Things to Do in Ephesus

A lot of people see the ruins and head straight back to their hotel or cruise ship. The ancient city is the main event, no question, but Selçuk and the hills around it have enough to fill another day. Here's the list, starting with the site itself.

Inside the ancient city

• Curetes Street. The main street, running downhill from the upper gate, lined with fountains, statue bases and shop fronts. Keep an eye out for the Temple of Hadrian and its carved arch, and for the public latrines a little further down, a row of marble seats that always gets a laugh.
• The Terrace Houses. Roman homes with mosaics and wall paintings, under a protective roof. Extra ticket. We think it's the best part of the whole visit, and there's a separate guide on it.
• The Library of Celsus. The famous two-storey façade. Built in the early 2nd century as a library and a tomb for a Roman governor, then put back together by archaeologists in the 1970s. Crowded by 10am.
• The Great Theatre. Around 24,000 seats cut into the hillside. From the upper rows you can see the old harbour road running straight toward where the sea used to be.

In and around Selçuk

The Ephesus Museum is small but has many of the best statues from the site, including two marble figures of Artemis. An hour is plenty, and it's a good place to be at 2pm in July.

The Temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. All that's left is one reassembled column standing in a marshy field. It's a bit of an anticlimax, but it's also a ten-minute walk from the town centre and free to look at from the fence, so why not. Storks often nest on top of it in spring.

Up the hill, the Basilica of St. John is a huge ruined church over what's believed to be the tomb of the apostle, with Ayasuluk Castle behind it. Go in the late afternoon for the view across the plain. Down below, the 14th-century İsa Bey Mosque is worth a look on the way.

Further out

The House of the Virgin Mary, a small chapel in the hills, and the village of Şirince, known for its fruit wine and stone houses. If you want the sea, Pamucak beach is 15 minutes from Selçuk.