Best of Inland Albania: Tirana Capital, Berat UNESCO 1000 Windows, Gjirokaster UNESCO Stone City, Shkoder Lake, Kruja Skanderbeg & Albanian Heritage, A 2026 First-Person Guide
Browse more guides: Albania travel | Europe destinations Best of Inland Albania: Tirana Capital, Berat UNESCO 1000 Windows, Gjirokaster UNESCO Stone City, Shkoder Lake, Kruja Skanderbeg & Albanian Heritage, A 2026 First-Person Guide I have spent the last few seasons crossing the Western Balkans on foot, by intercity bus and behind the wheel of small rental hatchbacks that struggle with steep cobblestones. Albania kept pulling me back. Most travelers I meet still talk only about the Albanian Riviera between Vlore and Saranda, a strip I covered in detail in my earlier block 47 coastal guide. That ribbon of beaches is beautiful, but it is not the whole country. The real story of Albania, the part that makes me want to extend every trip by another week, lives inland. It lives in the cobbled lanes of Berat where one thousand windows stare back at the Osum River. It lives inside the cold concrete of 173,000 Hoxha era bunkers that still freckle the countryside. It lives in Gjirokaster...