Berat and Gjirokaster are two stunning UNESCO World Heritage towns in Albania. These two towns are both centred around beautiful castles, so which one should you visit?
After travelling through Albania for nearly a month and visiting both the castle towns of Berat and Gjirokaster, we wanted to put together a small guide and summary of the differences between the two towns to help you decide which one you should visit.
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Berat
Berat is located near the middle of Albania, south of the capital Tirana. If you are travelling by bus from Tirana, expect it to take around 2.5-3 hours. This distance therefore makes it theoretically possible to day-trip from Tirana, but we would recommend staying in this location for at least 2 nights.
Berat is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its stunning white Ottoman houses – hence the nickname “City of 1000 windows”. The view from the top of the castle (particularly at sunset) overlooking the Osum River and more white Ottoman houses is truly stunning. We would highly recommend making a sunset visit here during your stay.
The castle sits on top of a hill and is inhabited by residents. There are some old ruins including some Byzantine Churches and mosques. The structures and walls are in fairly decent condition, however the area has not functioned as a castle in a long time so can be a bit run down in some areas. The castle is open all the time as it is also a residential area, and there is an entry fee of 300 LEK between the approximate hours of 9am and 6pm. The castle itself can be fully visited in between 1.5-2 hours and we would definitely recommend walking around the perimeter walls to get some lovely views into the valley below.
Although there is an entry fee between certain hours, if you visit closer to 6pm and sunset time, you may not be charged an entrance fee like us!
Our thoughts on Berat
Berat is also a very walkable town as it is located along the Osum River bank (excluding the 25 minute hike up to the Berat Castle). We found Berat to be a bit more touristy, potentially due to the closeness to Tirana and the “instagrammable white windows”. As a result, food prices were a little more expensive here, but there are still a few cheaper hidden gems you can find.
In terms of other activities around Berat, there are several wineries you can visit (we visited Kantina Luani which is just to the north of the castle), and the old Gorica Bridge, but the main attraction really is the Berat Castle and the white Ottoman Thousand Windows.
Gjirokaster
Gjirokaster is located to the south of Albania, near Sarande and the Greece/Albania border. It is approximately 1.5 hours by bus from Sarande to Gjirokaster.
Gjirokaster is a UNESCO World Heritage site with a well-preserved town overlooked by a fortress. It is refered to as the stone city, due to the beautiful use of stone and paving throughout the town. The fortress itself was still in use as part of the Albanian communist dictatorship up until the late 90s (and the town is also the birthplace of Enver Hoxha), so is in quite good condition. The fortress also houses an impressive display of old weapons used in the world wars and dictatorship, an old US fighter plane from the cold war, and a prison used during the dictatorship. There is also a beautiful clock/watchtower to see.
The entrance to the fortress costs 400 LEK (additional 200 LEK to visit he museums) and is open from 9am to 7pm (or 5pm in winter). To walk through the fortress we would allow 3 hours to see all the exhibits and admire the beautiful views over Gjirokaster. The fortress also hosts the National Folklore Festival every 5 years.
If you are catching a bus from Sarande, it is likely you’ll be dropped at the bottom of the town and not the historical centre. The historical centre is located around a 30-45 minute walk uphill – so keep this in mind as you may want to catch a taxi if you’re hot or tired!
Our thoughts on Gjirokaster
If you stay in Gjirokaster we would recommend staying in the old historical area. There are quite a few hostels and homestay options for you, and staying here will mean less walking uphill and you’ll be close to all the main attractions.
We think Gjirokaster is less touristy than Berat, and as a result felt more authentically Albanian (Berat still did, but it was just busier with tourists). There are many options for food, including numerous cheap local Albanian restaurants (we recommend Taverna Tradicionales Kardhashi), where you can try the local delicacies. The main street in town is also a nice place to walk around, with a few cafes, ice cream shops and “market” style stores with local arts and crafts. You can also go hiking nearby, see inside an old cold war tunnel (cost is 100 LEK), and take a tour in some traditional Albanian houses (we recommend the Skenduli House which was 300 LEK).
We would recommend staying here for atleast 3 nights to fully enjoy all that Gjirokaster has to offer.
One hike we would recommend is to the old Ali Pasha Bridge, an old aqueduct commissioned in the 19th century to supply water to the Gjirokaster Fortress. You can use Maps.me to help navigate, and there are a couple of signs helping you along the way.
So... Berat or Gjirokaster -which town should you visit?
I’m sure you saw it coming… but we would actually recommend visiting both of these beautiful castle towns in Albania (if you have the time).
We found them to be quite unique in their own rights and offer different experiences and sides to Albania. Berat Castle at sunset was one of our favourite places in Albania, with the golden lighting, stunning viewpoints into the valleys and surrounded by wildflowers. Gjirokaster seems to be slightly less travelled and a place to immerse yourself in the Albanian history, enjoy cheap local food and views of the mountains and traditional homes.
We would say that Berat is easier to access due to its location, but both of the towns require catching buses from other larger towns. Overall we found Gjirokaster slightly cheaper to visit.
So in the end, it’s up to you! We would recommend visiting Berat for 2 nights and Gjirokaster for 3 if you can afford the time as they are both beautiful towns. However, you may be more interested in relaxing in the beautiful town of Berat, or immersing yourself in the history of Gjirokaster. Whichever choice you make, we hope you enjoy and found this post useful.
