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The Hittite sites around Çorum are the main reason to come here, and all three can be done as day trips from the city — or combined into a single long day if you start early.

Hattusa (Boğazkale), about 85 km south of Çorum, was the capital of the Hittite Empire from around 1600 to 1200 BC. At its height the city covered 1.8 square kilometres and housed tens of thousands of people. The ruins are extensive: massive cyclopean walls, the remains of dozens of temples, and three great gateways — the Lion Gate, the Royal Gate, and the Sphinx Gate. The scale of the place only becomes clear once you're walking the perimeter circuit, which takes a good two hours on foot. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important archaeological sites in Turkey.

Yazılıkaya is a rock sanctuary 2 km from Hattusa, easily combined on the same trip. Two natural rock chambers are carved with reliefs of the Hittite divine pantheon — more than 90 gods and goddesses in procession, dating to the 13th century BC. Chamber B has a particularly striking image of the king Tudhaliya IV held in the embrace of the god Sharruma. The carvings are in reasonable condition and the setting in the open rock is atmospheric.

Alacahöyük is 36 km from Boğazkale (about 50 km from Çorum) and less visited than Hattusa, which works in its favour. The site has a Hittite gateway flanked by two sphinx reliefs — different from the gate at Hattusa and arguably more evocative — plus extensive excavation trenches showing occupation layers going back to the Chalcolithic. The small on-site museum contains finds from the famous royal tombs, which predate the Hittite period by more than a thousand years.

Getting between the three sites is most easily done by car. Hire one in Çorum for the day, or negotiate a fixed rate with a taxi driver — agree the price beforehand and expect to pay around 600–800 TL for a full-day circuit. There is no reliable public transport. The road from Çorum to Boğazkale passes through rolling agricultural land and takes about 1.5 hours; from Boğazkale to Alacahöyük is another 30–40 minutes. Plan to leave Çorum by 8am to do all three comfortably.

Çorum is most easily reached by bus. Direct intercity coaches from Ankara's main bus station (AŞTİ) run throughout the day and take around 3.5 hours on the highway east. Tickets are cheap and the services are frequent — companies like Metro Turizm and Ulusoy cover this route. From Samsun on the Black Sea coast the journey is around 2.5 hours south, also with multiple daily departures. There are also connections from Istanbul (around 7–8 hours overnight), Ankara being the main hub for onward travel.

Çorum has a small airport (KCO) but flights are limited and inconsistent — check availability, but don't rely on it as your primary option. The bus is almost always the practical choice for both price and schedule. The bus terminal (otogar) is on the edge of the city and local minibuses and taxis connect it to the centre.

Getting around the archaeological sites requires more planning. There is no reliable public transport to Hattusa or Alacahöyük. Your options are: hire a car in Çorum for the day (straightforward from the city centre), negotiate a day-rate with a taxi driver, or join an organised day tour from Ankara or from the small village of Boğazkale itself. Driving is by far the most flexible option — the roads are in good condition and the distances are manageable.

Çorum punches above its weight as a destination — not because the city itself is extraordinary, but because it sits at the centre of the densest concentration of Hittite remains in Turkey. Most visitors use it as a base for the archaeological sites, and that's entirely the right approach. The day trips to Hattusa, Yazılıkaya, and Alacahöyük are the main event, and the Archaeological Museum in town provides essential context before you go.

Within the city, the old quarter around the Ulu Cami and the bazaar is pleasant to walk through. The 13th-century Seljuk mosque is the oldest significant building in Çorum, and the adjacent covered bazaar still functions as a working market rather than a tourist trap. The Ottoman clock tower nearby marks the centre of the city and is a good orientation point. Neither sight demands more than an hour, but together they give the city a sense of historical depth beyond just being a gateway to Hittite country.

The Archaeological Museum deserves at least two hours, especially if you're planning to visit the Hittite sites. The finds from Hattusa, Alacahöyük, and Ortaköy-Şapinuva give you a grounding in what Hittite civilisation actually looked like — the cuneiform tablets, the bronze seals, and the Hüseyindede Vase in particular are worth studying before you stand in front of the originating sites. The museum is well-organised and not crowded.

Outside the main sights, Çorum is famous throughout Turkey for its roasted chickpeas (leblebi). Every shop in the bazaar sells them in different varieties — plain, spiced, coated — and buying a bag or two is part of the experience.

Spring (April–June) and autumn (September–October) are the best times to visit Çorum and the surrounding Hittite sites. The temperatures are comfortable for walking around open-air ruins, the light is good for photography, and the sites are quiet — Hattusa in particular gets crowded in midsummer but is often nearly empty in May or October.

Summer (July–August) is hot and dry, with temperatures regularly reaching 30°C or above. The archaeological sites are exposed and shadeless, and walking the full circuit at Hattusa in July afternoon heat is punishing. If you come in summer, start early — be at the gates by 8am before the worst of the heat. The Museum is a good afternoon refuge.

Winter is cold and the sites can be muddy, but the ruins are completely deserted and there's something to be said for having Hattusa entirely to yourself in grey winter light. Snow is possible from December through February. Most facilities in Boğazkale village stay open year-round.

The leblebi chickpeas that Çorum is famous for are available year-round — no seasonal considerations there.