Guide to Gjirokaster

By Ellen (Updated Jan 22)

⏱ 5 min

Gjirokaster was one of my favorite stops during our 10-day trip through Albania, as the charm of its little old town drew me in immediately. It is an old Ottoman-era city, famous for its traditional stone houses that are built upon a hill. It’s a cultural city and was declared a UNESCO site in 2005, stating that the town’s architecture is one of the most representative of the Ottoman era. There’s a wealth of Albanian history that you can learn here.

How many days do you need in Gjirokaster?

1 – 2 days should be enough. We only spent one night, arriving midday giving enough time to have lunch, dinner, explore the old town and the famous Gjirokaster Castle.

How to get to Gjirokaster in Albania

In our case, we moved by car 🚗 so we can’t provide bus information. We drove from Himare on the Albania Riviera, to Gjirokaster, which took about 2 h and 20 min.

From the main cities, the distance and driving time is:

• Sandara: 55 km / 1 h 18 min
• Vlore: 130 km / 1 h 50 min
• Tirana: 233 km / 3 h 09 min

As we will share in future posts, we consider the driving time insane for these distances, and this is one of the things we disliked the most about Albania. If you’re traveling from the south, stop at the Blue Eye on your way (but make sure to go early in the morning if you want to avoid a crowd!)

Basic info about Gjirokaster

Gjirokaster’s history dates back to the IV century AD, and in 1417, it was conquered by the Ottoman army and ruled over for five centuries. The city reached its peak in the 17th century.

It’s known as the “Stone City” because the majority of houses and buildings were built from stone and the streets of cobblestone. This gives the city an appearance of being a fortress itself, built into the side of Gjerë mountain. At the center of the city, is the Bazaar which you can still visit and stroll around in today.

In 1912 during the First Balkan War, Gjirokaster was seized by Greece. Then, between 1939-1944 it was occupied by Italians, Greeks, and then the Germans in World War II. Shortly after WWII, the Albanian Communist Party took over, and its leader Enver Hoxha was born in Gjirokaster in 1908.

What to Do and See in Gjirokaster

Gjirokaster Castle/fortress

The Gjirokaster Castle is probably the most famous and important place to see in Gjirokaster. It is one of the oldest castles in the Balkans, and Albania’s second-largest. It’s technically a fortress, overlooking the valley and old town below. To get there, it’s just a short walk from the old town center.

I suggest at least an hour to see the entire grounds which feature an old clock tower. I think we took a bit longer, snapping photos along the way while enjoying the vast views of the valley below. The castle is well-maintained for tourism and has a decent amount of information on signs to read.

For an additional fee, you can visit a weapons museum inside the area of the castle which used to be a prison. The museum displays Albanian arms used from 1912 to the end of World War II.

Below is entrance information, but check the website for the most up-to-date info.

• Entrance for individuals: 400 Albanian Lek/4 euros
• Entrance for groups: 300 Albanian Leke
• Open Hours: year round (April to September 09:00 to 19:00, October to March 09:00 to 17:00 )

Wander through old town

One of the highlights is wandering through the old town. It’s quite small so it doesn’t take long but is a nice activity for a relaxing afternoon/evening. The old town has tons of character with its cobblestone streets and stone houses and shops. Here you will find plenty of tourist souvenir shops, artisan products, cafes, restaurants, and so on.

Eat Albanian food in Gjirokaster

Albanian food is delicious! We loved it. It has hints of Greek and Italian influence, and one of Roberto’s favorites was the feta cheese (apparently some of the best feta he’s ever had was in Albania.) I would HIGHLY recommend the place we had lunch: Restaurant Traditional Odaja. It’s a family-run restaurant serving delicious, homemade, food that makes you feel like you’re eating at grandma’s house. Service was also good (which to be honest, isn’t the case in all restaurants in Albania). We loved the traditional dishes of meatballs in tomato sauce, stuffed peppers, and pasticho.

The place we had dinner was also good: KUJTIMI

Where to stay in Gjirokaster

There are plenty of places to stay in Gjirokaster, but I would recommend finding a place in the old town for convenience. The best things to do in Gjirokaster are in the old town. We stayed at Hotel Fantasy and it was okay. The location was perfect, and the breakfast was delicious and filling. The only issue we had there is that the parking wasn’t very clear, so we had to call and get assistance from the hotel but the staff was very helpful.

I know there are other popular things to do in Gjirokaster, such as visiting the insides of old traditional houses, the Bazaar Mosque, the Ethnographic Museum, an old Cold War tunnel, and more. We only like to recommend things that we’ve actually done on our trips, so we can’t recommend those places ourselves. If you have time though, get adventurous and consider looking into visiting some more places in Gjirokaster.

Traveling to Albania? Check more of our other posts