Life-changing experiences
History buffs will be in their element here. The Troy Archaeological Park and its brand-new museum (opening mid-2015) hold court on one side of the Dardanelles, and memorials and a whizz-bang interactive museum interpret the battlefields on the other. Both can be visited on half-day guided tours offered by a clutch of local companies, but the battlefields deserve more time (think about taking a day-long walking tour as well). A short ferry ride away is the Aegean island of Gökçeada, aka ancient Imbros, where hauntingly beautiful abandoned Greek villages await exploration and expansive beaches attract windsurfers from across Europe – we suggest staying here or in Çanakkale rather than in Eceabat.