İstanbul
Galata Tower stands in the Bereketzade neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, on the hill above Karaköy in Istanbul. The Genoese built it in 1348 as part of the walls of their colony at Galata. In the Ottoman period it served as a dungeon and later as a fire lookout. After a restoration in 2020 it reopened on 6 October 2020 as the Galata Tower Museum.
The museum shows objects from Istanbul's history. The balcony at the top looks over the Golden Horn, the Galata Bridge and the historic peninsula. The tower is on UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list together with other Genoese towers.
From Şişhane station on the M2 metro the walk takes about eight minutes and is almost level. From the Karaköy stop of the T1 tram the way up is short but steep. Lifts run to the sixth floor; the last two floors are reached by narrow stairs. Allow 45 to 90 minutes. Check opening hours on muze.gov.tr first.