Things to Do in Albania

Quick facts: Legend has it that the castle walls were built by sacrificing a woman, Rozafa, who was buried alive inside the wall to hold it together. From the hill where it stands, your eyes embrace at the same time Lake Shkodra, the Buna River, and the Albanian Alps.

Highlights: Inside the castle, among the ruins, you will find the remains of a 13th-century church as well as frescoes that are still preserved in some spots. Every summer its courtyard transforms into a theatrical stage and hosts the city's international theater festival, with performances under the starry sky.

Quick facts: The water emerges from a depth of more than 50 meters and springs forth at a rate of about 6 cubic meters per second. The water temperature remains at 10-12 degrees Celsius all year round, which makes swimming in the summer particularly refreshing.

Highlights: Beneath the surface, divers have explored the spring to a depth of over 50 meters without yet reaching the bottom, making the true depth unknown. The striking blue hue is created by the incredible clarity of the water, which reflects light in a way that resembles a living sapphire.

Quick facts: The castle rises on a hill that offers panoramic views over the entire port of Saranda and the Greek islands of Corfu across the way. It is named after the Lëkurësi family, a local aristocratic family that held the area during the Ottoman period.

Highlights: Its real advantage is that it stands on a hill just a few minutes' walk from the city center, something rare for such well-preserved castles. From its walls you see both coasts at the same time, Albania and Corfu, in a unique viewing angle that takes your breath away.

Quick facts: Thousands of years of history fit into a single site, from a Greek colony of the 6th century BC to a Byzantine fortress and a Venetian tower. The 2,500-seat theater remains almost intact and you can still hear the sound of the sea from the upper seats.

Highlights: The 6th-century baptistery hides a stunning mosaic floor with peacocks and birds, colors that remain vivid after 1,500 years. Few visitors climb up to the Venetian castle at the top, from where you can see the entire park, the Vivari channel, and the island of Corfu in the blue of the horizon.

Quick facts: The castle rises on a 336-meter hill and the first fortification dates back to the 6th century, when it was built by local tribes. The clock tower, added in 1811, features a mechanism constructed in Constantinople that still works to this day.

Highlights: Inside the castle there is a war aviation museum with 45 aircraft, among them a captured American plane that made an emergency landing in the country in 1957 and was kept by the communist authorities. The Italian Fiat G.50 plane on display, along with the rest of the exhibits, is located in underground galleries that pass beneath the fortress's foundations.

Quick facts: A vast open plaza frames a soaring equestrian statue at its center, where locals and students mingle among grand buildings and wide promenades. Night brings street musicians and pop-up cafés, while the pale marble paving catches lights and turns the space into a bright stage for festivals.

Highlights: A towering bronze horseman anchors the square, locals have long rubbed the horse's right stirrup for luck until the metal gleams under tourists' cameras. After the 2017 overhaul the open space was paved with roughly 20,000 light and dark granite slabs, so when the late-afternoon sun hits you get a warm mosaic of gold and charcoal that smells faintly of coffee from the nearby cafés.

Quick facts: It holds about 15,000 spectators and is the largest Roman amphitheater ever discovered in Albania. Its arena lies at a depth of about 20 meters below the current level of the city, as centuries have buried a large part of it.

Highlights: Beneath the ruins, 10th-century frescoes were found in incredibly good condition, adorning an early Christian chapel within the seating area. Archaeologists estimate that it was used for gladiatorial games for over 300 years, before being converted into a Christian place of worship.

Quick facts: About 1,600 people still live within its walls, making it one of the few inhabited castle-towns in the Balkans. The Church of the Virgin of Blachernae features unique frescoes dating from the 16th century.

Highlights: The residents of the houses inside the castle have continued the tradition of winemaking and craftsmanship for centuries, with many courtyards hiding old grape presses. As you walk along the cobbled alleys, you will see elderly women knitting lace on their doorsteps and offering you raki, as if nothing has changed since the Ottoman period.

Quick facts: Inside the castle of Kruja, this 19th-century Ottoman manor houses over 200 objects of everyday life. Its stone walls reach 60 centimeters in thickness, keeping the cool even during the hottest summer month.

Highlights: On the ground floor you will see the original olive press that operated with the whole family, while the guest room has a ceiling decorated with painted flowers that have not faded in 150 years. The hosts of the house received up to 40 guests at once, and the special reception room shows exactly how they hosted so many people in such a compact space.

Quick facts: The castle rises on a 608-meter hill and offers panoramic views over the plain and the sea. Within its walls houses the National Museum of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, which honors Albania's national hero.

Highlights: The museum keeps the genuine sword of Skanderbeg, which is said to have weighed so much that only he himself could lift it. The clock tower inside the castle dates from the Ottoman period and still stands upright after five centuries.