Ephesus does not have one closing time. It has four, and they are an hour apart, which is how people end up standing at a gate that will not sell them a ticket while the site is visibly open in front of them.
Summer season: 1 May to 1 October 2026
| Open | Last tickets | |
|---|---|---|
| Site, Lower Gate | 08:30 | 19:00 |
| Site, Upper Gate | 08:30 | 18:00 |
| Terrace Houses | 09:00 | 18:00 |
| Ephesus Museum, Selçuk | 08:30 | 19:30 |
Everything closes to visitors at 20:00.
Read that table again
Three things in it decide a late afternoon.
The Upper Gate stops selling an hour before the Lower Gate. Arrive at the top at 18:30 and you will be sent round to the bottom — a fifteen-minute drive — where you can still buy a ticket but will now be walking the site uphill.
The Terrace Houses shut their window at 18:00 too. They are the part of the site most worth an extra hour, and they are the first thing to become impossible.
Closing at 20:00 means being out at 20:00, not starting the walk. Wardens begin moving people down from about 19:30.
Night opening
From 1 June to 1 October the Lower Gate reopens in the evening, 19:00 to 23:00, with last tickets around 22:00. The programme runs on set days of the week — Wednesday to Saturday in the current schedule — and it is occasionally suspended for a concert or an event.
It is a separate ticket and a genuinely different site: lit, cool, and almost empty. If you are staying in Selçuk or Kuşadası for a night, it is the best thing on this page.
Because the night programme moves around, check the ministry's own page for Efes Örenyeri on the day.
Winter
Out of season the site keeps shorter hours and the ticket offices close earlier again. The İzmir Provincial Directorate republishes its table when the season turns, around the beginning of October, and the winter times are not announced far in advance.
Between October and April, assume roughly 08:30 to 18:00 with last tickets an hour before — and check before you set off.
When it is closed
Ephesus is open every day of the year, including public holidays. The first day of Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı sometimes runs on a half-day at ministry sites; the site itself normally stays open.
What time does Ephesus close?
20:00 in the summer season. The Upper Gate ticket office stops selling at 18:00 and the Lower Gate at 19:00, so the last useful arrival is well before closing.
What time does Ephesus open?
08:30 in the summer season, with the Terrace Houses opening at 09:00.
Is Ephesus open at night?
Yes, from 1 June to 1 October, 19:00 to 23:00 at the Lower Gate on set days of the week, as a separate ticket. The schedule changes and is occasionally suspended for events.
Is Ephesus open every day?
Yes, seven days a week, all year.
