Not currently visitable: Queen’s Staircase and adjacent Fort Fincastle are temporarily closed for Water Tower-area renovation work, with no reopening date. Once reopened, it is a worthwhile 20–30-minute historic stop when paired with a downtown Nassau walk or Fort Fincastle.
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Do not plan around it yet
The official Nassau Paradise Island authority says the staircase is temporarily closed, gives no reopening date, and confirms there is no usable public visitor entrance during the works.
Do not buy a tour for access
Tours may still advertise the staircase, but they cannot override the official closure; get written confirmation of physical access and any substitute stop before booking.
Plan only 20–30 minutes
When it reopens, the hand-cut limestone passage is best treated as a short historic stop, ideally paired with Fort Fincastle if that site is also accessible.
MoreWear grippy shoes after reopening
The route is a steep, narrow flight of uneven historic stone steps and can be slippery after rain, with no documented step-free route.
Open 24 hours
Hours from Google; check before you go.
Free to enter — no ticket needed.
Official sitequeensstaircase.comCurrently no public visitor entrance: Queen’s Staircase and adjacent Fort Fincastle are temporarily closed for Water Tower-area renovation, with no reopening date. Do not take a taxi there expecting to enter or wait at the barrier. When it reopens, the lower approach is on Elizabeth Avenue South from downtown; the upper approach is on Bennet’s Hill beside Fort Fincastle and the Water Tower, better for descending. The staircase is not step-free: expect steep, uneven historic stone steps, with no officially documented accessible route or mobility facilities.
Queen’s Staircase is a narrow, rock-cut limestone passage on Bennet’s Hill in Nassau, rising about 31 m (102 ft) between downtown and Fort Fincastle. Commonly called the “66 Steps,” it has 65 visible steps today because the lowest was paved over. Bahamas tourism sources describe it as carved by enslaved people in 1793–94 as a direct route to the fort and later named for Queen Victoria, although another official tourism body gives a conflicting account that dates the work to the 1830s by formerly enslaved people. The passage’s high limestone walls, planting and water feature make it a distinctive historic landscape rather than simply a stairway. ప్రస్తుతం it is temporarily closed, along with adjacent Fort Fincastle, for Water Tower-area renovation work; no reopening date has been published.
When it reopens, this is a worthwhile 20–30-minute stop within a central Nassau historic walk: the hand-cut gorge makes the scale and human cost of the excavation tangible, while the Fort Fincastle connection explains its strategic setting. Go for the lower-end view looking uphill, the rough limestone walls and the shaded, grotto-like corridor—not merely to count steps. Skip it for now because there is no public access; after reopening, skip it if steep, uneven and potentially slippery historic stairs are unsuitable for you or if you want museum-level interpretation of slavery.
Before you go
No. As of October 27, 2026, Queen’s Staircase and adjacent Fort Fincastle are temporarily closed for Water Tower-area renovation work. The Nassau Paradise Island destination authority gives no reopening date. Do not plan a visit, taxi stop or Nassau day around access to the stairs.
No official entry ticket, timed-entry product or reopening booking window is currently available because the site is closed. Do not buy a city tour solely because it advertises Queen’s Staircase: ask the operator in writing whether the staircase will be physically accessible on your exact date and what replacement stop is offered if it is not.
Before the closure, official Bahamas tourism material described it as a public landmark and did not publish an admission charge. However, that does not guarantee the post-renovation arrangement, so do not assume free entry until an official reopening notice states the access terms.
It is on Bennet’s Hill at the Fort Fincastle Historic Complex, with Elizabeth Avenue South as the lower-side location reference. Historically there were lower Elizabeth Avenue South and upper Bennet’s Hill/Fort Fincastle approaches, but neither is a usable public entrance during the closure. Do not ask a taxi to wait while you try to enter the work area. Location reference: https://www.bahamas.com/plan-your-trip/things-to-do/the-queens-staircase
Allow about 30 minutes for the staircase itself, including a slow climb and photographs. Add roughly 45 minutes if Fort Fincastle is open and you plan to visit it too. While the closure remains in force, allow no visit time and choose another downtown Nassau historic stop instead.
No step-free route is documented. The experience is an uneven, steep historic stone stairway in a narrow limestone cut, and official sources do not identify a lift, wheelchair route, accessible entrance, accessible toilet or mobility-equipment loan. It is also a poor choice after heavy rain because surfaces can be slippery.