Ancient Ruins in Turkey: 15 Best Sites, 2027 Entry Fees, Tours

The best ancient ruins in Turkey are Ephesus, Troy, Pergamon and Hierapolis on the Aegean side, Perge, Aspendos and Myra near Antalya, and Göbeklitepe, Hattusa, Mount Nemrut and Ani inland and in the east. Below are 15 sites with their entry fee now and from 1 April 2027, how long to plan and a tour that goes there. Four of them fit into one trip from Istanbul: our Aegean Turkey tour in 4 days covers Gallipoli, Troy, Pergamon, Ephesus and Pamukkale from $1,290 per person, with admission fees included.

Ancient ruins in Turkey: the 15 best sites at a glance

Fees are the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's foreign-visitor prices on muze.gov.tr, checked on 14 November 2026, with the 2027 price where it is on our list.

Tour prices are per person. \*Our 2027 list does not include this site; check muze.gov.tr before you go, because most ministry prices change on 1 April 2027.

The Aegean classics: Ephesus, Troy and Pergamon

1. Ephesus

Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia, and its marble streets, theatre and Library of Celsus have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015. On 14 November 2026 muze.gov.tr listed it open every day, 08:00 to 18:00, with the ticket office closing at 17:30. The Terrace Houses are a separate ticket, and the Temple of Artemis and the Ephesus Museum in Selçuk (€10) are nearby. Ticket combinations are on our Ephesus entrance fees page and hours on site in how many days in Ephesus. The Ephesus day trip by plane, from $430 per person, runs from about 04:00 to 22:00 with flights, lunch and the listed entrance fees.

2. Troy

Troy, on UNESCO's list since 1998, shows walls and house foundations from many layers of the city, and one €27 ticket covers the site and the Troy Museum, rising to €30 on 1 April 2027. It is open every day, 08:30 to 17:30. Our Troy day tour from Istanbul, from $152 per person, runs from 06:00 to about 21:00 with lunch in Eceabat and the site ticket. Is the long day worth it? Read Troy tour from Istanbul.

3. Pergamon

"Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape" joined UNESCO's list in 2014: the acropolis, with its steep hillside theatre, and the Asklepion, a healing sanctuary in the town below. Separate tickets: €15 for the acropolis and €13 for the Asklepion, both open 08:30 to 17:30. The Troy and Pergamon tour, from $311 per person, is a one-way day from your Çanakkale hotel to Kuşadası or Selçuk with both sites, lunch and entrance fees. See also Pergamon (Bergama).

Hierapolis, Aphrodisias and the Ionian cities

4. Hierapolis and Laodicea

The Roman city of Hierapolis sits above the travertines, and Hierapolis-Pamukkale has been a mixed World Heritage Site since 1988. One ticket covers both: €30 now and €35 from 1 April 2027, open 08:00 to 18:00. Nearby Laodicea is €12 on its own; the combined ticket for Hierapolis, Laodicea and the Denizli Archaeology Museum rises from €40 to €45. The Pamukkale day trip from Istanbul, from $387 per person, includes return flights, lunch and entrance fees. For winter visits, see Pamukkale in winter.

5. Aphrodisias

Aphrodisias, a World Heritage Site since 2017, lies in Aydın province between Kuşadası and Pamukkale. Muze.gov.tr lists the site and museum at €12, open daily from 08:30 to 17:30. None of the tours on this page stops there; ask us on WhatsApp if you want it in a private plan, and we will quote it with the rest of your route.

6. Priene, Miletus and Didyma

Three sites south of Kuşadası make one day: the hillside city of Priene, the Miletus theatre (€3, including the Miletus Museum) and the Temple of Apollo at Didyma (€6), all open 08:30 to 17:30. Our Priene, Miletos and Didyma day tour, from $293 per person, runs from about 08:30 to 16:00 from Kuşadası or Selçuk, with lunch and entrance fees. Drive times are on our Priene, Miletus and Didyma day trip page.

Roman ruins near Antalya: Perge, Aspendos, Side, Myra and Kekova

7, 8 and 9. Perge, Aspendos and Side

These three share one day from Antalya. Perge has a long colonnaded street (€11); Aspendos is known for its Roman theatre, still standing up to the arched gallery (€15); both are open 08:00 to 17:00. At Side, muze.gov.tr noted on 14 November 2026 that the theatre is closed to visitors for restoration, so ask us what the Side stop includes on your date. The Perge, Aspendos and Side day tour, from $81 per person, runs from about 08:00 to 18:00 from central Antalya hotels, with lunch, entrance fees on the itinerary and the Lower Düden waterfall.

10. Myra and Kekova

At Myra, rock-cut Lycian tombs fill the cliff above Demre (€13), and the St Nicholas Museum in town is €17. Offshore, the sunken ruins near Kekova and Simena are seen from a boat. The Demre, Myra and Kekova tour, from $103 per person, runs from 06:30 to about 19:00 with the Kekova boat cruise, lunch and entrance fees; read our Kekova boat trip guide.

The oldest ruins in Turkey, and the Hittite capital: Göbeklitepe, Çatalhöyük, Hattusa

11. Göbeklitepe

According to UNESCO, hunter-gatherers raised Göbeklitepe's megalithic enclosures, with T-shaped pillars carved with wild animals, between 9,600 and 8,200 BCE; it joined the list in 2018. The €20 ticket also covers Karahantepe, but on 14 November 2026 muze.gov.tr listed Karahan Tepe as closed. The Göbeklitepe day tour from Istanbul, from $605 per person, runs from about 04:00 to 22:15 with flights, the Şanlıurfa museum, lunch and entrance fees. See our Göbeklitepe guide.

Çatalhöyük, the Neolithic town mound in Konya province, has been a World Heritage Site since 2012; muze.gov.tr lists it at €5, open daily from 09:00 to 17:00. No tour of ours goes there.

12. Hattusa

The Hittite capital of Hattusa, on UNESCO's list since 1986, is listed on muze.gov.tr as the Boğazköy archaeological site: €3, open 08:00 to 17:30. Two of our tours include Hattusa, the Yazılıkaya rock sanctuary and the Boğazkale museum: the Hattusa day trip from Istanbul by flight, from $599 per person, from about 04:30 to 22:00, and the Hattusa and Yazılıkaya tour from Cappadocia, from $278 per person. In Ankara, the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (€12) has its Ankara Hall and Classical Hall closed from 14 September 2026 to 2 March 2027 for repairs.

Eastern Turkey: Mount Nemrut, Zeugma and Ani

13. Mount Nemrut

On the summit of Mount Nemrut, King Antiochus I of Commagene built a tomb and sanctuary in the 1st century BC, guarded by colossal stone heads; Nemrut Dağ has been on UNESCO's list since 1987. Muze.gov.tr listed it open every day on 14 November 2026, at €10, with hours that follow sunrise and sunset; summit access depends on the season, so check before you book and read Eastern Turkey tour 2027. Our Mount Nemrut and Göbeklitepe tour in 2 days, from $1,050 per person, flies from Istanbul for sunset on the summit; the 3-day tour from Cappadocia, from $1,543 per person, goes by road, about 7 to 8 hours each way.

14. Zeugma

Zeugma's Roman floor mosaics, among them the Gypsy Girl, are shown in the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep (€12, open daily); the excavated site near Nizip is €5 and closed on Mondays. The 2-day Göbeklitepe, Zeugma and Halfeti tour from Gaziantep, from $1,073 per person, starts at the museum and ends in Şanlıurfa after Göbeklitepe.

15. Ani

The medieval city of Ani, near Kars, has been a World Heritage Site since 2016: €8, open 08:00 to 17:00. Our Eastern Turkey tour in 9 days, from $2,980 per person, visits Ani on day 7 on a loop that also takes in Mount Nemrut and Göbekli Tepe; ask us to confirm in writing which domestic flights are included. More in our Eastern Turkey guide.

UNESCO World Heritage sites in Turkey: how many are ancient?

UNESCO lists 22 properties in Türkiye: 20 cultural and 2 mixed. The ancient and archaeological ones, with the year each was inscribed:

• Hattusha 1986; Nemrut Dağ 1987; Hierapolis-Pamukkale and Xanthos-Letoon 1988; Troy 1998
• Çatalhöyük 2012; Pergamon 2014; Ephesus 2015; Ani 2016; Aphrodisias 2017; Göbekli Tepe 2018
• Arslantepe Mound 2021; Gordion 2023; Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe 2025, the newest

Sardis (€3 on muze.gov.tr) is a stop on our private Seven Churches of Revelation tour in 5 days, from $1,800 per person; the Biblical route is on our Christian tours of Turkey page. Istanbul's Byzantine monuments are part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul (1985); see Byzantine vs Ottoman Istanbul.

Entry fees in 2027, MuseumPass and opening hours

Most ministry sites move to new prices on 1 April 2027, so a visit up to 31 March 2027 pays today's price. Combined tickets rise too: Ephesus with the Terrace Houses from €52 to €57, and Hierapolis with Laodicea and the Denizli Archaeology Museum from €40 to €45. The MuseumPass Türkiye, valid for 15 days, goes from €165 to €185; it pays off only if you add up enough single tickets on your route. Prices are set in euros and paid in lira at the day's rate; the full list is in our museum prices 2027 update. The hours above are those listed on 14 November 2026 and change with the season; for winter, see Ephesus in winter.

Tours that cover this

• Aegean Turkey Tour 4 Days: Gallipoli, Troy, Ephesus & Pamukkale: from $1,290 per person, a group tour from Istanbul with Pergamon, admission fees and the flight back from Denizli.
• Historical Turkey Tour 12 Days: Troy, Ephesus, Cappadocia & Nemrut: from $3,990 per person, by road from Istanbul to Pergamon, Troy, Ephesus, Hierapolis, Perge, Aspendos, Nemrut and Göbeklitepe, with a flight back from Şanlıurfa.
• Ephesus Day Trip from Istanbul by Plane: Guided Tour and Lunch: from $430 per person.
• Gobeklitepe Day Tour from Istanbul with Return Flights & Sanliurfa: from $605 per person.

No prepayment needed: pay on the tour day.

Send us your dates on WhatsApp at +90 545 307 67 88 with the sites you want to see. We reply in writing with a route, the entrance fees for your dates and the price, starting from the 4-day Aegean tour. For where else to go in Turkey, see our best places to visit in Turkey.

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