Ephesus has two entrances, about a kilometre and a half apart by road, on either end of the ancient city. They sell the same ticket. They are not the same visit.
The short answer
Go in at the Upper Gate — signed Üst Kapı, also called the Magnesian or South Gate — and walk down.
The site drops roughly ninety metres from the ridge to the old harbour. Downhill you see the monuments in the order the city was built to be seen in: the civic quarter, then the descent of Curetes Street, then the Library of Celsus arriving in front of you as the ground flattens, then the theatre, then the road to the sea.
Uphill, from the Lower Gate (Alt Kapı, the North Gate), you get the theatre first, the library from behind, and a four-hundred-metre climb on polished marble in whatever the temperature is.
The catch
You have to get back to your transport.
The walk is one-way. If a taxi drops you at the top, it has to meet you at the bottom — agree that before you get out, and agree the price. Drivers know the arrangement and most will do it without argument, but a driver who thinks he is waiting where he dropped you will be at the wrong gate.
Driving yourself creates a real problem: the car is at the top and you are at the bottom. The options are to walk back up, take a taxi round from the Lower Gate car park (there are usually a few), or accept the uphill route and start at the bottom.
By ticket office hours
The Upper Gate stops selling tickets an hour before the Lower Gate — 18:00 against 19:00 in summer. Late in the afternoon the choice is made for you: after six, the Lower Gate is the only gate that will let you in.
By where you are coming from
Cruise passengers from Kuşadası. Coach excursions almost always use the Upper Gate and collect at the Lower Gate. If you are arranging your own taxi, ask for the same. See getting there from the port.
From Selçuk. The dolmuş drops at the Lower Gate. Walking or a taxi from Selçuk also lands you at the bottom. To start at the top you need a taxi that will take you round.
With limited mobility. Start at the Lower Gate. The ground from the bottom gate as far as the theatre and the library is flat and mostly paved, and you can turn round without ever facing the steep part. See walking and accessibility.
The crowd argument
The two gates fill at different times. Between about ten and one, when the ship groups are working through, the Upper Gate and the top of Curetes Street are the busiest places on the site. The Lower Gate end is quieter then and busiest an hour later, as the same groups arrive.
If you are arriving late morning and want the library to yourself for thirty seconds, go in at the bottom, walk straight up to it, and let the groups pass you going the other way.
Which gate is better at Ephesus?
The Upper Gate, if you can arrange to be collected at the bottom. It makes the whole walk downhill and puts the Library of Celsus in front of you rather than behind.
How far apart are the two Ephesus gates?
About 1.5 km by road and roughly a kilometre on foot through the site. The internal walk takes 45 to 60 minutes with stops.
Can I get a taxi at the Lower Gate?
Usually. There are taxis waiting at the Lower Gate car park through the day, and dolmuşes to Selçuk. It is thinner late in the afternoon.
