Everything you have to decide before you go
What it costs, when the gates stop selling, which end to start from, and how long the walk really takes — all of it checked against the ministry's own tables and dated.
Open now until 20:00.17:02 in Selçuk
The questions, in the order they matter
Tickets and prices
€40 for the site, €15 more for the Terrace Houses — and no euro cash at the window.
Read02Opening hours
The site closes at 20:00. The upper gate stops selling at 18:00.
Read03Upper gate or lower gate
Downhill from the top, uphill from the bottom. And the ticket offices close an hour apart.
Read04How long you need
90 minutes to walk it, three hours to see it, and what each half hour buys.
Read05Best time to visit
No shade, and the crowd arrives with the ships. Both are solvable by an hour.
Read06Ephesus after dark
Lit, cool and nearly empty. Four evenings a week, summer only.
Read07Are the Terrace Houses worth it?
€15 more, 45 minutes, a lot of stairs — and the only painted walls at Ephesus.
Read08Do you need a guide?
Not for navigation. The real question is whether you want the stones explained.
Read09What to wear and bring
Grip, shade and water. The marble is genuinely slippery.
Read10Ephesus with children
Hot, shadeless and an hour long — and three things that always work.
Read11Walking and accessibility
The lower third works on wheels. The rest is a marble slope.
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