Explore Gjirokaster - Full-Day Tour

Visiting Gjirokaster is a source of pleasure for many people. Just like the older medieval cities Gjirokaster offers an amazing old town, worth to be visited by everyone who loves historical sites. That's why it has been under UNESCO protection since 2005. Located in southern Albania, still, a wild territory, where you can find many activities to do. From the Gjirokaster castle, you can see the beautiful surroundings of the area and landscapes that will stay in your head for a long time.

Gjirokaster is a medium-sized city situated 300 metres above sea level. It is a very rich territory from a naturalistic point of view, with the Rrezoma Nature Reserve and the 1800 metre high Mount Gjere to protect the valley. As we make our way there, you can enjoy the incredible views that the landscape has to offer.

The main highlight of Gjirokaster is its old town where the houses reflect the architecture of the old ottoman style. After arriving in Gjirokaster, we will visit the old town. It's a real gem, the best preserved Ottoman old town in the Balkans. The locals call it a bazaar and indeed there is a real market in the old town. Here you can find merchants of fabrics, souvenirs, rugs, but also many cafes and restaurants in the best Albanian tradition.

We will continue with a visit to the Gjirokastra Castle, built in the XII century. The castle is located on a steep hill and it is better to arrive here by car. The weather in Gjirokaster provides rather high temperatures during the summer days. This fortress has existed since 1200 BC but owes its present form to the renovation commissioned in the 19th century by Ali Pasha Tepelena. There, you will find a museum showing military objects and monuments dedicated to the resistance of the Albanian partisans against the German Nazis. It is an interesting example of a weapons museum built in 1971 for propagandistic purposes. With this tour, you will find out how culture was used to show the Albanian people that Western world superpowers would never be able to conquer the country. The exhibition itinerary in this regard also includes a US Air Force plane, captured during the years of the communist regime (1945-1990). It will also be possible to visit the prisons, used during the communist regime to imprison opponents.Continuing the tour you will see the defensive towers, the clock tower, the church, and the cistern. The open spaces are also very beautiful, and it is not a coincidence that this place houses the Gjirokastër national folklore festival every year.

During the rest of the day, you will explore the city starting with Qafa e Bazaar’s neighbourhood. You will learn about the nicknames that this city has: The City of Silver, the City of a Thousand Steps and the City of Stone, to name but a few. Different people and cultures followed each other here and called the city in their own way. The most used nickname is “the city of silver”, it is called so because of the castle, “the silver castle". After raining, the roofs of the houses made of stone shined bright so that they can be compared with silver. The big stones that were used as tiles identify the city, as it was described by Ismail Kadare in his novel - "The city of stone".

During your visit to the antique village of Qafa e Bazaar, you will walk along the old, cobbled streets and the local artisan shops. Don't miss Skenduli House, an Ottoman villa dating from 1700, very well preserved in both structure and design. Skenduli House is located in the Old Bazaar area. Among the ottoman houses, you will also find the house of the great Albanian writer Ismail Kadare and the house of Enver Hoxha, the Albanian politician who ruled from 1944 to 1985, that is now the Gjirokaster ethnographical Museum (optional visit, ticket not included).