# Old Lighthouse of Sulina

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Dobruja](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/dobrogea) › [Tulcea County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/tulcea) › [Sulina](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/city/sulina)

> The white tower of the European Commission of the Danube in the middle of Sulina, now a museum about the town called “Europolis”, the writer Jean Bart and the conductor George Georgescu.

**At a glance:** Museums and memorial houses in Sulina, Tulcea County. Opening hours: Monday closed, Tuesday–Sunday 10:00 – 18:00. Ticket: 20 lei. The visit takes 45 min. Information verified on 21 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** Monday closed, Tuesday–Sunday 10:00 – 18:00 — Summer hours, valid from 1 May 2026: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00, closed on Mondays. From 1 October 2026 the hours change to Tuesday–Sunday 8:00–16:00, closed on Mondays. On public holidays ICEM Tulcea posts special hours on its website. The time you reach the lighthouse depends on the Navrom Delta boats from Tulcea, which are less frequent out of season.
- **Ticket:** 20 lei — pensioners 10 lei, pupils 5 lei
- **Visit duration:** 45 min — small museum with a courtyard
- **With kids:** Yes — narrow spiral staircase
- **Parking:** No — the car stays in Tulcea
- **Best season:** May – September — daily boats in summer
- **Address:** Strada a II-a nr. 43, Sulina, Tulcea County
- **Coordinates:** 45.15529, 29.663
- **Website:** https://www.icemtl.ro/muzeul-farul-vechi-sulina/
- **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farul_Comisiei_Europene_a_Dun%C4%83rii_de_la_Sulina
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25466472
- **Categories:** [Museums and memorial houses](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/museums-and-memorial-houses), [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monuments-and-historic-sites)

## About Old Lighthouse of Sulina

In the middle of Sulina, two streets back from the Danube, a white tapering tower more than 17 metres tall rises above the low houses. This is the town's old lighthouse, also known as the Lighthouse of the European Commission of the Danube: the national list of historic monuments dates it to 1870 and places it in category A, of national importance. When it was built it stood close to the point where the Sulina branch flowed into the sea; Danube silt and the jetties pushed out into open water have since moved the shoreline about one and a half kilometres to the east.

The lighthouse guided ships entering the Sulina branch in the decades when the European Commission of the Danube, set up after the 1856 Treaty of Paris, ran the mouth of the river and had turned Sulina into an international port. Sources disagree about its beginnings (some mention an older Ottoman or Russian light on the same spot), but the plaque at the entrance links it to the Commission and to the year 1870. Once out of service it was restored in the 1990s and turned into a museum, run since 2003 by the Eco-Museum Research Institute in Tulcea. Between 2019 and 2022 it underwent a new, EU-funded rehabilitation that won an award at the National Restoration Triennial.

Sulina lies inside the Danube Delta, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991, and the lighthouse is the best-known monument left in the town from the Commission's era.

### What you can see

In the two rooms on the ground floor of the tower, the exhibition uses documents, maps and photographs to tell the story of Sulina in the days of the European Commission of the Danube, and of two people linked to the town: the writer Jean Bart (Eugeniu P. Botez), who served here as maritime commissioner and described Sulina in the novel "Europolis", and the conductor George Georgescu, who was born in Sulina. Among the objects are pieces of furniture that belonged to Jean Bart. Around the tower, the former staff quarters and storerooms enclose an inner courtyard. Inside, a spiral iron staircase lit by three round windows climbs to the railed platform around the lantern.

### Good to know

The old lighthouse should not be confused with the new one, far off towards the end of the offshore jetties, nor with the two small lighthouses on the banks of the canal downstream of the town. Sulina has no road to the rest of the country: it is reached only by boat from Tulcea, so the visit has to fit around the sailing times.

## Don't miss

- The white tapering tower, with its three round windows and railed lantern, seen from Strada a II-a.
- The furniture and family photographs of Jean Bart, author of the novel “Europolis”.
- The maps and photographs of the European Commission of the Danube's works at the mouth of the Sulina branch.
- The spiral iron staircase inside the tower.
- The inner courtyard, enclosed by the lighthouse's former quarters and storerooms.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** you cannot drive to the lighthouse. Sulina has no road link to the rest of the country, so the car stays in Tulcea: from Bucharest it is about 300 km and roughly four hours, on the A2 to Cernavodă, then the DJ223 to Hârșova and the DN22A and DN22 to Tulcea; from Constanța about 130 km and two hours, on the A4 and DN22.

**Public transport:** Navrom Delta boats leave the port of Tulcea and run down the Sulina branch; the classic boat takes about three and a half hours, the semi-rapid two and a half. In summer there are daily sailings, out of season only on certain days of the week. In Sulina the lighthouse is on Strada a II-a, parallel to the waterfront, a few minutes' walk from the landing stage.

### Where to park

No car park is needed at the lighthouse: Sulina has no road to the mainland, and the car stays in Tulcea, where the boat leaves from. The town is explored on foot.

### Fees & discounts

A museum ticket costs 20 lei for adults, 10 lei for pensioners and 5 lei for pre-school children, pupils and full-time students. Professional photography costs 100 lei per hour and professional filming 500 lei per hour. On top of that comes the Tulcea–Sulina boat (~66 lei each way on the classic boat and ~76 lei on the semi-rapid, at Navrom Delta's 2026 fares) and the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve access permit (5 lei per day).

### Rules

The photography and filming fees apply only to professional photography and filming. The staircase in the tower is narrow and spiral, unsuitable for pushchairs and for anyone who suffers from vertigo. Sulina lies inside the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, so you need the reserve access permit. Pets are not usually allowed in the museum rooms.

### Facilities

Exhibition in two rooms on the ground floor of the tower · inner courtyard · the tower can be reached only by the stairs · restaurants, accommodation and shops in town, a few minutes' walk away

## Details

- **Collection type:** history
- **Historical period:** 19th century

## Frequently asked questions about Old Lighthouse of Sulina

**How much is a ticket to Old Lighthouse of Sulina?**

A ticket to Old Lighthouse of Sulina costs 20 lei (pensioners 10 lei, pupils 5 lei). More under “Fees & discounts”.

**What are the opening hours of Old Lighthouse of Sulina?**

Opening hours at Old Lighthouse of Sulina: Monday closed, Tuesday–Sunday 10:00 – 18:00. More under “Opening hours”.

**How long does a visit to Old Lighthouse of Sulina take?**

A visit to Old Lighthouse of Sulina takes about 45 min (small museum with a courtyard).

**Can you visit Old Lighthouse of Sulina with kids?**

Yes, Old Lighthouse of Sulina is suitable for children (narrow spiral staircase).

**Where can I park at Old Lighthouse of Sulina?**

Old Lighthouse of Sulina has no parking of its own (the car stays in Tulcea). More under “Where to park”.

**How do I get to Old Lighthouse of Sulina?**

Old Lighthouse of Sulina is located at Strada a II-a nr. 43, Sulina, Tulcea County. More under “Getting there”.

**When is the best time to visit Old Lighthouse of Sulina?**

The best season for Old Lighthouse of Sulina: May – September (daily boats in summer).

## Nearby attractions

- [Sulina](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/sulina) — Deltas · Sulina, TL · 5 lei/day · 3½ – 4 hours · 0 km
  Romania's easternmost town, at the mouth of the Sulina arm, with no road to the rest of the country: a port with an international past, the Old Lighthouse, the European Commission of the Danube palace and the maritime cemetery.
- [Sulina Beach](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/sulina-beach) — Seaside · Sulina, TL · 5 lei · 3½ – 4 hours · 3 km
  Romania's easternmost beach, where the Sulina branch meets the Black Sea: very fine alluvial sand, an unusually wide strip and water that stays shallow for tens of metres.
- [Crișan](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/crisan) — Villages and traditions · Crișan, TL · 5 lei/day · 1½ – 2 hours · 28 km
  Fishing village on the Sulina branch in the middle of the Danube Delta, with no road: a call for the Navrom Delta ship, with an ARBDD information centre and the launches to Mila 23 and Caraorman.
- [Letea Forest](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/letea-forest) — National parks and reserves · Letea, TL · 2½ – 3 hours · UNESCO World Heritage · 32 km
  One of Romania's first nature reserves, protected since 1938: ancient oaks draped in lianas, sand dunes and herds of feral horses on the Letea sand bank in the north of the Danube Delta.
- [Caraorman Forest](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/caraorman-forest) — National parks and reserves · Caraorman, TL · 5 lei/day · 3½ – 4 hours · UNESCO World Heritage · 32 km
  A strict nature reserve in the heart of the Danube Delta: oaks more than 400 years old, including the Kneeling Oak, and the highest sand dunes in the delta, on the Caraorman sand bank.
- [Sfântu Gheorghe (Danube Delta)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/sfantu-gheorghe) — Villages and traditions · Sfântu Gheorghe, TL · 5 lei/day · 3½ – 4 hours · 38 km
  A fishing village where the Sfântu Gheorghe arm meets the Black Sea, with no road in: you arrive by water, and the village has its church, the 1967 lighthouse and a 30 km beach 2 km away.

## Featured in the guides

- [The Danube Delta: map, what it is, the villages and what to see](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/danube-delta) — The Danube Delta on the map: the Chilia, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe branches, villages and sights. A 580,000 ha reserve, UNESCO since 1991. Water in 2026.
- [Danube Delta trip: one, two or three days, where to start and how to get to Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/danube-delta-trip) — From Tulcea, 300 km from Bucharest: a day by boat to Mila 23, the Navrom ship to Sulina (66 lei, 3 h 30) and Sfântu Gheorghe. Murighiol, Mahmudia, Jurilovca.
- [Sulina or Sfântu Gheorghe? The beaches of the Danube Delta (and Gura Portiței)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/sulina-or-sfantu-gheorghe) — Sulina: a port town with an old lighthouse and a 5 km beach 2–3 km away, with terraces in summer. Sfântu Gheorghe: a village and 30 km of wild beach.

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Last updated: 21 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania