The Albanian Riviera
Early in the morning, before the tourist crowds arrive and when the rocks are still tinged in the yellow dawn light, you might just imagine that the…
Must-see attractions in Albania
Albania
The evocative ruins of the ancient Illyiran city of Apollonia sit on a windswept hilltop some 12km west of the city of Fier. While a large part of the…
Berat
Hidden behind the crumbling walls of the fortress that crowns the hill above Berat is the whitewashed, village-like neighbourhood of Kala; if you walk…
Tirana
This fantastic conversion – from a massive Cold War bunker on the outskirts of Tirana into a history and contemporary art museum – is Albania's most…
Gjirokastra
Gjirokastra's eerie hilltop castle is one of the biggest in the Balkans. There's been a fortress here since the 12th century, although much of what can be…
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Berat
The Onufri Museum is situated in the Kala quarter's biggest church, the Church of the Dormition of St Mary (Kisha Fjetja e Shën Mërisë). The church itself…
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Durrës
This ultra-modern, well lit and labelled museum just back from the seafront has a breathtaking collection of historical artefacts. Highlights include the…
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The Albanian Riviera
Between Dhërmi and Vuno is the turn-off for this little-known gem, a gorgeous stretch of isolated white sand and rock backed by big cliffs – and as yet…
Shkodra
With spectacular views over the city and Lake Shkodra, the Rozafa Fortress is the most impressive sight in town. Founded by the Illyrians in antiquity and…
Tirana
The largest museum in Albania holds many of the country's archaeological treasures and a replica of Skanderbeg's massive sword (how he held it, rode his…
Tirana
Tracing the relatively brief history of Albanian painting from the early 19th century to the present day, this beautiful space also holds temporary…
Albania
This rarely visited yet magnificent little monastery is remotely located on a hilltop between the towns of Lushjë and Fier. With your own transport it's…
Gjirokastra
This incredible three-storey house dates from 1811 and has twin towers and a double-arched facade. It's fascinating to nose around the almost unchanged…
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Gjirokastra
Gjirokastra's most interesting sight in no way relates to traditional architecture, but instead to a far more modern kind: this is a giant bunker built…
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Marubi National Photography Museum
Shkodra
The Marubi Museum is a one-of-a-kind Albanian photographic museum. The core of the collection is the impressive work of the Marubi 'dynasty', Albania's…
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Central Albania
Korça's best museum is housed within a new, purpose-built space that really allows the stellar collection of Orthodox icons to shine. Highlights of the…
Albania
The Blue Eye Spring is a magical place: a hypnotic pool of deep blue water surrounded by electric-blue edges like the iris of an eye. It's further…
The Albanian Riviera
One of the more attractive beaches on the Albanian Riviera is Drymades. It's a long, shingle white beach backed by olive groves and the first stirrings of…
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Berat
They might be fairly small, but these waterfalls, which from a distance appear to disappear in and out of the rocks, have a rare beauty and make for a…
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Tirana
The little cousin to the main Bunk'Art, this museum, which is within a communist-era bunker and underground tunnel system below the Ministry of Internal…
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Berat
Just off the steep hillside that leads up to Berat's castle is this excellent museum, which is housed in a beautiful 18th-century Ottoman house that's as…
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Gjirokastra
The lovingly restored Ottoman-era Skenduli House has been in the hands of the same family for generations (apart from a few years during the communist…
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Theth
A superb half-day hike from Theth is to the Blue Eye, a natural pool of turquoise waters fed by a small waterfall, up in the mountains to the southwest of…
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Tirana
This grand old 1930s building started life as Albania's first maternity hospital, but within a few years the focus turned from creating new life to ending…
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The Albanian Riviera
Dhërmi beach is well and truly under the tourist trance in summer: expect booked-out accommodation, loud music and half of Tirana sprawled on the stones…
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Durrës
The weathered Roman-era Amphitheatre of Durrës was built on the hillside inside the city walls in the early 2nd century AD. In its prime it had the…
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Central Albania
This traditional home in the castle complex below the Skanderbeg Museum houses one of the best ethnographic museums in the country. Set in an original…
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Gjirokastra
This interesting museum is a beautifully lit and presented, fully English-signed display on the long and fascinating history of the town. Some highlights…
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The Albanian Riviera
There are two main beaches in Himara. The northern one is the main town beach and has a promenade lined with cafes and bars. Around the headland to the…
Tirana
Just 25km east of Tirana is Mt Dajti National Park. It is the most accessible mountain in the country, and many locals go there to escape the city rush…
Tirana
Sheshi Skënderbej is the best place to start witnessing Tirana's daily goings-on. Until it was pulled down by an angry mob in 1991, a 10m-high bronze…
Former Residence of Enver Hoxha
Tirana
This simple three-storey villa was the home of Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha for decades, and his wife continued to live here for years after his death in…
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The Albanian Riviera
Watch clouds descending onto the mountain, shepherds on the plains guiding their herds, and thick forests where deer, wild boar and wolves roam in this…
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Berat
Down in the traditionally Muslim Mangalem quarter, there are three grand mosques: the Sultan's Mosque, the Lead Mosque and the Bachelors' Mosque. All are…
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The Albanian Riviera
Floating off the coast of the remote Karaburun Peninsula, 5.7 sq km Sazan Island is little known to even most Albanians. Once used as a submarine and…
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Site of Witness & Memory Museum
Shkodra
During the communist period this building, which started life as a Franciscan seminary, was officially used as the Shkodra headquarters of the Ministry of…
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Tirana
This dramatically set 15th-century hilltop castle, just a short distance outside Tirana, is worth a trip if you're not visiting one of the other better…
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Central Albania
Right at the bottom of the castle complex are the remains of a small hammam (Turkish bath) as well as a functioning teqe – a small place of worship for…
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The Albanian Riviera
Jal beach, a 5km drive down a decent side-road from the village of Vumoni, has been well and truly 'discovered' in the last few years and an ever…
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The Albanian Riviera
In a picturesque bay just south of Himara, this 19th-century fortress, also known as the Castle of Ali Pasha, makes for an interesting stop-off along the…
