Albania
Albania offers pristine mountain landscapes, a long Adriatic coastline with stunning sandy beaches, vibrant cities, and a rich cultural heritage spanning antiquity, the Ottoman era, and the socialist period. Ideal for tours, nature and cultural programs – and still a hidden gem on the European market.
Official language
Albanian
Capital city
Tirana
Form of government
republic
Area
28,748 km²
population
2,402,113
(2023 Census)
currency
Lek
independence
November 28, 1912
telephone area code
+355
UNESCO World Heritage
Butrint
Advisor
Gjirokaster
Lumi i Gashit
Lake Ohrid
Albania's coast – unspoiled, vast, surprising
The Albanian coast stretches for over 450 kilometers along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas – between tranquil lagoons, bright rocky bays and long sandy beaches.
What is often overlooked on the map turns out to be a real contrast to the Mediterranean mainstream.
In the north, wide sandy beaches near Durrës and Golem dominate the landscape – lively, developed, ideal for classic beach programs, but also for tours of the locations.
In the middle lies the Karavasta Lagoon, a nature reserve with flamingos, pine forests and tranquil waterways – the largest coastal lagoon in Albania and one of the largest in the Mediterranean.
And in the south it begins: the Albanian Riviera – a narrow, mountainous coastal strip between Vlora and Saranda, where rugged rocks meet turquoise waters.
The 1,000-meter-high Llogara Pass is the gateway to this spectacular landscape – with views that one would otherwise expect to find in New Zealand or Greece.
Here you can still find them: beaches without rows of sun umbrellas, bays without concrete, water that seems almost unrealistically clear in the off-season.
Albania's World Heritage – History under the open sky
Albania is a young travel destination – with an exceptionally long history.
Anyone walking through the country's archaeological sites today is moving through millennia of European cultural history – sometimes almost alone.
The ancient city of Apollonia, once a Greek colony and later a flourishing Roman center, lies scattered across a gentle hill not far from Fier. Among theaters, colonnades, and temple ruins, one is immersed in a bygone world – completely without barriers or crowds – it is no wonder that Apollonia is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Butrint lies in the far southwest, picturesquely situated on a peninsula in the lake of the same name.
Greek, Roman, and early Christian remains, an amphitheater, baths, basilicas, and Byzantine mosaics combine here to form a cultural palimpsest. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, Butrint is a place of quiet, impressive beauty, with views of the island of Corfu nearby.
The second UNESCO gem is Gjirokastra, a city like a stone relief: narrow streets, high roofs, Ottoman houses, all built of slate and rock. It is also called the "City of Stone"—and anyone who visits understands why: Gjirokastra is history that you touch, not just look at.
It wasn't until 2008 that the fascinating city of Berat was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Considered one of the best-preserved examples of an Ottoman cityscape, it is renowned for its typical white houses, mosques, and churches. It is also known as the "City of a Thousand Windows." Between the Mangalem and Gorica districts, separated by the Osum River and connected by a historic stone bridge, unfolds a panorama that has evolved over centuries – and remains vibrant to this day.
In 2019, the existing World Heritage Site of the Ohrid Region, encompassing both natural and cultural heritage, was expanded on the North Macedonian side to include the Albanian portion of the lake – a tranquil, powerful landscape where nature and history converge. In the village of Lin, floor mosaics from an early Christian basilica attest to the region's religious significance. Lake Ohrid itself is one of the oldest lakes in the world, its waters clear and deep, its biodiversity unique. Beneath the surface lie traces of prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements – relics from a time when civilization was just beginning to take shape.
Nature experience Albania – Wilderness with a panoramic view
Albanian nature surprises with its power – and with its silence. Those who travel north to the rugged, almost dramatic Albanian Alps encounter a landscape that still seems untouched – raw, clear, authentic.
The heart of this region is the Theth Valley, nestled between peaks that soar over 2,700 meters into the sky. A national park with clear rivers, alpine meadows, ancient stone houses, and an atmosphere that can only be truly understood by experiencing it firsthand, not through guidebooks.
Theth isn't a place for big names – but for hidden gems. Hiking groups find ideally developed terrain for day hikes and multi-day tours, mountain bikers follow old shepherds' trails, and photographers lose themselves in the light. What remains is the impression of a landscape that doesn't need to be staged to have an impact. It's simply there – and anyone who enters it quickly understands: Here, Europe is still wild.
