One of the best-preserved classical cities in the Mediterranean — a great Greek and Roman metropolis near Selçuk in western Türkiye, and a practical guide to walking it well.
Last reviewed on 3 June 2026.
Ephesus (Efes in Turkish) sits a short distance inland from the modern town of Selçuk, in the Aegean region of western Türkiye. It is one of the best-preserved classical cities anywhere in the Mediterranean, and walking it gives an unusually complete picture of what a major Greek and then Roman metropolis actually looked like: paved streets, a working library façade, a vast hillside theatre, public latrines, terraced houses with their mosaics still in place. For centuries it was also one of the great ports of the ancient world, until the harbour silted up, the coastline retreated several kilometres, and the city was gradually abandoned to the marshes.
Ephesus was founded as an Ionian Greek colony, traditionally in the early first millennium BC, and grew up around the cult of a great mother goddess later identified with the Greek Artemis. The Temple of Artemis — the Artemision — became so large and so richly furnished that it was counted among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again over the centuries; today almost nothing survives on the site beyond foundations and a single re-erected column standing in a field, which makes the scale of its former reputation hard to picture.
Under Roman rule the city reached its height. It became the capital of the province of Asia and one of the largest cities of the eastern empire, a centre of trade, administration and population. The monuments most visitors come to see — the marble streets, the public buildings, the theatre in its final form — largely belong to this Roman heyday.
Ephesus also has a significant place in early Christian history. The apostle Paul spent an extended period here, and the city features in the New Testament traditions: the Epistle to the Ephesians is addressed to its community, and later tradition connects the city with the Gospel of John and with the Virgin Mary. By late antiquity, however, the harbour that had made Ephesus rich was steadily filling with silt carried down by the river. As the sea moved away, trade declined, the population shifted toward the hill where Selçuk now stands, and the classical city was left behind.
The core of a visit follows a paved route that runs downhill through the city. The single most photographed monument is the Library of Celsus, whose two-storey marble façade has been carefully reconstructed from its fallen pieces; the niches once held statues representing virtues such as wisdom and knowledge. Just beyond it, the city opens onto the Great Theatre, an enormous structure built into the hillside that could hold many thousands of spectators and is still used occasionally for events.
Between the upper city and the library runs Curetes Street, lined with column bases, fragments of statuary, fountains and shopfronts. Partway down stands the small and elegant Temple of Hadrian, with a delicate arched porch that is one of the most recognisable details of the site. Nearby are the public latrines — rows of stone seats over a drainage channel, a frank reminder of how Roman cities handled daily life — and, higher up near the upper gate, the Odeon, a small roofed theatre used for council meetings and recitals, alongside the civic agora.
The reconstructed two-storey façade is the icon of Ephesus. Built as a monumental library and tomb for a Roman official.
A vast hillside theatre seating many thousands, with a commanding view down the former Harbour Street toward the silted plain.
A small, finely carved temple façade on Curetes Street, with an arched porch and relief decoration — easy to miss but worth pausing at.
Covered hillside residences with surviving mosaics and wall frescoes. A separate ticket and the closest thing to seeing how the wealthy lived.
The Terrace Houses — sometimes called the "Roman houses" — sit on the slope above Curetes Street, under a modern protective roof, and require a separate ticket on top of the main entry. Inside are the floors, courtyards, mosaics and painted walls of wealthy households, displayed on raised walkways. Many visitors skip them to save money, which is a genuine loss: they are the part of Ephesus that most vividly shows how people actually lived, rather than how the city presented itself in public.
Ephesus has two entrances — an upper (south) gate near the Odeon and a lower (north) gate near the theatre and the old harbour road. The site runs along a slope, so the most comfortable approach is to start at the upper gate and walk downhill through the city, ending at the lower gate. The route is not strenuous, but the surfaces are ancient marble, worn smooth in places and broken into rubble in others, so sturdy, flat shoes matter far more than they would on a normal sightseeing day.
The nearest town, Selçuk, is a calm, walkable place that makes a good base and holds several sites of its own. The Ephesus Museum here gathers many of the finds from the excavations, including statues of Artemis and small objects that bring the ruined buildings back to life. On the hill above the town stand the remains of the Basilica of St John, a great Byzantine church traditionally built over the apostle's tomb, and beside it the graceful 14th-century İsa Bey Mosque, one of the oldest in the region.
A few kilometres away, on the wooded slopes of Bülbül Dağı (Nightingale Mountain), is the House of the Virgin Mary (Meryem Ana), a small chapel at a site venerated by Christians and Muslims alike as a place where Mary is said to have lived. Closer to Selçuk, in a field below the town, stands the lone re-erected column of the Artemision — all that readily marks the spot of one of the Seven Wonders. For a change of scene, the hill village of Şirince, a former Greek settlement known for its old houses and fruit wines, sits a short drive up into the hills.
The nearest town and natural staging point is Selçuk, which has both a train station and a bus station (otogar) with frequent regional connections. From the town it is a short taxi ride or minibus (dolmuş) hop to either gate of the ruins. Selçuk lies close to İzmir, the largest city of the Aegean coast and the location of the nearest major airport, with regular trains and buses making the journey straightforward.
Ephesus is also close to the cruise port of Kuşadası, which is why so many ship passengers visit on short, intense day trips. The site works perfectly well as a day trip from İzmir or Kuşadası, but staying overnight in Selçuk — or up in Şirince — makes for a far calmer experience, letting you reach the ruins early before the coaches arrive.
The single biggest factor is heat. Western Türkiye summers are hot, the site is almost entirely exposed, and the marble reflects the sun; a midday visit in July or August can be genuinely punishing. Spring and autumn are ideal, with comfortable temperatures and softer light. If you must come in summer, go at opening time or in the last hours of the afternoon. Bear in mind, too, that Ephesus gets crowded in waves when cruise ships dock at Kuşadası, so arriving early or staying late helps you avoid the densest groups regardless of season.
Plan for roughly two to three hours to walk the main route from the upper gate down to the lower gate at a relaxed pace. Add another hour if you visit the Terrace Houses, and more again if you want to linger in the Great Theatre or read the information panels along the way. An hour is enough only for a hurried glance at the Library of Celsus.
For most visitors, yes. They sit under a protective roof on the slope above Curetes Street and require a separate ticket, but they preserve the mosaics, frescoes and layout of wealthy Roman homes in a way nothing else on the site does. If you have any interest in daily life rather than just monumental architecture, they are the highlight.
Early morning or late afternoon, especially in summer. The site is almost entirely without shade and the marble reflects a great deal of heat, so the middle of the day can be exhausting. Arriving at opening time also helps you get ahead of the large tour groups that come from the cruise port at Kuşadası.
The nearest town is Selçuk, which has train and bus connections and is a short taxi or minibus ride from either gate. Selçuk is close to İzmir, with the nearest major airport, and to the cruise port of Kuşadası. It is an easy day trip from either, though staying in Selçuk or Şirince lets you visit early and avoid the crowds.
The Temple of Artemis, or Artemision, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but it was destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries and eventually abandoned. Its stone was reused elsewhere, and today the site is marked only by foundations and a single re-erected column standing in a field below Selçuk. The Ephesus Museum nearby displays statues and finds connected with the cult.