Unlike many other European countries, Albania is relatively unspoiled and untouched. No longer under the cloud of Russia, the country is blossoming into its own, and people are coming in droves to visit and explore. Albania boasts exquisite beaches with no footprints in the sand, interesting antiquities and dramatic mountain scenery. In our top ten list of Albania’s best attractions you will find Ottoman cities to explore, charming little villages off the beaten track, fortresses, castles and archaeological sites.
10. National Ethnographic Museum
flickr/Michael Toussaint
Close to Berat castle you’ll find this fascinating living museum located in an 18th Century Ottoman house which is actually as fascinating to explore as the items on display. On the ground floor you’ll find exhibits of daily items like the tools used by weavers and silversmiths, and traditional clothing. While on the first floor the rooms have been decorated in the traditional style, and include a kitchen, guest rooms and bedrooms.
9. Cobo Winery
flickr/www.cobowineryonline.com
Cobo Winery is situated in the southern part of central Albania, in the rolling hills surrounding historic Berat. Comprising a winery, several vineyards, a house and a room where visitors can enjoy wine tasting, this traditional winery owned by the Çobo family has been in existence for almost two and a half centuries. Visitors can enjoy a tour of the winery and also watch wine being made, before sampling the wine with a member of the Cobo family and savouring some homemade Albanian cheeses and olives grown in the area.
8. Skanderbeg Square
flickr/Atilla2008
This main square is located in the capital city, Tirana. Enlarged by the Communists during the Second World War and now recently rebuilt again, Skanderbeg Square is home to many of Tirana’s most notable buildings such as the Palace of Culture (which now houses the Opera and the National Library), the National History Museum,the Tirana International Hotel, a statue of the man after whom the square is named and the Et’hem Bey Mosque.
7. National History Museum
flickr/Marco Fieber
Located in Tirana’s main square, Skanderbeg Square, the National History Museum is the largest museum in Albania. It’s famous for the elaborate mosaic on its facade which tells the story of Albania’s history. Inside the museum you’ll find halls with displays showing the different stages of the country’s history and development. The museum is also home to some fascinating items discovered during archaeological digs in the area. One of the exhibition halls focuses on World War Two and there’s also a disturbing exhibition about the prison and labour camps that existed in Albania, called the Pavilion of Communist Terror.
6. Shkodra Lake
flickr/Thomas Hackl
With an idyllic setting on the border between Montenegro and Albania, Shkodra Lake, which was named after the town of Shkodra 35km away, is the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula. With 270 bird species, the lake is home to one of the largest bird reserves in Europe, making it a must-visit for birdwatchers.
5. Ksamil Village
flickr/Artur Malinowski
Located on the coastline of Southern Albania near Sarande, this little village is actually part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Butrint National Park. Ksamil is famous for its beautiful beaches and exquisite restaurants, where one can enjoy fresh seafood. In Communist time this charming little village was renowned for its excellent lemons, tangerines and olive oil.
4. Berat Castle
flickr/Marie-Hélène Cingal
Berat is the one of the main reasons for Albania’s growing popularity. This ancient town, which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO is best known for the ancient white-washed houses with tile roofs that rise up the hillside to the castle and its magnificent backdrop of rugged mountains. But the castle, built on a rocky hill on the left bank of the Osum River, is the highlight of a visit to Berat. You can explore the ruins of this ancient fortress that overlooks the little town below as it has done since when it was built in the 13th Century.
3. Rozafa Castle
flickr/Peter Fenďa
Just outside the town of Shkodra, close to the southern end of Lake Shkodra, you’ll find Rozafa Castle, named after a woman who apparently was walled into the ramparts as an offering to the gods. Rosafa begged for two holes to be left in the wall so that she could continue to breastfeed her baby, and you’ll find a magnificent sculpture of this woman near the entrance to the castle’s museum. Legend has it that milk sometimes seeps from the wall.
2. Blue Eye
flickr/Untravelled Paths
Resembling a giant blue eye, this natural water spring located near Sarande is a highly popular tourist attraction, as people flock here to see the clear blue-coloured water bubbling from a pool that is over 50 feet deep. The way that the water bubbles gives the impression of an eye, with the dark centre of the pool resembling a pupil and the surrounding azure water looking like the iris.
1. Butrint National Park/Archaeological site
flickr/Michał Kowalski
The highlight of a visit to Albania and number 1 in our top ten tourist attractions list is Butrint National Park. This archaeological park is home to remains that date back some 2500 years. According to the poet Virgil, Butrint was created by the Trojans, but despite many archaeological digs and findings, nothing has ever been found to back up this theory. It is known that the Greeks settled in Butrint in the 6th Century BC, but it’s believed it had been inhabited long before that.
One can explore these fascinating ruins and see some ancient sites, including the Acropolis, the ruins of an amphitheatre built in the 3rd Century BC by the Greeks and later remodelled by the Romans, public baths with geometric mosaic patterns, a wall with Greek inscriptions and a 6th Century Baptistery adorned with colourful mosaics depicting birds and animals. There’s also a museum with displays of interesting artifacts found in the area.
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