Historic site
Albania's Bunkers
Roughly 170,000 concrete pillboxes built under Enver Hoxha — the most visible physical legacy of the communist state.
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Historic site
Amantia
An Illyrian hill city whose stadium — cut into the slope — is among the best preserved in the region.
Historic site
Antigonea
A short-lived Epirote city founded by King Pyrrhus and burned by Rome in 167 BC.
Historic site
Apollonia
A Corinthian colony that became a Roman university town — Octavian was studying here when Caesar was killed.
Historic site
Ardenica Monastery
A hilltop monastery on the Myzeqe plain where, by tradition, Skanderbeg was married in 1451.
Town
Bajram Curri
The road head for the Valbona valley, named after a guerrilla leader of the 1920s.
Town
Ballsh
The seat of Mallakastër and the site of Albania's main oil refinery, near the ruins of Byllis.
Town
Belsh
A hill town surrounded by more than eighty small lakes and extensive olive groves.
City
Berat
The 'city of a thousand windows': an Ottoman hill town under a still-inhabited castle, UNESCO-listed since 2008.
Historic site
Berat Castle
A fortress people still live inside, holding some twenty churches and the Onufri icon museum.
County
Berat County
An inland county of vineyards, the Osum canyon and a UNESCO-listed hill town.
Town
Bilisht
The seat of Devoll municipality, on the Greek border in an apple-growing plain.
Waterfall
Bogovë Waterfall
A cold spring-fed fall and pool in the Tomorr foothills near Berat.
Beach
Borsh Beach
At roughly 7 km, the longest single beach on the Riviera, backed by one of Albania's largest olive groves.
Lake
Bovilla Reservoir
Tirana's drinking-water reservoir, ringed by limestone cliffs half an hour from the capital.
Town
Bulqizë
A chromium mining town — Albania is among the world's larger chrome producers.
Historic site
Bunk'Art
A five-storey anti-nuclear bunker built for the communist leadership, opened to the public in 2014.
Town
Burrel
The seat of Mat municipality in the central highlands, near the Mat river dams.
Historic site
Butrint
A Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman city layered on one wooded peninsula — Albania's first UNESCO site.
Protected area
Butrint National Park
A wetland and forest park wrapped around the archaeological city, on the Vivari channel.
Historic site
Byllis
The largest Illyrian city yet excavated, on a plateau above the Vjosa with five early Christian basilicas.
Spring
Bënjë Thermal Springs
Sulphur pools beside the Ottoman Katiu bridge, at the mouth of the Lengarica canyon.
Mountain range
Ceraunian Mountains
The coastal ridge that makes the Riviera: 2,000 m peaks rising directly out of the Ionian.
Town
Cërrik
A town founded around an oil refinery in the 1950s.
Village
Dardhë
A stone village at 1,340 m in the Morava mountains, one of Albania's small ski destinations.
Town
Delvinë
A hill town above the Sarandë plain with a mixed Albanian and Greek population.
Village
Dhërmi
An old white village on the slope above one of the Riviera's longest pebble beaches.
Beach
Dhërmi Beach
A long white pebble shore under the Ceraunian ridge, and the Riviera's main nightlife strip.
County
Dibër County
Albania's mountain interior on the North Macedonian border, containing Mount Korab.
Town
Divjakë
The town beside the Karavasta lagoon and the pine forest of the national park.
Protected area
Divjakë-Karavasta National Park
Coastal pine forest, dunes and lagoon protecting the region's Dalmatian pelican colony.
Town
Dropull
A valley of villages south of Gjirokastër with a large Greek-speaking population.
Beach
Drymades Beach
The pine-backed northern half of the Dhërmi bay, slightly quieter than the main strip.
City
Durrës
Albania's principal port and its oldest continuously inhabited city, founded as Epidamnos in 627 BC.
Historic site
Durrës Amphitheatre
The largest Roman amphitheatre in the Balkans, found by accident in 1966 under the modern city.
Beach
Durrës Beach
A continuous sand strip running south from the city — the busiest beach in Albania by visitor numbers.
Historic site
Durrës Castle
Byzantine sea walls raised under Anastasius I, later strengthened by Venice and the Ottomans.
County
Durrës County
The country's smallest county by area and its main gateway: the biggest port, the longest sandy beach.
City
Elbasan
A central industrial city inside an Ottoman fortress wall, on the old Via Egnatia.
Historic site
Elbasan Castle
An Ottoman fortress built on a Roman site, with a living town inside its walls.
County
Elbasan County
A central industrial and agricultural county on the Shkumbin river, historically the road east.
Town
Ersekë
The highest town in Albania, seat of Kolonjë municipality below Mount Gramos.
Historic site
Et'hem Bey Mosque
The small mosque on Skanderbeg Square whose frescoes of trees and waterfalls are unusual in Islamic art.
City
Fier
The service town of the oil and farming plain, next to the ruins of Apollonia.
County
Fier County
The agricultural and oil-producing plain of the south-west, with the ancient city of Apollonia.
Beach
Filikuri Beach
A hidden cove with a sea cave, most easily reached by boat from Himarë.
Town
Finiq
A municipality of villages near Sarandë, containing the Blue Eye and the ancient site of Phoenice.
Historic site
Fortress of Bashtovë
A rare rectangular lowland fortress built by Venice to guard a river port on the Shkumbin.
Town
Fushë-Arrëz
A small timber and mining town in the northern highlands.
Town
Fushë-Krujë
The industrial town on the plain below Krujë, and the site of Albania's largest cement works.
Beach
General Beach (Plazhi i Gjeneralit)
A sheltered arc on the Rodon cape, below Skanderbeg's coastal castle.
Beach
Gjipe Beach
A pebble beach at the mouth of a limestone canyon, reachable only on foot or by boat.
Canyon
Gjipe Canyon
A narrow limestone slot that meets the sea at Gjipe beach — the Riviera's one true canyon.
City
Gjirokastër
The 'stone city': slate-roofed tower houses on a steep slope beneath one of the Balkans' largest castles.
Historic site
Gjirokastër Castle
One of the largest castles in the Balkans, holding an artillery gallery and a captured US aircraft.
County
Gjirokastër County
The southern mountain county of the Drino and Vjosa valleys, with a UNESCO stone city.
Village
Golem
The busiest stretch of the central sandy coast, immediately south of Durrës.
Beach
Golem and Mali i Robit
The continuation of the Durrës sand south past Qerret and Mali i Robit.
Beach
Grama Bay
A remote bay on the Karaburun peninsula whose cliffs carry Greek and Latin inscriptions cut by ancient sailors.
Town
Gramsh
A mountain town on the Devoll river, once the site of a large arms plant.
Waterfall
Grunas Waterfall
A 25–30 m fall in the Theth valley, and a declared natural monument.
Town
Himarë
The centre of the Riviera coast: a Greek-speaking historical community, an old hill village and a string of coves.
Historic site
House of Leaves
The former headquarters of the Sigurimi's technical surveillance branch, kept as it was found.
Beach
Jal Beach
Two adjacent pebble coves below Vuno, long a summer-camping spot for young Albanians.
Beach
Kakome Bay
A deep, clear bay north of Sarandë, long the subject of a contested development.
Town
Kamëz
A city on Tirana's northern edge that grew almost entirely from internal migration after 1991.
Protected area
Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park
Albania's only marine national park: sea caves, wrecks and the country's clearest water.
Lake
Karavasta Lagoon
The largest lagoon in Albania and the western Balkans' main breeding site for the Dalmatian pelican.
Town
Kavajë
A market town behind the Adriatic dunes, near the wide beaches of Golem and Spille.
Town
Klos
A Mat-valley town on the road between Burrel and the eastern mountains.
Town
Konispol
Albania's southernmost town, on the Greek border near the Butrint wetlands.
Town
Koplik
The seat of Malësi e Madhe, at the foot of the Alps near the Montenegrin border.
City
Korçë
The highland city of serenades, the first Albanian-language school, and the country's oldest brewery.
County
Korçë County
A high south-eastern plateau of lakes and orchards, with a distinct café and brewing culture.
Beach
Krorëz Beach
One of the least-developed larger coves on the southern Riviera.
Town
Krujë
Skanderbeg's mountain stronghold, an old bazaar street, and the national museum of the resistance.
Historic site
Krujë Castle
Skanderbeg's base, which held out against three Ottoman sieges and now houses the national museum of the resistance.
Town
Krumë
The seat of Has municipality in the north-eastern hills near Kosovo.
Town
Ksamil
Four small islands and very clear shallow water; the most photographed and most crowded stretch of the Albanian coast.
Beach
Ksamil Beaches
Shallow, very clear water and four low islets a short swim offshore.
Town
Kukës
A town rebuilt above a reservoir in the 1970s, and the northern end of the Nation's Road.
County
Kukës County
The north-eastern highlands on the Kosovo border, the gateway to the Valbona valley.
Airport
Kukës International Airport
A small northern airport that opened to commercial flights in 2021, mainly serving the diaspora.
Protected area
Kune-Vain Nature Reserve
Lagoons, pine and one of Albania's few surviving coastal alluvial forests, beside Shëngjin.
Town
Kuçovë
An oil town and air base, called Qyteti Stalin from 1950 to 1990.
Town
Këlcyrë
A town at the mouth of the Këlcyrë gorge on the Vjosa.
Lake
Lake Koman
A 34 km reservoir in a gorge so narrow the ferry crossing is treated as a scenic journey in its own right.
Lake
Lake Ohrid
One of Europe's oldest and deepest lakes, UNESCO-listed and home to species found nowhere else.
Lake
Lake Prespa
A high tectonic lake where Albania, Greece and North Macedonia meet, draining underground into Ohrid.
Lake
Lake Shkodër
The largest lake in southern Europe, shared with Montenegro and a major bird wintering ground.
Beach
Lalzit Bay
A pine-backed sand bay north of Durrës that has become Albania's main resort-property zone.
Town
Laç
An industrial town and the site of the Saint Anthony pilgrimage church at Shëngjin i Vogël.
Town
Lezhë
Where the Albanian princes swore their 1444 league, and where Skanderbeg is buried.
County
Lezhë County
A short northern coast of lagoons and pine, backed by the copper country of Mirditë.
Town
Libohovë
A hill town below a castle built by Ali Pasha for his sister, opposite Gjirokastër.
Town
Librazhd
A Shkumbin-valley town at the gate of Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park.
Village
Lin
A peninsula village on Lake Ohrid with a 6th-century basilica floor mosaic and a prehistoric pile settlement.
Historic site
Lin Basilica Mosaics
Floor mosaics of birds and vines from a hilltop basilica above Lake Ohrid.
Beach
Livadhi Beach
The broad bay immediately south of Himarë, the most developed beach on that stretch.
Protected area
Llogara National Park
A pine-forested pass at 1,027 m where the road drops from mountain forest to the Ionian in a few kilometres.
Beach
Lukovë and Bunec
A run of small coves — Bunec, Krorëz and Shpella — below the village of Lukovë.
Protected area
Lurë-Dejë Mountain National Park
A cluster of small glacial lakes among black pine on the Lurë ridge, badly damaged by logging and slowly recovering.
Town
Lushnjë
An agricultural centre on the Myzeqe plain, and the site of the 1920 congress that saved Albanian statehood.
Mountain
Maja Jezercë
At 2,694 m the highest peak entirely inside the Dinaric Alps, deep in the Albanian Alps.
Mountain
Maja e Çikës
The 2,045 m high point of the Ceraunian ridge, directly above the Riviera coast.
Town
Maliq
A town on a drained marsh plain, built around a sugar refinery in the 1950s.
Historic site
Marubi National Museum of Photography
The archive of the Balkans' oldest photographic studio — about 500,000 negatives from 1858 onward.
Town
Memaliaj
A former coal-mining town in the Vjosa valley.
Historic site
Mesi Bridge
A 108 m, thirteen-arch packhorse bridge over the Kir north-east of Shkodër.
Beach
Mirror Beach (Pasqyrat)
Rock shelves and a small pebble strip where the water is unusually still.
Mountain
Mount Dajti
Tirana's own mountain: 1,613 m, a national park, and a 4.2 km cable car from the city edge.
Mountain
Mount Korab
At 2,764 m the highest point in both Albania and North Macedonia, on the border ridge.
Mountain
Mount Tomorr
A 2,416 m massif above Berat, and the site of an annual Bektashi pilgrimage each August.
Lake
Narta Lagoon
Albania's second-largest lagoon, with working saltpans and the island monastery of Zvërnec.
Historic site
National History Museum
Albania's principal museum, under the Skanderbeg Square mosaic mural known as 'The Albanians'.
Town
Orikum
A marina town at the foot of Llogara, beside the ancient harbour of Oricum.
Canyon
Osum Canyon
A 26 km limestone gorge up to 80 m deep, run by raft in spring and walked in late summer.
Beach
Palasë Beach
The first Riviera beach south of the Llogara pass, below the road's most dramatic descent.
Town
Patos
The centre of the Patos-Marinza field, the largest onshore oil field in continental Europe.
Town
Peqin
A small town on the Shkumbin at a crossing point used since Roman times.
Town
Peshkopi
The seat of Dibër County, known for thermal springs and the high pastures below Mount Korab.
Historic site
Petrelë Castle
A small triangular castle on a wooded crag above the Erzen, half an hour from Tirana.
Town
Pogradec
A lakeside town on Ohrid, a UNESCO natural and cultural site shared with North Macedonia.
Town
Poliçan
A small town below Mount Tomorr built around a former arms factory.
Port
Port of Durrës
The country's main commercial and passenger port, handling the large majority of Albanian seaborne trade.
Port
Port of Sarandë
A small passenger port whose Corfu crossings are the busiest sea route into southern Albania.
Port
Port of Shëngjin
A small northern cargo port beside the resort beach.
Port
Port of Vlorë
Albania's second passenger port, with a seasonal fast link to Brindisi.
Beach
Porto Palermo Bay
A near-enclosed bay wrapped around Ali Pasha's triangular fortress on its own peninsula.
Historic site
Porto Palermo Castle
A triangular fortress on a causeway peninsula, built for Ali Pasha of Tepelena.
Beach
Potami Beach
A compact bay just north of Himarë, backed by cliffs and olive slopes.
Protected area
Prespa National Park
The Albanian share of a three-country park around the Great and Small Prespa lakes.
Historic site
Prezë Castle
A compact hill castle between Tirana and the airport, with a view over the whole plain.
Town
Prrenjas
A former nickel-mining town on the road to Lake Ohrid.
Town
Pukë
A forested highland town on the old road north, at about 830 m.
Beach
Pulëbardha Beach
A small cove between Sarandë and Ksamil, reached by a rough track.
Town
Pustec
A lakeside municipality on Lake Prespa with a recognised Macedonian minority.
Town
Përmet
A small Vjosa-side town known for its fruit preserves, thermal baths and polyphonic singing.
Village
Qeparo
A half-abandoned upper village of stone houses above a quiet shingle bay.
Beach
Radhimë Beach
The sheltered eastern shore of the Bay of Vlorë, facing the Karaburun peninsula.
Town
Roskovec
A small agricultural town in the Fier oil and farming belt.
Historic site
Rozafa Castle
The rock fortress above the meeting of three rivers, and the setting of Albania's best-known legend.
Town
Rrogozhinë
A junction town on the Shkumbin near the Bashtovë fortress and the Spille beaches.
Town
Rrëshen
The seat of Mirditë, historic centre of Albania's copper mining region.
City
Sarandë
The Ionian resort town facing Corfu, and the arrival point for most visitors to southern Albania.
Town
Selenicë
A bitumen-mining town inland from Vlorë, worked since antiquity.
Protected area
Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park
Old-growth beech forest on the North Macedonian border, part of a UNESCO-listed primeval forest network.
Town
Shijak
A market town between Durrës and Tirana with a long-established Roma and Egyptian community.
City
Shkodër
The cultural capital of the north: a lake, a fortress, a bicycle city and a Catholic heartland.
County
Shkodër County
The north-west: the largest lake in southern Europe, the Albanian Alps and the Drin gorge.
Town
Shëngjin
A northern beach resort and small commercial port backed by the Kune-Vain pine lagoons.
Beach
Shëngjin Beach
The main northern resort beach, with the Kune-Vain pine and lagoon reserve alongside.
Historic site
Skanderbeg Museum
The museum of the 15th-century resistance, built inside Krujë Castle by Enver Hoxha's daughter and son-in-law.
Beach
Spille Beach
A quieter sand beach south of Kavajë, backed by farmland rather than hotels.
Town
Tepelenë
Ali Pasha's birthplace, at the confluence of the Vjosa and the Drino.
Mountain range
The Albanian Alps
The limestone wall of the far north — locally the Accursed Mountains — shared with Montenegro and Kosovo.
Spring
The Blue Eye
A karst spring of extraordinary clarity whose bottom has never been definitively reached.
River
The Buna
The short outflow of Lake Shkodër, and Albania's only navigable river.
Historic site
The Churches of Voskopojë
Six surviving basilicas of a town that once rivalled any city in the Balkans, covered inside with frescoes.
River
The Drin
Albania's longest river and the backbone of its electricity system, dammed three times in the north.
River
The Osum
The river that carved the Osum canyon and runs through the middle of Berat.
Historic site
The Pyramid of Tirana
Built as Enver Hoxha's mausoleum-museum, later a nightclub and NATO base, reopened in 2023 as a youth technology…
River
The Shala River
A tributary of the Drin above Koman, reached by boat and often called Albania's Thailand.
River
The Shkumbin
The river that splits Albania in two — the historic dividing line between Gheg and Tosk.
River
The Vjosa
One of the last large free-flowing rivers in Europe, declared a Wild River National Park in March 2023.
Village
![Title: A chief of Thethi, Tribe of Shale [i.e. Shala], Albania Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.](/static/img/thumbs/theth-4.jpg)
Theth
A glacial valley village in the Albanian Alps: a lock-in tower, a waterfall, and one end of the country's best-known…
Protected area
Theth National Park
The glacial valley park at the heart of the Albanian Alps, merged into a wider protected complex in 2022.
City
Tirana
The capital: a fast-changing city of painted blocks, Ottoman survivals and new towers, under Mount Dajti.
Airport
Tirana International Airport
Albania's principal airport, 17 km north-west of Tirana — for years the country's only functioning civil airport.
County
Tiranë County
The capital county: roughly a third of the country's people, its jobs and its universities.
Beach
Uji i Ftohtë
Vlorë's own beach quarter, named for the cold springs that surface there.
Town
Ura Vajgurore
A market town on the Osum in the Berat plain.
Protected area
Valbona Valley National Park
A broad U-shaped glacial valley of white gravel and beech forest under the Alps' highest peaks.
Village
Valbonë
A wide white riverbed under 2,500 m peaks; the eastern end of the Theth trek.
Town
Vau i Dejës
The town beside the lowest dam of the Drin cascade, east of Shkodër.
Village
Velipojë
A wide, shallow sand beach at the Buna river mouth, with a protected lagoon reserve.
Beach
Velipojë Beach
A very shallow, wide sand beach at the Buna delta, beside a protected lagoon.
Protected area
Vjosa Wild River National Park
Declared in March 2023, Europe's first national park built around a whole free-flowing river system.
Airport
Vlora International Airport
A new airport under construction on the Narta lagoon edge, intended to serve the southern coast.
City
Vlorë
Where the Adriatic meets the Ionian, and where Albanian independence was declared in 1912.
County
Vlorë County
The long southern coast: the Albanian Riviera, the Karaburun peninsula and the Corfu channel.
Town
Vorë
A road and rail junction between Tirana, Durrës and the airport.
Village
Voskopojë
In the 18th century one of the largest towns in the Balkans; today a village of frescoed churches.
Village
Vuno
A steep stone village between Dhërmi and Himarë, above Jal and Gjipe.
Town
Çorovodë
The seat of Skrapar municipality and the base for the Osum canyon.