Berat Gjirokaster
3
Day Itinerary •
Albania
Three days across Berat and Gjirokaster gives you the two finest UNESCO World Heritage cities in Albania, two extraordinary Ottoman towns that together represent the most complete surviving examples of traditional Balkan architecture anywhere in the region, each dominated by an extraordinary hilltop castle and filled with 18th-century mansions converted to museums. This route takes in Berat, the City of a Thousand Windows, and its extraordinary Kala citadel where families still live inside medieval walls, the Ottoman quarter of Mangalem with its stepped lanes and overhanging houses, then Gjirokaster with its extraordinary stone-roofed bazaar, the Skenduli House museum, the castle housing a captured US Air Force jet and the birthplace of Enver Hoxha.
Best Time To Visit
April to October
Getting There
Fly into Tirana (TIA), drive 2 hours to Berat
Getting Around
Rental car recommended throughout
Budget Per Day
Approx 30 to 60 euros per person per day
Difficulity
Easy, walking and driving
DAY 1
BERAT
MORNING
BERAT, THE CITY OF A THOUSAND WINDOWS
Berat is the finest Ottoman city in Albania and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its extraordinary terraces of white 18th-century houses with their multiple windows stacked up the hillside above the Osum river giving the city its name. The Mangalem quarter on the south bank is the finest concentration of traditional Albanian architecture in the country, its steep cobbled lanes leading up to the Kala citadel above. The view from the old stone bridge over the Osum to the Mangalem hillside is the most photographed image in Albania. Entry to Berat free. Drive: 30 min climb
MIDDAY
KALA CITADEL, THE LIVING MEDIEVAL CITY
The Kala citadel above Berat is the most extraordinary inhabited medieval fortress in Albania, a walled hilltop neighbourhood where families still live inside the Byzantine and Ottoman walls. The Byzantine churches converted to mosques and back again over the centuries are extraordinary. The Onufri Museum in the Church of the Dormition houses the finest collection of Byzantine icons in Albania, painted by the extraordinary 16th-century master Onufri whose colours remain vivid after 500 years. Museum entry approx 200 ALL. Drive: 30 min walk down
AFTERNOON
GORICA QUARTER AND THE OLD STONE BRIDGE
The Gorica quarter on the north bank of the Osum is the Christian quarter of Berat, its churches and traditional Albanian houses climbing the hillside opposite Mangalem. The old stone bridge connecting the two quarters dates from the Ottoman period and gives the finest view of the Mangalem hillside reflected in the river. The late afternoon light on the thousand windows of Berat from the bridge is the finest time to see and photograph the city.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Ethnographic Museum in a beautifully restored 18th-century house in the Gorica quarter is the finest museum of traditional Albanian domestic life in the country. The extraordinary carved wooden ceilings, period furniture and complete kitchen and guest room reconstructions give an extraordinary sense of Albanian domestic life 200 years ago. Entry approx 200 ALL.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe in Berat new town Coffee before walking up to the old town. Albanian coffee is strong and cheap. | Lunch: Restaurant Mangalemi The finest traditional restaurant in Berat. Local byrek, tavern lamb and Cobo wine. | Dinner: Guvat Restaurant, Berat Fresh trout from the Osum, local raki and extraordinary views over the thousand windows.
DAY 2
OSUMI CANYON AND GJIROKASTER
MORNING
OSUMI CANYON, THE GRAND CANYON OF ALBANIA
The Osumi Canyon between Berat and Gjirokaster is the finest river canyon in Albania, a 26km gorge cut up to 80 metres deep through extraordinary limestone by the Osumi river. A signed trail from the canyon road follows the river through the gorge to the extraordinary Cathedral Rocks formation, a series of towering limestone columns carved by the river over millennia. The canyon is at its most extraordinary in spring when the river runs full and the wildflowers cover the canyon walls. Entry free. Drive: 2 hour drive south
MIDDAY
COBO WINERY, THE FINEST ALBANIAN WINE
The Cobo winery near Berat is the finest wine producer in Albania, its vineyards planted with indigenous Albanian grape varieties including Shesh i Zi and Shesh i Bardhe that are grown almost nowhere outside the country. The tasting room in a converted farmhouse offers flights of the extraordinary local wines at remarkable prices. The winery also produces the finest Albanian raki from local grapes. Tastings from approx 500 ALL. Drive: 1.5 hour drive to Gjirokaster
AFTERNOON
GJIROKASTER ARRIVAL AND FIRST EXPLORATION
Gjirokaster is the second UNESCO World Heritage city in Albania, its extraordinary stone-roofed Ottoman houses and fortified towers cascading down a steep hillside above the Drino valley. The approach from the north gives the finest first view of the city, the castle above and the extraordinary grey slate rooftops below. The bazaar area at the base of the castle hill is the finest surviving Ottoman bazaar street in Albania, its stone-paved lane lined with traditional craft shops.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The village of Korca near the Osumi canyon is one of the finest traditional Albanian villages, its extraordinary stone houses and ancient walnut trees almost entirely unchanged for 200 years. The village produces the finest local raki in the region from mulberry rather than grapes, an extraordinary and rare tradition. Ask at the village cafe for a tasting.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Guesthouse in Berat Breakfast before the canyon drive. Pack water for the Osumi canyon trail. | Lunch: Cobo winery picnic Wine, local cheese and bread from the winery. An extraordinary canyon-country lunch. | Dinner: Restaurant Kujtimi, Gjiro The finest traditional restaurant in Gjirokaster. Local lamb, tavern cheese and Gjirokaster wine.
DAY 3
GJIROKASTER
MORNING
GJIROKASTER CASTLE, THE FORTRESS AND THE CAPTURED JET
Gjirokaster Castle on the hill above the city is the most extraordinary fortress in Albania, a Byzantine and Ottoman complex containing the extraordinary Military Museum with its remarkable collection of weapons, uniforms and the most extraordinary exhibit in Albania: a captured US Air Force Lockheed T-33 jet forced to land in Albania in 1957, now displayed in the castle courtyard. The view from the castle walls over the Drino valley and the mountains of Greece beyond is extraordinary. Entry approx 200 ALL. Drive: 20 min walk down
MIDDAY
SKENDULI HOUSE, THE FINEST OTTOMAN MANSION IN ALBANIA
The Skenduli House in Gjirokaster is the finest surviving Ottoman mansion in Albania, an extraordinary 18th-century building with extraordinary carved wooden ceilings, a guest room designed for 70 people and the finest views over the city from its upper floor windows. The current owner, a descendant of the original family, often conducts tours personally. The extraordinary guestroom ceiling is considered the finest example of Albanian decorative woodcarving in existence. Entry approx 200 ALL. Drive: 20 min walk
AFTERNOON
BAZAAR QUARTER AND THE ZEKATE HOUSE
The Gjirokaster bazaar street is the finest surviving Ottoman commercial street in Albania, its stone-paved lane lined with 19th-century locksmith, metalwork and carpet shops still operating in their original premises. The Zekate House at the top of the bazaar is the largest 18th-century house in Gjirokaster, a four-storey tower house with extraordinary carved ceilings and an extraordinary view from the upper terrace over the entire city. Entry approx 300 ALL.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
Enver Hoxha, the communist dictator who ruled Albania from 1944 to 1985 and built 173,000 concrete bunkers across the country, was born in a house in the Gjirokaster bazaar quarter. The house is marked and the extraordinary context of seeing the birthplace of one of Europe's most isolated regimes in this extraordinary city is genuinely moving. Free to view from outside.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe in Gjirokaster bazaar Coffee on the extraordinary stone-paved bazaar street before it fills with visitors. | Lunch: Taverna Fantazia, Gjiro Local byrek, grilled lamb and the finest cold Gjirokaster white wine in the bazaar shade. | Dinner: Restaurant Odaja Traditional Albanian cooking in a restored Ottoman house. Local lamb, cheese and raki.
DAY 4
MORNING
MIDDAY
AFTERNOON
💎 HIDDEN GEM
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
DAY 5
MORNING
MIDDAY
AFTERNOON
💎 HIDDEN GEM
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Where To Stay
Berat, Night 1 Hotel Mangalemi or guesthouses in the old town. Approx 25 to 60 euros per night. Gjirokaster, Nights 2-3 Hotel Kalemi or Stone City Hotel. Approx 25 to 60 euros per night. Budget option Guesthouses throughout from approx 15 to 25 euros. Albania is extraordinarily cheap.
Top Tips
1. Albania is the cheapest country in Europe. A full restaurant meal with wine costs 8 to 12 euros. Budget travellers can do both cities for under 30 euros a day.
2. Berat's Kala citadel is still a living neighbourhood. People live inside the medieval walls. Knock on doors marked as museums and pay the small entry fee.
3. The view from the Gjirokaster castle at dusk over the town and the Drino valley below is one of the finest in the Balkans. Go in the late afternoon light.
4. Albanians are extraordinarily hospitable. If invited for coffee or raki in someone's home, accept. The Besa code of hospitality is a deeply held cultural value.
5. Cobo winery near Berat produces the finest Albanian wine, including outstanding Shesh i Zi red and Pules white. The tasting costs almost nothing.
6. The Gjirokaster bazaar stone-paved lane is one of the finest Ottoman bazaar streets surviving in the Balkans. The metalwork and carpet shops are extraordinary.
Total Budget
30 to 60 euros/day