The Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre are the two defining images of Ephesus: the two-storey façade with its columns and statues at the bottom of Curetes Street, and the 25,000-seat theatre that opens towards the ancient harbour. Between them lies the best of the most complete Roman city in the eastern Mediterranean.
You can see Ephesus in two hours, walking downhill from the upper gate to the lower one. Here are the stops in order, what to look for at each one and how to avoid the hours when the cruise-ship coaches pull in.
A little history
Ephesus was a Greek city from the 10th century BC, the capital of the Roman province of Asia from 129 BC and, in the 1st century AD, one of the largest cities of the empire, with more than 200,000 inhabitants and a harbour that made it rich. St Paul lived here for about three years, and its Christian community was one of the seven churches of the Book of Revelation.
Silt from the River Cayster gradually choked the harbour, and today the sea is several kilometres away. The city declined, was abandoned and lay buried until Austrian archaeologists began excavating it at the end of the 19th century. Only about a fifth of it has been uncovered so far.
What to see in Ephesus: from the upper gate to the theatre
The Odeon and the Upper Agora
Just inside the gate are the Odeon, a small roofed theatre with 1,500 seats where the city council met, and the Upper Agora, the civic square, with the Prytaneion, where the sacred flame was kept burning and where the statues of Artemis now in the Ephesus Museum were found.
Curetes Street
The marble avenue that runs down to the library, lined with columns, fountains, statues and shops. Along the way you pass the Fountain of Trajan, the Baths of Scholastica, the public latrines with their rows of marble seats, which never fail to raise a laugh, and the Temple of Hadrian, with Tyche on its arch and a Medusa head behind. Carved into the paving nearby is a footprint which, according to the most popular explanation, pointed the way to the brothel.
The Library of Celsus
Built around AD 117 by Tiberius Julius Aquila in memory of his father, Celsus, proconsul of Asia, who is buried in a sarcophagus beneath the floor. It was the third-largest library of the ancient world, after Alexandria and Pergamon, with some 12,000 scrolls stored in niches that a double wall protected from damp. The façade was reassembled from its original pieces between 1970 and 1978; the four statues in the niches, Wisdom, Virtue, Intelligence and Knowledge, are copies of the originals in Vienna. The best photo is from the Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates, on the right.
Marble Street and the Commercial Agora
From the library, Marble Street runs along the side of the city's great square marketplace to the theatre, with cart ruts still worn into the paving.
The Great Theatre
Cut into the slope of Mount Pion, the theatre seats 25,000. It was enlarged in Roman times and was also used for gladiator fights. According to the Acts of the Apostles, this is where the silversmiths who sold figurines of Artemis rioted against Paul, shouting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” for two hours. From the upper tiers you look straight down Harbour Street, the colonnaded avenue that once led to the sea.
Tips for your visit
Allow two hours for the main route, or three with the Terrace Houses. It is a downhill walk on polished marble, which gets slippery when it rains.
- Enter by the upper gate at opening time or after 15:00: between 10:00 and 14:00 the cruise-ship groups arrive from Kuşadası.
- Bring a hat, water and sun cream: there is no shade anywhere on the route, and in July and August the marble is scorching.
- Wear shoes with rubber soles; smooth-soled sandals are a bad idea.
- With children, the latrines, the theatre and the footprint hold their attention; the rest is best told as stories.
Tickets and prices
At the time of writing (2026), the general ticket for Ephesus costs €45 under the official 2027 tariff, and the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre are inside the site at no extra cost. The Terrace Houses need a separate ticket (€16 on the same tariff). Prices for foreign visitors are set in euros and revised every year, so check the official Turkish museums website (muze.gov.tr) before you go. On my tours, entrance tickets are either included or arranged by your guide.
Where it is and how to get there
The site lies 3 km from Selçuk and about 20 km from Kuşadası, and it has two entrances: the upper gate, on the road that climbs to the House of the Virgin Mary, and the lower gate, beside the main car park. From Izmir it takes about an hour on the motorway, or you can take the train to Selçuk.
How we visit Ephesus on my tours
We always enter by the upper gate so that we walk downhill, both on the Ephesus day tour from Kuşadası and on the Ephesus day tour from Pamukkale, and Ephesus is the central day of From Cappadocia to the Aegean. For the full background to the site, read Ephesus: history, ruins and a complete visitor’s guide.
If you would like to see Ephesus with a guide and without the crowds, tell me about your tailor-made trip.