair in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.

FAQ

How much are Maiden's Tower tickets?
€27 for international visitors, plus 110 TL for the boat.

How do I get to Maiden's Tower?
By boat from Salacak pier in Üsküdar or from Karaköy pier on Rıhtım Caddesi.

What time is the last boat?
17:00 from either pier on standard hours. In summer, evening boats run later.

What are the opening hours?
Daily 09:00–18:00, ticket office closes at 17:00. Hours are longer in summer.

Is it included in Museum Pass Istanbul?
Yes, but the boat fare is not.

Is there a restaurant?
No. The restaurant closed in 2021; a small café point is reported on the islet.

Was the tower demolished?
No. Only later concrete additions were removed during the 2021–2023 restoration.

Can I see the sunset from the tower?
Only in summer, when hours are extended. The rest of the year, watch it from the Salacak shore.

Nearby

• Maiden's Tower place page
• Galata Tower: tickets, opening hours and how to get there
• Bosphorus cruise guide
• Museum Pass Istanbul vs Müzekart