Photo: Rıfat Ağar (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Çanakkale is a history and sea route spanning two continents. It has Troy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, and the Troy Museum, opened in 2018; the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical Site and the Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial, which bear the traces of 1915; Assos, where Aristotle lived; the Kilitbahir and Çimenlik castles, with which Mehmed the Conqueror locked the strait; Gökçeada, Türkiye's largest island; and Bozcaada, the island of wine.
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20 places worth seeing in Çanakkale, from historic monuments to natural wonders, grouped by type. Open any of them on the map with a single click.
Photo: Rıfat Ağar (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A 41.7-metre-high four-legged monument at the tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula, on Hisarlık Tepe above Morto Bay, built in memory of the martyrs of 1915; it opened in 1960. Beside it are the Turkish Cemetery, the Mehmetçik Monument and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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Photo: Liachiyaa (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A 33,000-hectare area covering almost the whole of Eceabat district; it became a national park in 1973 and the "Gallipoli Historical Site of the Çanakkale Battles" in 2014. With its cemeteries, trenches, the Kabatepe Information Centre and monuments, it is an open-air museum of 1915.
View on mapA symbolic cemetery opened in 1992 at Bombasırtı in memory of the 628 soldiers of the 57th Regiment, all of whom fell as martyrs during the Anzac landing and the battles that followed.
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Photo: Basriemin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source The cove where Australian and New Zealand troops landed on 25 April 1915; a dawn service is held here every year on 25 April.
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Photo: Julian Nyča (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source The "lock of the sea", built by Mehmed the Conqueror in 1462 at the narrowest point of the strait, on the European shore; in 1551 Suleiman the Magnificent strengthened it with the Sarı Kule and new walls. Its clover-shaped inner fortress is unique.
View on mapA castle built in the time of Mehmed the Conqueror on the Asian shore of the strait, opposite Kilitbahir; today it is used as the Naval Museum. The shell fired from the battleship Queen Elizabeth on 18 March 1915, which struck the wall without exploding, is still in place; a replica of the minelayer Nusret is displayed in the garden.
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A castle built in 1659 at the entrance to the strait on the European shore; in 1915 it was the scene of bombardment by the Allied fleet and of landings.
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Photo: Filanca (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source A castle used by the Phoenicians, Genoese and Venetians and rebuilt in 1455 in the time of Mehmed the Conqueror; it is separated from the island by a 250-metre moat and has an ethnographic exhibition inside.
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Photo: Abdullah Kıyga (CC BY 3.0) · Source A fishing village at the westernmost tip of Anatolia, with an 18th-century Ottoman castle.
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Photo: Laaaguita (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source On the mound of Hisarlık, 30 km south of Çanakkale, the city of the Trojan War told in the Iliad; it was discovered in 1871 by Heinrich Schliemann. The cities of different periods rise one on top of the other in nine main layers. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998 and a historical national park since 1996.
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Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source An ancient city founded on a volcanic hill facing Lesbos, 17 km south of Ayvacık; it is famous for the Doric Temple of Athena at its summit and its ancient harbour. Aristotle lived here for three years and founded a school of philosophy, and St Paul visited the city.
View on mapA Hellenistic port city near the village of Dalyan in Ezine, spread over 400 hectares and named in memory of Alexander the Great; there are remains of a Roman bath, an odeon, a theatre and a stadium.
View on mapAn ancient city in the village of Kemer in Biga; the remains of a Roman bath, a theatre and an odeon are being brought to light by excavations.
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Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A museum opened on 10 October 2018 in the village of Tevfikiye, at the entrance to the archaeological site; it displays more than 6,000 original artefacts from Troy and the Troad and was established with the aim of securing the return of Trojan finds smuggled abroad. In 2019 it was named in Time magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Places in the World to See.
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Photo: Kızıldeniz (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A tower museum in Gelibolu dedicated to the famous mariner and cartographer Piri Reis.
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Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Source A museum in the city centre displaying finds from the Troad and the surrounding ancient cities.
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Photo: Nevit Dilmen (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source Türkiye's third-largest island, known in antiquity as Tenedos; in the Aeneid it is the island where the Greeks hid their fleet during the ruse of the Trojan Horse. It is famous for its vineyards, wine, white streets and Ayazma beach, and it is the only district in Türkiye without a village.
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Photo: Mehmet Ergun (CC BY-SA 2.5) · Source Türkiye's largest island at 282 km², formerly called İmroz; İnceburun in the west is Türkiye's westernmost point. In 2011 it became the world's first "slow island" (Cittaslow). It is known for the Greek houses of Tepeköy, Zeytinliköy and Kaleköy, the Salt Lake and Aydıncık beach.
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Photo: Zeynepfrom17 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A shallow salt lake behind Aydıncık beach that dries out in summer; it is known for its flamingos and for a shore suitable for windsurfing.
View on mapA suspension bridge between Lapseki and Gelibolu, opened on 18 March 2022; with a main span of 2,023 metres it is the suspension bridge with the longest main span in the world.
View on mapÇanakkale is the only province that straddles both shores of the Dardanelles, which separate Europe from Asia: the Gallipoli Peninsula is in Europe, and the Biga Peninsula (ancient Troad) is in Asia. At its narrowest point the strait narrows to about 1,250 metres; in 1462 Mehmed the Conqueror “locked” the strait by building the castles of Kilitbahir and Çimenlik (Kale-i Sultaniye) on its two shores at this point.
The province is the setting of two of the best-known wars in human history. Troy, at the foot of the Kaz Mountains, is the city of the Trojan War told in Homer’s Iliad; the nine-layered mound, brought to light by Heinrich Schliemann’s excavations in 1871, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998. In 1915 the Çanakkale Wars were fought here: on 18 March 1915 the Allied fleet failed to pass the strait, and the land battles that began on 25 April lasted for months on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Today the south of the peninsula is the 33,000-hectare Gallipoli Historical Site of the Çanakkale Battles.
The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, opened in 2022, has a main span of 2,023 metres, the longest of any suspension bridge in the world, and connects Lapseki with Gelibolu.
Çanakkale has a mild climate, a transition between the Mediterranean and Marmara; the strait wind (poyraz) blows all year. Averages for 1929–2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service:
| Month | Avg. high | Avg. low | Rainfall | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.7 °C | 3.3 °C | 91 mm | 12 |
| February | 10.3 °C | 3.5 °C | 71 mm | 10 |
| March | 12.6 °C | 4.8 °C | 65 mm | 10 |
| April | 17.3 °C | 8.4 °C | 45 mm | 8 |
| May | 22.7 °C | 12.8 °C | 30 mm | 6 |
| June | 27.9 °C | 16.7 °C | 25 mm | 4 |
| July | 30.9 °C | 19.5 °C | 14 mm | 2 |
| August | 30.8 °C | 19.7 °C | 11 mm | 1 |
| September | 26.5 °C | 16.2 °C | 24 mm | 3 |
| October | 20.9 °C | 12.2 °C | 54 mm | 6 |
| November | 16.1 °C | 8.7 °C | 85 mm | 9 |
| December | 11.9 °C | 5.5 °C | 105 mm | 12 |
April–June and September–October are best for historical sightseeing, and June–September for the islands and the sea. The Gallipoli Peninsula is very crowded during the commemorations on 18 March and 25 April. On Bozcaada the grape harvest takes place from late August to September.
By road: From Istanbul via the Malkara–Çanakkale Motorway and the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, or via Tekirdağ and Gelibolu. Çanakkale–Eceabat, Çanakkale–Kilitbahir and Lapseki–Gelibolu ferries also operate between the two shores of the strait.
By air: Çanakkale Airport is 5 km from the city centre. For Assos and Ayvacık, Koca Seyit Airport in Edremit is closer.
The islands: Gökçeada is reached by ferry from Kabatepe, and Bozcaada by ferry from Yükyeri Pier at Geyikli.
Day 1 – The Gallipoli Peninsula: From Eceabat, the Kabatepe Information Centre, Anzac Cove, the 57th Regiment Cemetery and Conkbayırı; in the afternoon Seddülbahir and the Martyrs’ Memorial, and Kilitbahir Castle on the way back.
Day 2 – Troy and Assos: In the morning the Troy Museum and the Troy archaeological site; in the afternoon sunset at Assos, from the Temple of Athena with a view of Lesbos.
Day 3 – The islands: On Bozcaada the castle, the vineyards and Ayazma; or on Gökçeada Tepeköy, Zeytinliköy and Aydıncık beach.
Foremost among Çanakkale’s registered specialities are the thin cheese halva Gelibolu peynir helvası, Ezine peyniri (Ezine cheese), made from cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s milk, and Biga peynir tatlısı (Biga cheese dessert). Other geographical indications are Bayramiç elması (Bayramiç apples), Bayramiç tahin helvası (Bayramiç tahini halva), the olive oils of Bayramiç and Geyikli, Lapseki şeftalisi (Lapseki peaches), Bozcaada çavuş üzümü (Bozcaada çavuş grapes), Çanakkale domatesi (Çanakkale tomatoes), Yenice kırmızı biberi (Yenice red pepper), Biga pirinci (Biga rice), Işıkeli nohut kahvesi (Işıkeli chickpea coffee), Çanakkale meşe balı (Çanakkale oak honey) and Çanakkale el halısı (Çanakkale handmade carpet). Gelibolu sardines and the fish of the Strait are also indispensable on the table.
Çanakkale province has 12 districts. Explore the places to visit, local dishes and transport in each one.
Cheese halva with a registered geographical indication.
A white cheese made from cow's, sheep's and goat's milk, with a registered geographical indication.
A syrupy dessert with a registered geographical indication.
Halva with a registered geographical indication.
Sardines caught in the rich waters of the strait.
The main stops are Troy and the Troy Museum, the Gallipoli Peninsula (the Martyrs' Memorial, Anzac Cove, the 57th Regiment Cemetery), the Kilitbahir and Çimenlik castles, Assos, Alexandreia Troas, Bozcaada, Gökçeada and Babakale.
Yes. The ancient city of Troy has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998.
The Troy Museum is in the village of Tevfikiye in Çanakkale, at the entrance to the Troy archaeological site; it opened in 2018.
The bridge, opened in 2022, is the suspension bridge with the longest main span in the world, at 2,023 metres.
Gelibolu cheese halva, Ezine cheese, Biga cheese dessert, Bayramiç apples and tahini halva, Lapseki peaches and Bozcaada grapes.
Take the ferry from Yükyeri Pier in the town of Geyikli in Ezine; the island is about 4 nautical miles from the mainland.
The information in this guide has been compiled from and checked against the sources below (last checked: 7 October 2026). If you spot an error, please let us know.