Çanakkale Travel Guide: What to Do? Where to Eat?
Why should one go to Çanakkale? To answer a traveler seeking reasons to visit Çanakkale, it is sufficient to mention the city's millennia-old history, breathtaking natural beauty, mouthwatering culinary culture, and unique settlements with diverse characteristics. The city has been the stage for wars that influenced the fate of many nations since ancient times, making it a compelling destination. If you have any questions regarding your holiday plans, you can find all the answers in our Çanakkale travel guide.
If you're ready to explore Çanakkale's travel routes, let's get started!
Places to Visit in Çanakkale
There are few settlements on Earth like Çanakkale, with its deep-rooted history and impressive natural beauty. Due to its strategic location, this beautiful city has attracted the attention of various civilizations throughout the ages. There are numerous places to visit in this city that offer opportunities for gastronomy, history, and local culture enthusiasts. However, to understand the city's spirit and its past, it is essential to visit the following places first:
Çanakkale City Center
The Çanakkale city center offers countless opportunities for travelers interested in gastronomy, history, and local culture. The Çanakkale Naval, Ceramic, and City museums provide information about the city's history and culture. Starting your tour from the waterfront where the Trojan Horse is located and moving towards the inner city, you can see historical structures from the Ottoman era such as Yalı Mosque and the Clock Tower. After shopping at Aynalı Çarşı, you can head back to the waterfront to watch the stunning sunset.
Babakale
After exploring the city center, we recommend redirecting your route to Babakale, located in the Ayvacık district. This charming settlement, situated at the westernmost point of Asia, has a history dating back to ancient times. Within its boundaries lies a castle built by the order of Sultan Ahmed III, mentioned in the Iliad and Geographika. Besides its historical significance, handmade knife workshops and restaurants offering fresh seafood attract visitors to the settlement.
Troy Ancient City
We recommend visiting the Troy Ancient City, located west of Tevfikiye Village, before leaving Çanakkale. The city, which has been destroyed and rebuilt many times due to human and natural factors, is believed to have been resettled several times in different periods of history. The first archaeological excavations of the ancient settlement began under the supervision of the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the second half of the 19th century. The artifacts unearthed during the excavation works that resumed in 1988 take visitors on a journey through time.
Troy Museum
If you wish to examine the findings discovered in the ancient city, you can visit the Troy Museum located nearby. After the transportation of the artifacts displayed at the Çanakkale Archaeological Museum was completed, this cultural facility opened its doors to visitors in October 2018. Through this museum, you can acquire information about different periods of Troy that you cannot find anywhere else.
Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park
Established in 1973, the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park is considered by many experienced travelers as the most meaningful place to visit in Çanakkale. The park, which evokes different emotions in its visitors, contains many areas where sacrifice and heroism stories are written. Therefore, we recommend exploring this area, filled with memories of the Çanakkale Wars, with a guide. However, if you wish to explore the park alone within a specific program, you can prioritize visiting places such as Kilitbahir Castle, Seyit Onbaşı Monument, Mecidiye Fortifications, Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial, 57th Regiment Martyrs' Cemetery, Conkbayır, Atatürk Memorial, and trenches.
What to Do in Çanakkale?
Thanks to its geographical location, Çanakkale offers travelers the opportunity to make their holidays much more enjoyable through various activities. If you want to have a fulfilling vacation period, you can engage in the activities listed below during your days spent in the city.
Watching the Scenery on the Waterfront Sitting at one of the venues on the waterfront to watch the scenery is the first activity we recommend during your Çanakkale vacation. Before that, you can take a long walk along the coastline, observe the locals, and capture different angles for photography. Especially if you find yourself in a place that aligns with the "Dur Yolcu!" inscription during sunset, you can capture magnificent views.
Taking Day Trips to the Islands
Apart from exploring both sides of the strait during your stay in the city, you can also make day trips to Bozcaada and Gökçeada. Especially when you visit the islands outside the summer months and official holidays, you can more comfortably enjoy the historical sites and natural beauties. Their rich gastronomic culture increases the value of the islands in the eyes of travelers.
Enjoying the Sea at the Ancient City
Shore of Assos When it comes to a Çanakkale vacation, it is essential not to forget Assos. This peaceful settlement on the coast of the ancient city has rightfully earned its place among the ideal destinations for weekend getaways for a long time. Offering visitors a sea holiday in summer and an opportunity to get away from the city noise in spring, the natural wonder settlement is truly unique.
Exploring Sunken Wrecks
Çanakkale has a special importance for diving enthusiasts. Because travelers who are interested in exploring the underwater world can sail to completely different experiences at two different points when they come here. If you wish, you can discover the beauties hidden in the deep blue of the Aegean at Kömür Harbor in the Saros Gulf or the warships lying at the bottom of the Bosphorus with a guide.
Being Intertwined with Nature and History in Mount Ida
If the places we have recommended so far in the Çanakkale travel guide are not enough for you to be intertwined with nature and history, you can add Kazdağları to your travel program. At the foot of the mountains, where it is believed that the gods watched the Trojan War from the summit, settlements with deep-rooted history await you. Adatepe for its natural beauty and stone architecture and Küçükkuyu for its hot springs attract a lot of attention from travelers.
Where and What to Eat in Çanakkale?
Thanks to its fertile lands spanning two continents and the generosity of the Aegean Sea, Çanakkale harbors a rich culinary culture. The most popular flavors of the local cuisine are undoubtedly seafood. You can taste many of these delicacies at a luxury restaurant or a buffet on the beach. When it comes to seafood, the first thing that comes to mind is sardines between bread. Apart from that, countless flavors such as lakerda, çiroz, stuffed mussels turn tables into a feast in an instant.
Çanakkale cuisine indeed contains healthy recipes. In support of this thesis, the locals give special importance to the consumption of herb and vegetable dishes. If you wish, you can keep up with this habit by consuming ovmaç soup, tumbi, çırpma, melki and cowpea meatballs. At the end of the meal, you can try the local cheese dessert.
The culinary culture in the city has taken on an identity that also guides travelers in terms of shopping. Olive oil, various herbs, wine and cheese varieties are among the products that can be purchased during your Çanakkale vacation.
Where to Stay in Canakkale?
Çanakkale offers many options to travelers in terms of accommodation as in every subject. Depending on the date you set for your holiday and your expectations, you can choose the settlements on the coast or the city center. You can even include Gökçeada (Click for Gökçeada Hotels ) and Bozcaada(Click for Bozcaada Hotels ) in your plans when choosing an accommodation region.
Staying in the city center (click for Çanakkale center hotels ) provides the advantage of making better use of transportation facilities and thus easily realizing the activities that the city promises to its guests. Çanakkale boutique hotels lining the coastal areas offer travelers a peaceful atmosphere in winter and spring and beaches where they can enjoy the sea in summer. In this sense, Küçükkuyu is located at a transition point in Çanakkale. Palace hotel Olive Odore can be a good option for both Assos, Bozcaada and the center, as well as the Kazdağları sightseeing routes and Ayvalık - Cunda.
You can also check the hotel from the link below.
