no alt text

Bucket list experience:

Last updated: 24 January, 2023
Expert travel writer: Jeremy Seal

With its cobbled streets, spectacular surviving villa interiors and painstakingly restored facades, Turkey’s best-known ancient site stunningly evokes Roman-era life in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. It’s rare to experience a city quite so rich in architectural detailing, not least inscriptions, statuary and restored facades.

Wandering Ephesus’ main street, past a wealth of buildings including bathhouses, temples and the exceptional Library of Celsus, is an unmissable experience for anybody with the least fascination for the past.

Price from: £7
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

The southern gate, the recommended entrance, delivers visitors to the top of the original ‘main drag’. Guides and audio guides are available for hire, though those who prefer to wander at leisure will have little trouble finding their way through the well-signed site’s straightforward topography, especially with the hand-out maps.

The site is served by taxis while some of the pansiyons at Selcuk, the nearest accommodation base, shuttle their guests to Ephesus. By foot, it’s about a half-hour walk from Selcuk.

There are restaurants outside the entrance turnstiles, but nothing on the site. Bring snacks and water.

When to do it

The site is open all year round, seven days a week. Ideally be there for opening time – which is the best time to avoid the heat and the crowds.

September and June are the best months to go. The site offers little shade and in July and August, when the weather is hot, even at 8am. The site is always crowded in high summer – often with cruise groups who flood the ancient streets.

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

Ephesus Day Trip from Istanbul

Ephesus Day Trip from Istanbul

Istanbul

If you are in Istanbul and would like to visit Ephesus we can arrange a day trip to Ephesus from Istanbul with direct flights to Izmir from ...

€299 | Rating 4.9 / 5 [10 ratings]

Website >

Tour supplied by:

Viator Logo
Ancient Ephesus Tour from/to Istanbul

Ancient Ephesus Tour from/to Istanbul

Istanbul

This is a customized full-day small-group tour with an expert local guide. Visit Ancient Ephesus; The best-preserved classical city in the E...

$308 | Rating 4.84 / 5 [26 ratings]

Website >

Tour supplied by:

Viator Logo
Ephesus Trip from Istanbul

Ephesus Trip from Istanbul

Selçuk

This full-day excursion covers the most exciting sites of the region, including the BASILICA OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, it is believed that...

$372 | Rating 4.93 / 5 [109 ratings]

Website >

Tour supplied by:

Viator Logo
Private Day Trip from Istanbul to Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary

Private Day Trip from Istanbul to Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary

Istanbul

A Private Day Trip to 'must' to visit places: Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary. Enjoy this excellent tour and receive a Red Carpet Treatment...

$489 | Rating 4.88 / 5 [17 ratings]

Website >

Tour supplied by:

Viator Logo

Our writer’s recommended tour operators to book with

Peter Sommer Travels

Peter Sommer Travels

Monmouth, Wales, United Kingdom (UK)

Highly-regarded, multi-award-winning cultural tour and upscale gulet cruise expert operating a fleet of boats in Turkey, Croatia, Greece. There’s a range of expert-led themed tours available including foodie, archaeology, hiking and special family tours for small groups or private land-based tours or gulet charters.

Somewhere Wonderful

Somewhere Wonderful

Turquoise Coast, Turkey

Delightful small-group tours around Turkey, both by gulet and on land, personally led by two top Turkey specialists – leading Turkish travel writer Jeremy Seal, and Turkish archaeologist Yunus Ozdemir.

Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

Nisanyan Hotel

Sirince, Aegean Region, Turkey[8.1 miles]

A unique and beautiful hotel, rich in character and in a memorable hilltop setting, which also offers a perfect base for visitors to nearby Ephesus.

Official star rating:

Other worthwhile experiences near this experience if you have time or interest..

Picturesque view of the village from afar
Experience

Sirince

Aegean Region, Turkey[8 miles]

A beautiful town of exceptional Ottoman merchants’ houses and cobbled lanes, set amidst vineyards in the hills above Ephesus. If you can, visit first thing in the morning or at the end of the day, to avoid the busloads of tourists.

Best for ages: 18+ | Free

Website >
Overview >

Round-ups that include this experience