Hotel Kalemi

Gjirokastra


Claiming the crown for the hotel with the best view in town, the Kalemi has big, bright rooms with balconies and large windows from which to admire the vistas over the Drina Valley. When you finally bore of the view, chill out in the garden where tortoises plod and grapes dangle from vines.

Breakfast (juice, tea, a boiled egg and fresh bread with fig jam) is an all-local affair.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Gjirokastra attractions

1. Ethnographic Museum

0.06 MILES

This museum houses local homewares and was built on the site of Enver Hoxha's former house, in the middle of the Old Town. Its collection is interesting…

2. Skenduli House

0.07 MILES

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…

3. Zekate House

0.11 MILES

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…

4. Bazaar

0.22 MILES

The 'Neck of the Bazaar' makes up the centre of the Old Town but what were once artisanal workshops are today mainly tourist souvenir shops. There are a…

5. Army Museum

0.29 MILES

As well as photos of the partisan resistance against the Italians and a vast number of rifles and machine guns, it's possible to visit the cells where…

6. Gjirokastra Museum

0.3 MILES

This interesting museum is a beautifully lit and presented, fully English-signed display on the long and fascinating history of the town. Some highlights…

7. Cold War Tunnel

0.31 MILES

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…

8. Gjirokastra Castle

0.31 MILES

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…