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Albania

Albania

Continent

Europe

Best States to Visit

  • Tirana
  • Berat
  • Durrës

Best Cities to Visit

  • Durres
  • Vlora
  • Saranda
  • Shkodra
  • Berat

Size

28,748 KM2

Population

2,845,955

GDP

$14,799,600,000

Spending Budget

$602 - $1,400

Famous For

  • Affordable Food
  • Petroleum and Natural Gas Reserves

Best Time to Visit

  • January
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • September

History

Albania has been inhabited by different civilisations over time, such as the Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans. The Albanians established the autonomous Principality of Arbër in the 12th century. The Kingdom of Albania and Principality of Albania formed between the 13th and 14th centuries. Prior to the Ottoman conquest of Albania in the 15th century, the Albanian resistance to Ottoman expansion into Europe led by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg won them acclaim over most of Europe. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, cultural developments, widely attributed to Albanians having gathered both spiritual and intellectual strength, conclusively led to the Albanian Renaissance. The Revolutions of 1991 concluded the fall of communism in Albania and eventually the establishment of the current Republic of Albania.

Present Day

Albania displays varied climatic, geological, hydrological, and morphological conditions. It possesses significant diversity with the landscape ranging from the snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps to the hot and sunny coasts of the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea along the Mediterranean Sea. Albania provides universal health care and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. It is an official candidate for membership in the European Union. It is one of the founding members of the Energy Community, including the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and Union for the Mediterranean.

Future

Albania is implementing important structural reforms that will support equitable growth, raise productivity and competitiveness in the economy, create more jobs, and improve governance and public service delivery. Enhanced regional connectivity and access to regional and global markets, coupled with export and market diversification, can also help promote faster growth. The Government of Albania has been working on a broad-based reform program focused on macroeconomic and fiscal sustainability, financial sector stabilization, energy reform, social assistance and disability reform, and territorial decentralization.
Must Visit Places ------------

Albanian Riviera

The Albanian Riviera, also popularly known as Bregu, is a coastline along the Northeastern Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean Sea encompassing the districts of Sarandë and Vlorë in Southwestern Albania. The area is a major nightlife, ecotourist, and elite retreat destination in Albania. It features traditional Mediterranean villages, ancient castles, underwater fauna, caves, and orange, lemon, and olive groves. The area has been host to several international music festivals, while becoming known for its long standing nightclubs such as Havana Beach Club near Dhermi and recently opened Folie Marine in Jale beach.

Bunk'Art

This fantastic conversion – from a massive Cold War bunker on the outskirts of Tirana into a history and contemporary art museum – is Albania's most exciting new sight and easily a Tirana highlight. With almost 3000 sq metres of space underground spread over several floors, the bunker was built for Albania's political elite in the 1970s and remained a secret for much of its existence. Now it hosts exhibits that combine the modern history of Albania with pieces of contemporary art.

Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër is a city and municipality in southern Albania, in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea level. Its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, described as "a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estates". Many houses in Gjirokastër have a distinctive local style that has earned the city the nickname "City of Stone", because most of the old houses have roofs covered with flat dressed stones.

Berat

Berat is a city on the Osum River, in central Albania. It's known for its white Ottoman houses. On a hilltop, Berat Castle is a huge compound now inhabited by townspeople. Within its walls are Byzantine churches, the Red Mosque and the Onufri National Museum, with Christian icons. East is the Ethnographic Museum, in an 18th-century house, displaying traditional crafts and part of a reconstructed medieval bazaar. Berat, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, comprises a unique style of architecture with influences from several civilizations that have managed to coexist for centuries throughout the history.

Kruje

Krujë is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana. Krujë was inhabited by the ancient Illyrian tribe of the Albani. The museums of Krujë include the Skanderbeg Museum, located in the environs of the Krujë Castle, and the national ethnographic museum.

Porto Palermo Castle

Porto Palermo Castle is a castle near Himarë in southern Albania. It is situated in the bay of Porto Palermo, a few kilometers south of Himarë along the Albanian Riviera. Huffington Post ranked Porto Palermo first among 15 Undiscovered European Destinations for 2014. The area together with Llamani beach will be proclaimed a protected area holding the status of Protected Landscape by the Albanian Government.

Saranda

Sarandë is a resort on the Albanian Riviera, in southern Albania. Sandwiched between the Ionian Sea and hills of olive groves, the town is on a horseshoe-shaped bay, edged by beaches and a promenade. In the center are the archaeological remains of a 5th-century synagogue, later an early Christian basilica. Intricate floor mosaics are still evident. The 16th-century Lëkurësi Castle is on a hilltop above the town.

Theth

Theth is a small village within Shkodër County, Albania. Following the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Shkodër, and has been declared a Protected Historic Center by the Albanian Government. The community is at the centre of the Theth National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Apart from the lock-in tower, other attractions include spectacular waterfalls, a working watermill (still used to grind the local inhabitants' corn) and a modest ethnographic museum. There are now two projects working in the vicinity, aiming at improving and helping the tourist infrastructure in the area.

Karaburun Peninsula

The Karaburun Peninsula is a peninsula of the Mediterranean Sea located in Southern and Southeastern Europe, which is almost completely surrounded by both the Adriatic Sea to the north and the Ionian Sea to the south. The most characteristic feature of the island is its unique climate. The Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park contains diverse landforms offering favourable conditions for a great vegetation and biodiversity.

Llogara Pass

The Llogara Pass is a high mountain pass within the Ceraunian Mountains along the Albanian Riviera. It connects the Dukat Valley in the north with Himarë in the south. Orikum is the nearest city on the northern side of the pass and the village of Dhërmi in the south. The Llogara National Park features outstanding diversity with the landscape ranging from the alpine peaks of the Ceraunian Mountains covered with snow in winter to the sunny Albanian Ionian Sea Coast in summer.

Korca

Korçë is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania. The area of the Old Bazaar, including Mirahori Mosque, is considered as the urban core of the city. Founded by a local Ottoman Albanian lord, Ilias Bey Mirahori, the urban area of Korçë dates back to the late 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, however its actual physiognomy was realized in the 19th century, during a period that corresponds with the rapid growth and development of the city. The Old Bazaar has played a dominant role in Albania's market history. Korçë is the largest city of eastern Albania and an important cultural and industrial centre.

Syri I Kalter

The "Blue Eye" is a water spring and natural phenomenon occurring near the village of Muzinë in Finiq municipality, southern Albania. A popular tourist attraction, the clear blue water of the river can be seen from a depth of more than fifty metres. Divers have descended to fifty metres, but it is still unclear what the actual depth of the karst hole is. The immediate area is a Nature Monument and is characterized by oak and sycamore trees. In summer 2004, the source was temporarily dried up.

Valbona Valley National Park

The Valbona Valley National Park is a national park inside the Albanian Alps in northern Albania. The park encompasses Valbona River and its surrounding areas with mountainous terrain, alpine landscapes, glacial springs, deep depressions, various rock formations, waterfalls and the Valbona Valley with its dense coniferous and deciduous forest. It is characterized by its very remote areas which have a large preserved ecosystem all of which is primarily untouched with pristine quality. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centrepiece of what has been referred to as the Albanian Miracle of the Alps.

Butrint

Butrint was an ancient Greek and later Roman city and bishopric in Epirus. In modern times it is an archeological site in Vlorë County. It is located on a hill overlooking the Vivari Channel and is part of the Butrint National Park. Today Bouthrotum is a Latin Catholic titular see and also features the Ali Pasha Castle. The city is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Albania. On the strength of the immense wealth of cultural, historical and natural value with a considerable history, Butrint was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992 and further a National Park in 2000.

Pogradec

Pogradec is the eleventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a narrow plain between two mountain chains along the southwestern banks of the Lake of Ohrid. Its climate is profoundly influenced by a seasonal Mediterranean and Continental climate. Pogradec and its surroundings were listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as part of the natural and cultural heritage of the region of Ohrid. Nevertheless, the Illyrian Royal Tombs is on the Albanian tentative list for becoming a World Heritage Site.

Dardha

Dardhë is a community in the former municipality of Drenovë in Korçë County, Albania. After local government reform in 2015, it became part of the municipality Korçë and a well known ski area of Albania since the 1920s. In 2012, the first ever ski tow in Albania was opened at Bigell Ski Resort near Dardhë. In the past years, it has become a destination mainly for internal tourism by rich Albanians, creating jobs for Dardhë residents.

Lake Koman

Lake Koman is a reservoir on the Drin River in northern Albania. Lake Koman is surrounded by dense forested hills, vertical slopes, deep gorges, and a narrow valley, completely taken up by the river. Besides the Drin, it is fed by the Shala and Valbona Rivers. The narrowest gorge, which is surrounded by vertical canyon walls, is more than 50 m wide. The reservoir was constructed between 1979 and 1988 near the village of Koman with a height of 115 m. The combination of specific topography and hydrological conditions have contributed to the formation of different habitats.

Shkodra

Shkodër is the fifth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality and county. It is one of the most ancient cities in the Balkans and exerts strong cultural, economic and religious influences in Northern Albania. Its location has been of strategic importance throughout its history. It has often helped the city to its wealth or made it the subject of conflicts between foreign powers.

Apollonia

Apollonia was an Ancient Greek trade colony which developed into an independent polis, and later a Roman city in southern Illyria in classical antiquity. Its ruins are situated in the county of Fier, close to the village of Pojan. It was home to a renowned school of philosophy, acquiring fame as a cultural center, and by the end of the Republican period it became a major center of Greek learning.

Dhermi

Dhërm is a village in the municipality of Himarë. The village lies 42 kilometers south of the city of Vlorë and about the same distance north of the southern city of Sarandë. It is built on a slope of the Ceraunian Mountains at approximately 200 meters in altitude, and comprises three neighborhoods. The mountains descend to the southwest into the Ionian coast and Corfu in the distance to the south. Nearby is the village of Palasë. The inhabitants of Dhërmi mainly speak a variant of the Greek Himariote dialect, characterized by archaic features not retained in standard Greek. Recently, the coastal area has seen a boom in the construction of accommodation facilities, such as wooden villa complexes.

Durres

Durrës is a port city on the Adriatic Sea in western Albania, west of the capital, Tirana. It’s known for its huge Roman amphitheater. Nearby is a 9th-century church with mosaic-covered walls. The Archaeological Museum displays pieces from the Greek, Hellenistic and Roman periods. Broad Durrësi Beach has shallow waters. Nearby is the former summer villa of 20th-century King Zog.

Himare

Himarë is a bilingual town in Southern Albania along the Albanian Riviera and part of Vlorë County. It is the largest settlement and the seat of the municipality of Himarë. Both the town and municipality are populated predominantly by an ethnic Greek community. While its beaches and peaceful seaside promenade are what most people come for, the historic old town is lovely to wander around; its atmospheric tavernas are full of Mediterranean charm and delicious local seafood.

Tirana

Tirana, the capital of Albania, is known for its colorful Ottoman-, Fascist- and Soviet-era architecture. Pastel buildings surround the city's focal point, Skanderbeg Square, which is named for its equestrian statue of a national hero. On the square's north end is the modernist National History Museum, covering prehistoric times through Communist rule and the anti-Communist uprisings of the 1990s.

Ksamil Islands

The Islets of Ksamil consist of four rocky islets located in the direct proximity to the Ionian Sea in Southern Albania. The village of Ksamil, after whom the islets are named, is located to the east of the islets. Furthermore, the islands are situated within the boundaries of the Butrint National Park.

Qeparo

Qeparo is a seaside village in the municipality of Himara in Vlorë County, Albania. It is part of the Albanian Riviera. It is divided in two parts – the old and new villages. The village has an Orthodox Church dedicated to Saint Demetrius, dated 1760, one of the nine churches in Albania dedicated to that saint. Two hotels and a few guesthouses serve the tourists' enjoyment of the small beaches.