Albania spent decades sealed off from the rest of Europe under one of the most isolated communist regimes in history, and that isolation left behind a country that feels genuinely undiscovered. Beaches along the Albanian Riviera rival anything in Croatia or Greece, but without the crowds or the price tags. Add in Ottoman-era towns, alpine villages, and Roman ruins still being excavated, and you get a destination that rewards curiosity. Here are ten things worth building a trip around.
Wander the Stone Streets of Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër's old town climbs a steep hillside in tiers of slate-roofed Ottoman houses, many dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, the town's cobblestone streets lead up to a hilltop castle housing a small arms museum and a decommissioned American fighter jet. Local guides can point out the birthplace of former dictator Enver Hoxha, now a small ethnographic museum.
Swim the Beaches of the Albanian Riviera
The coastal stretch between Vlorë and Sarandë delivers turquoise water against dramatic limestone cliffs. Ksamil's small islands are reachable by a short swim or paddle, while Dhërmi and Himarë offer a livelier beach club scene. Visiting in June or September avoids the August crowds and still guarantees warm water.
Explore Berat, City of a Thousand Windows
Berat earns its nickname from the rows of white Ottoman houses stacked on the hillside, their windows catching the afternoon light. The castle at the top still has residents living inside its walls, alongside several Byzantine-era churches. The Onufri Museum, housed in a former cathedral, displays 16th-century religious icons painted by the artist for whom it's named.
Hike Between Theth and Valbona
The trail connecting Theth and Valbona in the Albanian Alps, often called the Accursed Mountains, takes about six to eight hours to complete and crosses a 1,795-meter pass. Traditional guesthouses in both villages serve home-cooked meals and offer beds for a few euros a night. This is one of the more physically demanding entries on this list, but the payoff is a landscape of jagged peaks that few travelers outside the region know exist.
Check Out Tirana's Street Art and Bunkers
Tirana's mayor-turned-artist Edi Rama began commissioning colorful murals on Soviet-era apartment blocks in the early 2000s, and the trend has continued citywide. Bunk'Art, a former nuclear bunker built for Hoxha's inner circle, now functions as a museum on communist-era surveillance and paranoia. Albania built more than 170,000 concrete bunkers during the regime, and several scattered around the capital have been repainted or repurposed as cafes.
Walk the Ruins of Butrint
Butrint National Park sits near the Greek border and contains layers of history spanning Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Venetian occupation. A Roman theater, ancient baths, and a 6th-century baptistery with intact mosaic floors are all within a short walk of each other. The surrounding wetlands, home to over 250 bird species, make it worth pairing the ruins with a slower afternoon.
Drive the Llogara Pass
The road connecting Vlorë to the southern coast climbs through Llogara National Park before dropping sharply toward the sea, with hairpin turns offering views over the Ionian coastline. Pull-offs along the route make good stopping points for photos or a coffee at one of the small roadside stands. For travelers who prefer not to navigate the switchbacks themselves, several operators running organized Albania trips include this drive as a scenic transfer between coastal stops rather than a rushed pass-through.
Ride the Lake Koman Ferry
The ferry across Lake Koman cuts through a fjord-like landscape of steep cliffs and narrow inlets, and the roughly three-hour crossing is often described as one of the most scenic in Europe. It doubles as practical transport for reaching Valbona from Tirana without backtracking through Shkodër by road. Locals still use the boat to move livestock and supplies, so travelers share the deck with daily life rather than a purely touristic setup.
Try Raki and Regional Cooking
Raki, a fruit brandy usually distilled from grapes, functions as both a greeting and a digestif across Albania, often homemade and offered before a meal rather than after. Regional dishes worth seeking out include tavë kosi, a baked lamb and yogurt casserole, and byrek, a phyllo pastry filled with cheese, spinach, or meat. Coastal towns tend to serve grilled fish simply, with olive oil, lemon, and little else needed.
Visit the Blue Eye Spring
Syri i Kaltër, or the Blue Eye, is a natural water spring near Sarandë where cold water bubbles up from a depth divers have yet to fully map. The color shifts from deep cobalt at the center to pale turquoise near the edges, and swimming is allowed in the surrounding river even though the spring's main basin is off limits. Arriving early in the day helps avoid the tour buses that start showing up by late morning.
Albania rewards travelers willing to cover ground rather than settle into one resort town for a week. The distances between the mountains, the coast, and the historic towns are shorter than they look on a map, which makes it realistic to string several of these stops together in a single trip.