A day trip from Çanakkale to Troy and its museum

Troy is about 30 km from Çanakkale city centre, near the village of Tevfikiye. A day trip has two stops: the archaeological site on the Hisarlık mound and the Troy Museum, about 800 m to the east. Both fit into one day, with time to get back to Çanakkale in the evening.

Getting there by dolmuş or car

Dolmuş minibuses to Tevfikiye leave from a stop below the Atatürk Bridge (Atatürk Köprüsü) in the city centre. The ride takes about 35 to 45 minutes. Schedules change, so ask at the stop for the departure times and the last return service.

By car, take the D550 road south from Çanakkale. The turn-off for Troy (Troya) is signposted, and a side road runs through fields to Tevfikiye. The museum has a car park.

Start at the Troy Museum

The museum opened in 2018. Its cube-shaped building is clad in rust-coloured weathering steel. Visitors walk down a ramp to the entrance, past tombstones and large sculptures set in wall niches. About 2,000 objects are on display, out of a collection of more than 40,000.

The exhibition has seven sections. They run from the archaeology of the Troad region and Bronze Age Troy to the Iliad, the Eastern Roman and Ottoman periods and the history of the excavations. A well-known piece is the Polyxena Sarcophagus from the 6th century BC, found in 1994.

The archaeological site

From the museum, the road leads to the east side of the mound. A large wooden horse with a ladder and inner rooms stands in the square before the site gate. Inside, a marked route follows dirt paths and railed boardwalks.

The settlement layers span from about 3000 BC to around AD 500. Visible remains include stretches of city wall, a megaron-type building, the Temple of Athena and the odeon. Heinrich Schliemann started excavating here in 1871. Work continues today under Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University.

Practical notes

Opening hours change by season, so check them with the museum before you go. Return dolmuş minibuses run back to the stop below the Atatürk Bridge in Çanakkale.