Albania Short Break

Fly to Tirana. On arrival, transfer to your Tirana hotel for a two night stay.

Spend the day on a guided tour of Tirana visiting its main sites, including; Et’hem Beg Mosque, the National Historical Museum, with its impressive mural on the facade, and the intriguing Bunk'art 1 - a cold war era bunker on the outskirts of Tirana. The bunker has 106 rooms, built over 5 floors and provides a fascinating insight into the mindset of the Communist era government. (B)

Transfer to Albania’s treasured UNESCO heritage town of Berat today stopping at the Ardenica Monastery, site of Skanderbeg’s marriage to Andronika Arianiti in 1451 and the archaeological site of Apollonia en-route, which dates back to the Illyrian period. Spend two nights in Berat. (B)

Explore the beautifully preserved Ottoman settlement of Berat today. The upper town includes the Medieval citadel and many small churches and mosques are packed tightly inside its walls. Visit the Icon Museum, which features works by the famous Albanian painter Onofri, before venturing to the lower town for a look back across to the hillside of the Mangalemi quarter, where the many windowed, white-washed houses earn the town its nickname of ‘town of a thousand windows’. (B)

Transfer north to Kruja, via the coastal town of Durres where you will visit the Roman amphitheatre. Durres is the country’s main port and home to some important archaeological monuments that testify to the city’s glorious past. Continue on to Kruja, the cultural centre of Albania and home to the Skanderbeg Museum, depicting the life and times of the Albanian national hero, and a very interesting ethnographic museum. Spend some time shopping for souvenirs in the old bazaar before a transfer back to Tirana airport. (B)