Experience the best of Çanakkale

Çanakkale sits on the Asian side of the Dardanelles, the narrow strait between the Aegean and the Sea of Marmara, where ferries cross all day to the European shore. The waterfront has a wooden replica of the Trojan horse, the Ottoman fortress of Çimenlik, built in 1462 and now a naval museum, and an Ottoman clock tower. The town also has a tradition of ceramics, and shops sell painted plates and bowls.

Troy, the ruined city of the Trojan War, lies about 30 kilometres to the south, a World Heritage site with layers of settlement more than 4,000 years old. Across the strait, the Gallipoli Peninsula holds the battlefields and cemeteries of the 1915 campaign, including Anzac Cove and the Turkish memorial at Cape Helles. The island of Bozcaada, with vineyards and a castle, and Gökçeada, a larger island, lie in the Aegean to the west, and Assos and its temple of Athena are farther south.

Peynir helvası, a dense sweet made with fresh cheese, is a Çanakkale speciality, and the sea supplies sardines, mussels and fish grilled at waterfront tables. Ezine, a white sheep's cheese, comes from the hills nearby, and Bozcaada wines accompany it. Spring brings wildflowers to the battlefields, and April is the month of the Anzac commemorations.