Want to know the must-see places to visit in Albania?
Albania is land of wild landscapes, stone cities, winding mountain roads and a coastline that rivals anywhere in Europe. It’s a country shaped by resilience, history and fierce pride and home to some of the friendliest locals you’ll ever meet.
For decades, Albania was closed off from the world. Even now, it’s a place many travellers still overlook.
We spent almost five months in Albania in 2025-26 after driving north to south (and back again – several times) we discovered places that completely surprised us. Some of these you’ll recognise. Others you might not have heard of.
These are our Top 10 places to visit in Albania.
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Our Top 10 Favourite places to visit in Albania
We’ve organised this list as an Albania Road Trip from north to south, then out to the east. If you’re driving through Albania from Montenegro to Greece or North Macedonia you can follow this route.
If you’re flying into Tiranë and hiring a car for your Road Trip round Albania, this list works as a loop from Tirana – Shkoder then to the south, up to Korcë and Lake Ohrid then looping back to Tirana.
Shkodër
Shkoder is the 5th largest city in Albania and gateway to the Albanian Alps. Shkoder blends history with modern life and has a great laid-back vibe. It’s a great place to explore before heading into the mountains.
The city view is dominated by the Rosafa Castle which sits high on a hill at the confluence of the Bruna and Drin rivers. The castle dates back to Illyrian times and there’s an interesting legend about a young woman named Rosafa being walled into the fortress to keep it standing
Most of the construction we see now dates from the 14th century including the walls and the ruins of this Venetian church.
Entry to the castle is 400 lek for adults and it’s from 9 am to 7 pm. There’s a cafe here and a small museum here, but we chose to just explore the ruins and admire the views.
The old town of Shkoder is surprisingly bike friendly. We hired bikes from the campsite we were staying at to explore the old town centre. There you’ll find a long pedestrian street, lined with café’s and restaurants. It’s a particularly lively place in the evening, when the locals are doing there Xhiro (evening stroll)
The Albanian Alps
Northern Albania is home to one of the country’s most spectacular regions, the Albanian Alps. Remote villages, towering limestone peaks and some of the best hiking in the Balkans make this a must for nature lovers.
The journey begins with the dramatic drive to Theth, a mountain village surrounded by steep peaks and deep valleys. At its centre stands the simple but iconic Theth Church, one of the most recognisable landmarks in the region.
From here, you can Hike to the Valbona Pass, a full day trek linking Theth with the valley of Valbona. The trail climbs high into the Accursed Mountains. The hike is steep but it’s one of our favourite hikes we’ve ever done.
You can also hike to the Blue Eye of Theth, a vivid turquoise spring hidden deep in the valley. But be warned, the water is VERY cold here.
If you do the full Theth to Valbona hike, you’ll return via the Komani Lake ferry. Or, you can take a day trip from Shkoder up the Komani Lake through steep mountain gorges to Shala River. This is often described as one of the most beautiful boat journeys in Europe.
Read more about the Albanian Alps.
Kruje
Krujë is one of the most important historic towns in Albania. It’s best known as the stronghold of Albania’s national hero, Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. From here he led the Albanian resistance against the Ottoman invasion in the 15th century.
At the top of the hill sits Krujë Castle, where you’ll find the Skanderbeg Museum. This museum commemorates the life and military conquests of the hero. We were surprised to learn how well respected Skanderbeg is – with monuments to him throughout Europe and even as far away as the USA.
Leading up to the castle is Krujë’s old bazaar, a cobbled street lined with wooden stalls and traditional shops. It’s one of the best places in Albania to browse for traditional handcrafts. Even if you’re not buying, it’s worth wandering for the atmosphere alone.
Kruje is ideal to visit on a day trip from Tirana. Check out our full guide to Kruje.
Tirana (Tiranë)
Tirana became the capital of Albania in 1920 (before that the capital was in several other cities, including Durres. As it’s a fairly modern city, you won’t really find an old town centre like most other European cities. What you will find is a really cool, lively young city.
Start your exploration of Tirana in the huge Skanderbeg Square – it’s the largest pedestrian area in the Balkans. The square is named after the national hero Gjerj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, and there is a large equestrian statue of him at one end. At the other end of the square is a building that’s currently under construction which is modelled on Skanderbeg’s head. It’s called the Tirana Rock.
While there isn’t really an old bazaar like you’ll find in other Balkan (and even Albanian) cities, you can check out the Pizari I Ri, or new market. This is a great place to try some Albanian traditional food.
Tirana displays the diversity of religious life in Albania – a country where religion was banned for over 40 years during communism. From the ancient Et’hem Bey Mosque to the new Namazgah Mosque, the Orthodox cathedral and the catholic cathedral, with its statue and mosaics of Mother Theresa, who was Albanian.
You can learn a lot about Tirana’s communist past here, visit the Bunk Art 1 and 2 museums (housed in former bunkers). Communist dictator Enver Hoxha had over 175,000 bunkers constructed throughout the country. There’s also the House of Leaves, which is all about the secret police and how they spied on ordinary citizens.
You can’t miss the Tirana Pyramid, which was built as a monument to Hoxha – climb to the top for great views. From there, walk through the Checkpoint Park and into the trendy Blloku district. Here you’ll find Enver Hoxha’s former residence, and hidden away in the gardens of the residence of former prime minister Mehmet Shahu, you can just spot statues of Stalin and Lenin. While you can’t visit either of these residences, you can see them from the outside.
Finish your day in Tirana with a craft beer at the TapRoom by Pan Brewery or with a cocktail at the revolving Sky Bar.
Berat
Berat is one of Albania’s most beautiful towns, a UNESCO World Heritage listed site sometimes called the “City of 1000 Windows”. These Ottoman Era houses line the hillsides on both sides of the Osum River. We really enjoyed wandering through the cobbled streets.
You can climb the hill to the Berat Castle, which dates back to the 4th century BC, though most of what we see now is from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. There are churches, mosques and even a water system you can visit here. Don’t miss the epic views from the lookout!
But Berat also has a modern side too, wander along Republic Boulevard and see the locals chatting and playing dominoes along the river.
A great side trip from Berat is to Osumi Canyon which is one of Albania’s most dramatic natural landscapes. The canyon is 26km long, and some of the walls rise up to 70m high.
You can stop off and take a short walk into the canyon. It’s possible to go rafting here in the spring when the water levels are highest.
For an evening of good traditional food (and a few laughs) don’t miss Lilli’s Homemade Food. It’s a small family restaurant with only three tables. Booking definitely required!
Check out our Complete Guide to Berat for more of this gorgeous city.
The Albanian Riviera
The Albanian Riviera stretches 130km (80 miles) from Vlore to Ksamil, and you could easily spend a week or more, visiting the different towns and beaches along the way.
Vlore is known for it’s long beach and popular palm lined promenade with restaurants and café’s. We’ve stayed just behind these apartment blocks several times. If it’s not beach weather, you can also visit the St Mary Monastery and the communist tunnels out by the Zvernec lighthouse.
Heading south you can drive over the spectacular Llogara Pass – this is one of Albania’s most scenic drives. There is a tunnel under the pass if the weather isn’t great. We’ve driven the pass twice and tunnel once. The tunnel saves around 30-45 minutes off the journey.
South of the Llogara National Park, you’ll find the beach towns of Dhermi, Himare and Borsch, which has the longest beach on the Riviera.
Our favourite beach along this stretch is Gjipe – it’s not accessible by car, but after driving down this narrow access road you can park and walk down a coastal path to the beach. Once there, you can hike into the canyon.
Don’t miss Porto Palermo Castle, the 19th century fortress built by Ottoman leader Ali Pasha. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to hear the guard sing.
At the southern end of the Riviera you’ll find the city of Saranda, which only has a small beach, but it does have a castle above the town with great views, especially at sunset. In the off-season we stayed overnight here in our campervan and Nigel even explored the tunnels that go under the hill.
Ksamil is sometimes called the Maldives of Albania. This popular beach resort town gets very busy in summer, but when we visited in Spring it was really pleasant. For around €30 you can take a boat ride out to the islands.
Butrint National Park
A great side trip from Saranda or Ksamil is the Butrint National Park, one of the country’s most important archaeological sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Here you can walk through layers of history spanning more than two thousand years. Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian ruins sit among forests and wetlands, including a Roman theatre, city walls and an impressive baptistery. Sadly the mosaic floor of the baptistry was covered when we visited, but we really enjoyed spending a couple of hours wandering through these ruins.
Find out more about Butrint National Park.
Gjirokaster
Gjirokaster is one of our favourite places in Albania – so much so, we visited three times! We spent Nigel’s birthday here, and New Years Eve!
The old town and castle of Gjirokaster is UNESCO World Heritage listed, its easy to see why. We love the Old Bazaar, with its handcraft shops and restaurants and cafes.
The Gjirokaster Castle is well worth a visit – there are three museums inside the castle, although they do cost an extra fee in addition to the castle entry to visit.
There are several ethnographic collections located in traditional houses here – we checked out the Skenduli house. You might like to visit the Cold War Tunnel Museum – this bunker was built for the town dignitaries, 200 people could live here for 3 months in the event of a nuclear war.
One of our favourite things to do in Gjirokaster is to walk to the Ali Pasha Bridge, which was actually an aqueduct that took water from the mountains. You can walk across the bridge – and say hi to the shepherds returning with their flocks.
Benjë Thermal Pools
Not far from Gjirokaster and the town of Përmet, you’ll find one of southern Albania’s most scenic natural spots, the Bënjë Thermal Baths.
Here you’ll find a series of pools along the river. Warm mineral waters flows into the pools from under the ground. The main pools are set beneath this beautiful Ottoman-era Bridge.
But you can also walk further up into Langarica Canyon, a narrow gorge with towering rock walls. There are more pools up here which tend to be less crowded.
We loved the hike up into the canyon – but be warned – beyond the last pool, the water in the creek is VERY cold!
Above the bridge we found some more Communist Era tunnels, but these had collapsed just beyond the entrance.
When we visited in Spring 2025, there was a big construction project underway – it looks like a resort is being built. It will be good to have more facilities here (like toilets). We wild camped in the field near the parking lot for a few days – this was one of our favourite spots in Albania.
Check out our guide on How to Visit the Benjë Thermal Pools.
Korcë (Korca)
Korce is considered one of the most important cities for Albanian Culture. The city centre has tree lined boulevards and a beautiful orthodox church at the top of it’s pedestrian street.
The Resurrection of Christ Cathedral has become a symbol of the city. It was built in 1995, after the fall of communism. Religion was repressed under communism and many religious buildings were destroyed or converted to other purposes. Korces oldest mosque survived due to it’s historic significance. This mosque was built in the 15th century by Ilias Bey Mirahori who founded the city.
Korce’s Old Bazaar has been restored and it’s a popular meeting place for tourists and locals alike. It was quite quiet when we visited in October, but we can imagine it being very busy here in the summer season.
Probably the most important monument to Albanian culture is the Museum of Medieval Art, which features hundreds of icons from artists like Onufri. The entry fee is 700 lek, and it’s definitely worth a visit.
After you’ve had your fill of culture, head uphill to the Korca Brewery, where you can do a (free) tour, which is entertaining to say the least.
Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid is one of Europe’s oldest and deepest lakes. It’s shores are shared by Albania and North Macedonia. Most visitors to Albanian Lake Ohrid stay at Pogradec, but to be honest, it seemed like a big busy town and we didn’t love it.
We did, however, love Lin. This small traditional fishing village on the north west shore of the Lake is famous for it’s byzantine ruins, including mosaic floors that date back 1500 years.
When we visited Lin the site was closed, but we managed to see the mosaics with our drone. After leaving we heard about another “hidden gem” site, that we’d completely missed, so we circled back to Lin to check it out. On this visit we were lucky that the site was open – the caretakers wife and daughter had just shown someone through. The daughter speaks good English and she showed us around.
Oh, and that other hidden gem? If you walk out to the tip of the promontory you’ll not only get excellent views across the lake, but you’ll find this communist bunker that has been turned into a small chapel.
Read more about the beautiful Lake Ohrid.
Albania Travel Guide – Essential Information
For all you need to know about an Albania Road Trip, including how to get there, where to stay and other practical information, read our main Albania Travel Guide. If you’re planning to visit Albania by Campervan or Motorhome, read our Albania Campervan Guide.
Don’t forget to grab our FREE Albania Road Trip Checklist to help you plan an enjoyable, stress-free visit to Albania.
Watch our Albania Top 10 Film
We produced a series of videos on Albania when we first visited in early 2025. More recently, after our third return visit, we produced this compilation video of our Top 10 places to visit in Albania.
Where to next?
Continue your Road Trip through the Balkans with a visit to North Macedonia and it’s quirky capital Skopje, or head down to Greece for more beautiful beaches and impressive ancient ruins of the Peloponnese.
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