Ten cities and towns, from the capital to the lakes
Albania's cities were shaped by Illyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans, and by a turbulent 20th century. Two of them, Berat and Gjirokastër, are on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their Ottoman-era centres; others are working ports, lakeside towns or regional centres with their own food traditions. Most remain affordable by Western European standards, although prices in Tirana and on the coast have risen in recent years.
This guide covers ten cities, from the capital that anchors most itineraries to smaller towns away from the main tourist routes. The FAQ at the end covers journey times and bus fares between them.
The ten cities
The list starts with Tirana and the two UNESCO-listed towns, then follows the coast before turning to the north, the south-east and the inland south. Saranda and Vlora double as bases for the beaches, which the beaches guide covers in more detail.
Tirana
Albania's capital has changed a great deal since the 1990s. Communist-era apartment blocks were repainted in bright colours in the early 2000s, new squares and towers have reshaped the centre, and the city now has a busy cafe culture and nightlife.
Most visits start at Skanderbeg Square, the large central square overlooked by the National History Museum and the Et'hem Bey Mosque. South-west of the centre, the Blloku neighbourhood, once reserved for the communist elite, is now the centre of Tirana's social life, with cafes, cocktail bars and restaurants on almost every block. The two Bunk'Art museums, set inside Cold War nuclear bunkers, cover Albania's 20th-century history in detail.
Tirana works well as a base for the rest of the country. The international airport is 20–25 minutes away by taxi (see getting around), buses run to every region, and accommodation ranges from boutique hotels to family-run guesthouses, generally for less than in Western European capitals. Allow two to three days. Other sights include the Grand Park and its artificial lake, the National Gallery of Arts and the revitalised Pazari i Ri market area. For where to stay and eat district by district, see the Tirana neighbourhood guide.
Berat — City of a Thousand Windows
Berat's nickname comes from the rows of large windows on its white Ottoman-era houses, which climb the hillside above the Osum river. The town was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008 for its well-preserved historic centre, where Byzantine churches, Ottoman mosques and vernacular stone houses stand side by side.
The Kalaja fortress at the summit still has residents living within its walls, alongside Byzantine churches, many of them dating from the thirteenth century. The Onufri Museum, inside the castle's Church of the Dormition of St Mary, displays icons by Onufri, the sixteenth-century master who is Albania's most celebrated icon painter, and by his son Nikolla and later painters. Below the castle, the Mangalem and Gorica quarters offer hours of wandering through cobbled lanes and stone-walled courtyards.
The Ethnographic Museum, set inside a traditional Ottoman-era house, shows how the town's families once lived. The Gorica Bridge across the Osum gives a view of the Mangalem houses opposite, best in the late afternoon light. The Berat area also has a long winemaking tradition, and several local wineries offer tastings.
Gjirokastër — City of Stone
Gjirokastër is built on a steep mountainside above the Drino valley. Its tower houses (kulla) use the same grey stone as the slopes around them, and slate roofs, stone staircases and narrow lanes climb towards a large hilltop fortress.
The fortress houses the National Museum of Armaments and, out on its terraces, a US Air Force T-33 jet that landed near Tirana in December 1957 after straying into Albanian airspace. The communist regime claimed it had been forced down by Albanian MiGs and displayed it for decades as a captured “spy plane”. The castle is also the main venue of the National Folk Festival, held at intervals of several years; the most recent edition ran from 24 June to 1 July 2023. Below the castle, the old bazaar curves downhill past stone buildings now filled with craft and souvenir shops. The Skenduli House and Zekate House, both open to visitors, are well-known examples of kulla architecture and show how wealthy merchant families lived in the Ottoman period.
Gjirokastër was the birthplace of both Enver Hoxha and the novelist Ismail Kadare (1936–2024), winner of the first Man Booker International Prize in 2005. Kadare's novel Chronicle in Stone is set here, and reading it before a visit adds context to a walk through the old town. The town is also the nearest base for the Blue Eye spring, where water wells up from a deep karst spring, roughly 35 kilometres away by road towards Saranda and easily reached by taxi or rental car.
Saranda
Saranda is the main resort town on the southern Ionian coast, built around a crescent-shaped bay directly opposite the Greek island of Corfu. Once a quiet fishing town, it has become a busy summer destination for Albanian holidaymakers and a growing number of international visitors. The palm-lined waterfront promenade, with seafood restaurants and ice-cream shops, fills every evening with people taking the xhiro, the traditional evening stroll.
The town has few major monuments, and most visitors use it as a base. Ksamil, with its white sand and small offshore islands, is about 15 kilometres south (see the Ksamil travel guide), and the ruins of Butrint, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are about 20 kilometres south by road. Lekuresi Castle above the town has views over the bay towards Corfu. Ferries to Corfu run several times a day in summer, the fastest taking about thirty minutes, so a day trip to the Greek island is easy to arrange.
Restaurants along the front serve grilled octopus, mussels, whole sea bream and plates of local olives, generally for less than across the water in Greece. In July and August beach clubs and rooftop bars stay open late. Outside peak summer the town is much quieter, and the sea is usually still warm enough for swimming in October. The beaches nearby, from Ksamil to Mirror Beach, are compared in the beaches guide.
Vlora
Vlora is traditionally described as the place where the Adriatic meets the Ionian Sea. Albanian independence was declared here in November 1912, and the city is the main gateway to the Albanian Riviera from the north. The Independence Monument and the museum in the building where the declaration was signed introduce modern Albanian history, and a long waterfront promenade runs along the bay.
The city's sandy beaches stretch along the bay, backed by hotels, restaurants and cafes. South of the city, the road over the Llogara Pass climbs from sea level to more than 1,000 metres through pine forest before dropping down to the Ionian coast; a 5.9-kilometre tunnel, open since July 2024, now lets drivers avoid the climb. The pass separates the long sandy beaches around Vlora from the pebble coves of the Riviera to the south.
Vlora is growing quickly, with new developments along the coast. An international airport has been built nearby but has not opened. After it missed its 20 February 2026 start date and a 90-day extension, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy announced in August 2026 that it was terminating the concession early; the concessionaire, MABCO, called the decision unfounded. No commercial flights have operated and no new opening date has been announced (see our report on the concession cancellation). The Muradie Mosque, built in 1537–42 and attributed to the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, and the Zvërnec Monastery on its small island in the Narta Lagoon reflect the city's longer history. Plans for a resort in the Vjosa-Narta protected area near Zvërnec have drawn protests since June 2026; our Zvërnec explainer sets out the dispute. Waterfront restaurants serve plenty of fresh seafood.
Shkodër
Shkodër is the main city of northern Albania and one of the oldest in the Balkans, with a history stretching back more than two thousand years to the Illyrian settlement of Scodra. It sits between the southern shore of Lake Shkodër, the largest lake in the Balkans, and Rozafa Castle on its hilltop. The pedestrianised centre around Rruga Kole Idromeno is lined with cafes, bookshops and galleries.
Rozafa Castle stands on a rocky hill above the Buna and Drin rivers, with views over the lake, the Buna river and the Albanian Alps beyond. The fortress was held in turn by Illyrians, Romans, Venetians and Ottomans, and each left its mark on the walls and bastions. The legend of Rozafa, a woman said to have been walled up alive so that the castle would stand, is one of Albania's best-known folk tales.
Shkodër is also the usual starting point for the Koman Lake ferry, which runs through a narrow gorge, and for the road to Theth National Park in the Albanian Alps (routes are in the hiking trails guide). Shkodër is known as Albania's bicycle city, and its flat centre is easy to explore by bike. The Marubi National Museum of Photography is built around the archive of the Marubi family of photographers, who documented Albanian life from the mid-19th century onward. Lake Shkodër itself is used for kayaking, birdwatching and lakeside walks.
Korça
Korça sits on a high plateau in the south-east, far from the coast and the main tourist circuits. It is nicknamed the “little Paris of Albania” for its French-influenced architecture and boulevards, and it is home to Mësonjëtorja, the Albanian-language school opened in 1887 that is celebrated as the country's first.
The restored old bazaar is a network of cobbled lanes and two-storey stone buildings housing workshops, cafes and restaurants. Korça is also known for beer: Birra Korça, founded here in 1928, was the country's first brewery and hosts an annual beer festival in August. The National Museum of Medieval Art, in a modern purpose-built building, holds a major collection of Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, with archives of around 7,000 icons.
The city is known for lakror, a savoury layered pie (see the food guide). The large Resurrection Cathedral dominates the centre. In the surrounding highlands, Voskopoja, once an important centre of Balkan culture with its own printing press, academy and merchant wealth, has frescoed churches set among beech forests and meadows that are good for walking.
Durrës
Durrës is Albania's second-largest city and its oldest port, founded as Epidamnos by Greek colonists in 627 BC. For centuries it was the starting point of the Via Egnatia, the Roman road linking the Adriatic to Byzantium, later Constantinople, and its ruins reflect that role. The Amphitheatre of Durrës, discovered in 1966 and only partially excavated, is the largest Roman amphitheatre in the Balkan Peninsula, with an estimated capacity of 15,000 to 20,000 spectators. Inside its vaulted corridors is an early Christian chapel with wall mosaics.
The modern waterfront has been heavily developed with hotels, apartments and a long promenade, while the old centre keeps stretches of its Byzantine walls and a Venetian tower. The Archaeological Museum, near the seafront promenade, holds a large collection of Greco-Roman finds from the city. The beach, stretching several kilometres south from the port, is one of Albania's busiest domestic summer destinations and fills with families from Tirana, only about thirty-five kilometres away.
Durrës is also the main ferry port connecting Albania to Italy, with year-round services to Bari (daily, with more sailings in summer) and Ancona (several sailings a week), which makes it a natural arrival or departure point for travellers combining Albania with Italy. The central market sells fresh fish, seasonal produce and local cheeses. Other sites include the Forum, the Roman baths and the Venetian tower, and excavations in the city are ongoing.
Përmet
Përmet is a small town in the Vjosa river valley, surrounded by mountains and known as the “city of roses”. It is best known for its food, particularly its fruit preserves, wine and raki.
The best-known local product is gliko, a preserve made from walnuts, figs, aubergines, watermelon rind and many other fruits and vegetables, slow-cooked in sugar syrup and served with coffee or offered to guests. Many households have their own recipe. Local restaurants serve dishes such as slow-roasted lamb, river trout and homemade cheese.
Përmet is also a base for the surrounding valleys. The Bënja thermal baths, on the Lengarica River about 13 kilometres from town, are natural hot pools beside the 18th-century Ottoman Kadiut Bridge at the mouth of the Lengarica Canyon. The Vjosa, one of Europe's last wild rivers and since 2023 protected as Europe's first Wild River National Park, flows through the valley and is used for rafting and kayaking.
Pogradec
Pogradec sits on the south-western shore of Lake Ohrid, one of Europe's oldest and deepest lakes, shared between Albania and North Macedonia. The lake is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised for both its natural biodiversity (it is home to more than 200 endemic species) and the cultural heritage of the settlements around its shores; the listing was extended to the Albanian part of the lake in 2019. Pogradec is the main town on the Albanian side. It has fewer historic monuments than the town of Ohrid across the border, and its draw is mainly the lake itself.
The lakeside promenade, shaded by plane trees, is the centre of the town's social life. The local speciality is Ohrid trout (koran), a fish found only in the Lake Ohrid basin, traditionally grilled whole and served with lemon, olive oil and salad. The species is listed as endangered because of overfishing, so ask whether the fish is farmed or wild and choose restaurants that source responsibly.
Just outside town, Drilon is a park fed by natural springs. The border crossing at Tushemisht leads to Ohrid in North Macedonia, with its medieval churches and lakeside old town, for a day trip.
Common questions about Albania's cities
What is the best city to visit in Albania?
Tirana is the usual starting point: it is the capital and the main transport hub, with museums, cafes and nightlife. For history, Berat and Gjirokastër, which share a UNESCO World Heritage listing, are the strongest choices. For a city with beaches close by, Saranda and Vlora are the main options. The best choice depends on your interests, but a first-time visitor with only two or three days should prioritise Tirana and either Berat or Gjirokastër.
How many days do I need to explore Albania's cities?
A minimum of ten to fourteen days allows you to visit five or six major cities comfortably. Allocate two to three days for Tirana, one to two days each for Berat, Gjirokastër and Saranda, and add extra days for Shkodër, Korça or Vlora depending on your interests. If you only have a week, focus on Tirana, Berat and Gjirokastër. Slow travellers could spend three weeks visiting all ten cities covered in this guide, with time for side trips.
Is it easy to travel between Albanian cities?
Yes. Intercity buses and furgon minibuses connect all major Albanian cities at low cost by European standards — as of 2026, Tirana to Berat costs roughly 6–7 EUR and Tirana to Saranda around 15–17 EUR. Tirana is the main hub, with departures to every city. Journey times are moderate: Tirana to Berat takes about two hours, Tirana to Gjirokastër around four hours, and Tirana to Shkodër about two hours. Rental cars offer more flexibility, especially for reaching smaller towns such as Përmet and Pogradec. Shared taxis between towns are widely available. Road quality has improved in recent years, though mountain routes can still be slow and winding. The travel tips guide has more on getting around.
Which Albanian cities are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
Berat and Gjirokastër share UNESCO World Heritage status under the inscription “Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra”, recognised in 2005 and extended in 2008. Berat is known as the “City of a Thousand Windows” for its Ottoman-era houses, while Gjirokastër is the “City of Stone”, known for its tower houses (kulla) and large hilltop fortress. The ruins of Butrint near Saranda and the natural and cultural heritage of Lake Ohrid near Pogradec (extended to the Albanian shore in 2019) are also UNESCO-listed sites within reach of these cities. Albania also has several sites on UNESCO's tentative list.
Are Albanian cities safe for tourists?
Albanian cities are generally safe for tourists. The UK Foreign Office notes that reports of crime targeting foreigners are rare, though pickpocketing and bag theft occur in tourist areas, on public transport and at transport hubs. Keep an eye on bags and phones in crowds, use licensed taxis, and take care late at night in the larger cities. For more, see the safety advice in the travel tips guide.
Sources
- IUCN: Celebrating the extension of the Ohrid Region World Heritage site in Albania
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Albania travel advice – Safety and security
- Visit Përmet: Benja Thermal Baths (Llixhat e Bënjës)
- Tirana International Airport: Transport and directions: by taxi
- Wikipedia: Vlora International Airport
- Wikipedia: 1957 United States Air Force incursion into Albanian airspace
- Wikipedia: Onufri Iconographic Museum
- Wikipedia: Amphitheatre of Durrës
- Ferryhopper: Ferries Durrës: schedules and tickets
- Gjirafa Travel: Tirana to Berat bus
- Gjirafa Travel: Tirana to Saranda bus
- Wikipedia: Ohrid trout; Llogara Tunnel; Birra Korça
- Euronews Albania: Gjirokastër 2023 National Folklore Festival doors open (25 June 2023)
- Vox News: Government terminating the Vlora airport concession; Albanian Daily News: VVIA concession: MABCO seeks negotiations (13 August 2026)
- Al Jazeera: Thousands protest coastal resort project in Albania (4 June 2026)
Last checked 14 October 2026. Prices and rules change; confirm time-sensitive details with the official source before you travel.