The re-manence from the ancient city of Troy is right up the road; the

Dardanelles was the setting of the legend of the Golden Fleece, where the daughter of Athamas was drowned; and just a bit north in the town of Abydos is where Leander swam across Hellespont nightly to unite with his lover Hero (Helle was the daughter of Athamas, so the waterway was named after her following her death).

During WWI, Canakkale and much of the area surrounding was the stage for a year-long battle, which took the lives of thousands on both sides of the war and has remained a site of reverence and pilgrimage to this day.

You can visit Gallipoli by taking a ferry across the strait (this was a historic battle during WW I where British, French, Australian and New Zealanders invaded).

Currently, Canakkale is a vibrant sea port city with a vibrant mix of university students and a total population close to 200,000

Archeological Museum – Contains ancient artifacts from all of the surrounding areas around Canakkale. The museum contains five different halls and is quaint, but there is much to offer if you are interested. – Or saat kulesi, is a five story Ottoman tower built in 1897. The tower is located by the tower close to historic cannons from WWI and the Canakkale Pot.

Gokceada & Bozcaada – Two islands off the coast in the Aegean for a nice day trip. They are just a ferry

Bozcaada

boat away, but close to 40 km away from each other. If you are visiting during winter months, it may be more difficult to visit with thrashing seas.

Kent Museum – This museum has given itself to capturing the lives of Canakkale’s citizens since the Ottoman Empire.

An array of newspaper clippings, photos and artifacts try to capture these moments in time. Many of the museum’s valuables have been donated by the local people.

 Kilitbahir – Located just a ferry boat ride away on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Kalitbahir is famous for its beautiful, well preserved castle which is illuminated and shines over the strait at night.

If you are interesting in visiting the Naval Museum, many smaller ferry services run extremely close from the museum to Kilitbahir.

Kilitbahir-Castle

Korfmann Library – Named after the late archeological director, Osman Korfmann, this library contains over 6,000 volumes on culture, art, archeology and Turkish history.

Located in the Old Town, the Korfmann Library was once a 19th century school building.

Trojan Horse – The archeological site of Troy is a between 20-30 km away from Canakkale and has a famous, reconstructed Trojan Horse.