Gjirokaster: The Stone City on the Hillside

A UNESCO listed Ottoman town of slate roofed tower houses climbing a mountainside, with a castle on top and a bazaar street through the middle.

by Theo Hart · Updated 18 March 2026

Gjirokaster is built out of the mountain it stands on. Several hundred Ottoman era tower houses of grey stone with slate roofs climb the hillside in tiers below an enormous castle, connected by cobbled lanes and stone stairways, and from a distance the whole town reads as an extension of the rock. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is considerably less visited than it deserves, and it is the best single piece of built history in Albania.

What to see

The bazaar street, cobbled, running along the contour, with the shops and cafes.

The castle, at the top, with a weapons museum, a gallery of cannon and a view down the valley.

The Ottoman house museums, one or two of which are restored and open, with their defensive ground floors.

The cold war tunnel, under the town, built for the local leadership.

The lanes, which are the actual pleasure and which nobody signposts.

The view from the castle, over the Drino valley to the mountains.

The stone houses

Walls a metre thick, built as fortified family dwellings.

Slate roofs, which give the town its colour and its name in every description of it.

Window seats cut into the stone, and wooden ceilings inside.

A defensive ground floor with almost no openings, which explains the period.

Several hundred of them, which is why the listing exists.

Some restored as guesthouses, which is the best way to see the inside of one.

A cobbled bazaar street lined with shops in the old town of Gjirokaster, Albania

Eating here

Qifqi, fried rice and egg balls flavoured with mint, which is the town’s own dish.

Slow cooked lamb and goat, which the region does well.

Byrek, from the bakeries on the bazaar street.

Local wine and raki, both produced in the valley below.

Mountain tea, which is the correct thing to order in a stone room in winter.

Prices well below the coast, because this is not a resort.

Practical notes

Steep cobbles and stone stairways throughout; shoes with grip.

Parking in the old town is limited; most people park below and walk up.

Cash for the smaller places and the museums.

Summer is hot and the stone holds it; the castle has no shade.

Winter is genuinely cold at this altitude, and atmospheric.

Buses and furgons connect it with Saranda, Tirana and Berat.

Where this fits in an Albania trip

One night and a full day, inland from the southern coast.

For the practical shape of a first Albanian trip, our beginner guide to Albania covers the ground.

For the other UNESCO listed Ottoman town, our Berat day trip guide covers that visit.

And for stringing the historic sites together into a route, our Albania history route covers the order.

White Ottoman houses stacked on a steep hillside in southern Albania

The short version

Stay a night in a restored stone house in the old town, because the day visitors leave at four and the evening is the best part. Do the museums and the tunnel in the middle of the day, the castle at five for the light and the cooler air, and the lanes after that with no plan. Eat qifqi. Wear shoes with grip, because the old paving is polished smooth. And if you have to choose between here and Berat, most people who see both prefer this one.

The map for this guide

We have gathered in one place all the points most relevant to this guide. Click a point for its Google rating, description and directions, and filter by type.

These points were chosen specifically for this guide. Want the full destination map, with all our top picks across every category? To the main map →

Sleep inside a tower house, in the old town, for one night

A number of the historic stone houses in Gjirokaster have been restored as small guesthouses, and staying in one is the difference between visiting the town and understanding it. These are buildings with walls a metre thick, wooden ceilings, window seats built into the stone and a defensive ground floor, and the reason they were built that way is the entire history of the region. They cost less than an ordinary hotel on the coast. The other argument is timing: the day trippers arrive from Saranda at eleven and leave at four, and the old town in the evening with the castle lit above it belongs to whoever stayed. Book ahead, because the good houses have five rooms.

Compare guesthouses in Gjirokaster

Also worth booking ahead

Flights to Tiranafrom $60compare routes and dates Tours & ticketsfrom EUR 20Berat, Butrint, Osum canyon eSIM for Albaniafrom $5active on landing Car for the Rivierafrom EUR 20per day, the best way to explore

Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, which helps support the site.

Common questions

Why is Gjirokaster famous?

For its Ottoman era architecture: several hundred tower houses of stone with slate roofs stacked up a steep hillside below a large castle, in a street pattern that has survived largely intact. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site, listed together with Berat as an example of an Ottoman period Albanian town.

What is there to do in Gjirokaster?

Walk the cobbled bazaar street, go up to the castle for the museum and the view down the valley, visit one or two of the restored Ottoman houses which are open as museums, see the cold war tunnel under the town, and eat qifqi, the local rice ball speciality. A full day covers it comfortably.

How do you get to Gjirokaster?

By bus or furgon from Tirana in around four hours, from Saranda in about an hour and a half, and from Berat with a change. By car it is on the main road between the southern coast and the interior, which makes it the natural inland stop on a Riviera trip. Parking in the old town is limited and steep.

Is Gjirokaster or Berat better?

Gjirokaster is greyer, steeper and more dramatic, with the castle dominating everything, and it feels less visited. Berat is whiter, gentler and has the two quarters facing each other across the river. Most people who see both prefer Gjirokaster and both are worth a day. If you can only take one, take the one on your route.

How long do you need in Gjirokaster?

One full day and ideally one night, because the old town in the evening after the day visitors have gone is considerably better than the old town at two in the afternoon. Two nights if you want to add the Blue Eye, the surrounding villages or a walk in the valley below.

Is Gjirokaster steep?

Very. The old town is built up a mountainside on cobbles and stone stairways, the castle is at the top, and getting between the neighbourhoods involves genuine climbing. It is manageable and it is not flat, and shoes with grip matter because the old paving is polished smooth in places by several centuries of use.

More guides you might like

The turquoise water and pale pebble beach of the Albanian Riviera on a clear summer morning

Trip planning Updated 14 January 2026

First Time in Albania: The Only Guide You Need

Planning your first trip to Albania? Here is when to go, how to get around, the visa and money basics, where to base yourself, and how to skip the rookie mistakes.