What to do and see in Gjirokaster, Gjirokaster County: The Best Historic Sites

July 4, 2021 Tonie Szymanski

Discover the best top things to do in Gjirokaster, Albania including Zekate House, Gjirokaster Castle, Antigonea Archaeological Park, The Cold War Tunnel, Ismail Kadare's House, Hadrianopolis.
Restaurants in Gjirokaster

1. Zekate House

Gjirokastra, short hike form main bazaar, Gjirokaster Albania +355 4 562 8717 [email protected] http://www.visit-gjirokastra.com/see-and-do/the-zekate-house/
Excellent
46%
Good
43%
Satisfactory
9%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 161 reviews

Zekate House

One of the most beautiful and best preserved houses of Gjirokastra. The Zekate House is a grand example of the typical (tower-house), belonging to the wealthiest families in Gjirokastra in 19th century. It belonged to Beqir Zeko, a general administrator of Ali Pasha. It was built in 1811-1812. Where you are in the top of it, the view of river valley is amazing. This 3 storey house has very strong defensive features, and that is why she is still so powerful until nowadays. The ground floor contains storage rooms, the kitchen and the cistern. The first floor has two rooms used as living quarters for branches of the family, while the third floor has a grand reception room and two other smaller rooms. The principal room is very typical of the grandest of these dwellings with frescoed walls, a carved ceiling and an ornate fireplace. This house gives visitors a vast understandings of the vernacular architecture. The entrance fee is € 1.00.

Reviewed By nadiaresuli - Tirana, Albania

breathtaking wood decoration and wall painting. beautiful city view. it feels like you travel in time. highly recommend.

2. Gjirokaster Castle

Gjirokaster Albania [email protected] http://www.gjirokastra.org/sub_links/visiting_sub/visiting_castle.html
Excellent
47%
Good
39%
Satisfactory
11%
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2%
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4.5 based on 838 reviews

Gjirokaster Castle

Reviewed By B1714D - Belgrade, Serbia

We've travelled entire Albania during our 2 week tour and two towns I can point out being the most beautiful are Berat and Gjirokaster. Gjirokaster is only an hour drive from the seaside resorts of Saranda and Ksamil, and I'd suggest everyone holidaying there to make a day excursion. Gjirokaster sits on slopes of Gjere mountains overlooking a huge valley. The Castle occupies a commanding position and is a beautiful site while approaching the town. The fortress dates back to 12 c, modified and reshaped over the centuries. It's main feature, the clock tower was added in 1800's by Ottoman governor Ali Pasha Tepelena who's also responsible for a magnificent sea fortress at Porto Palermo north from Saranda on the Ionian coast (read that review). The Castle houses a military museum consisting mostly of captured WWII Italian and German weapons and a US fighter plane from the cold war era (different versions on it), as well two Pasha tombs and some underground Ottoman era rooms. However, most impressing are the views of the valley and old town below. Like most such places in Albania entry fee is extremely cheap and there are good English explanations throughout the place.

3. Antigonea Archaeological Park

Gjirokaster Albania http://portal.unesco.org/en/files/47249/12640816459FINAL_Antigonea_mapguide_19-12.pdf/FINAL%2BAntigonea%2Bmapguide%2B19-12.pdf
Excellent
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4.0 based on 1 reviews

Antigonea Archaeological Park

4. The Cold War Tunnel

Cerciz Topulli Square, Gjirokaster 6001 Albania [email protected] http://www.visit-gjirokastra.com/see-and-do/the-cold-war-tunnel-museum/
Excellent
27%
Good
31%
Satisfactory
27%
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9%
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6%
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3.5 based on 95 reviews

The Cold War Tunnel

The Cold War Museum (also called the Color War Tunnel) is an underground bunker that served as an emergency shelter in the latter part of Albania’s communist era (1944-1990). This bunker, and the innumerable small bunkers found throughout the country, reflects the paranoia of Albanian’s communist dictator, Enver Hoxha. He feared a foreign invasion, especially after Albania’s breakup with Soviet Union in the early 1960s. Built in secret in the early 1970s, the bunker is 800 m long and has 59 rooms. Unlike Tirana’s bunker museum, Gjirokastër’s bunker has been left in its original state, making it less informative but much more atmospheric and genuine. This bunker was designed to accommodate many different functions in case of a nuclear attack. There are rooms for government ministries, local government, interrogators, and party elite, as well as places for sleeping, power generation, and water storage. Much of original furniture was looted from the site in 1990 but pieces still remain.

Reviewed By bj_rnerikl2018 - Oslo, Norway

We really enjoyed visiting the cold war tunnel. It all seemed very authentic, with lots of old furniture and equipment being left in the bunker.

5. Ismail Kadare's House

Rruga Fato Berberi 16, Gjirokaster Albania +355 84 262 870 [email protected] http://www.visit-gjirokastra.com/see-and-do/ismail-kadare-house/
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67%
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2.5 based on 6 reviews

Ismail Kadare's House

The home of the world-famous Albanian writer, Ismail Kadare, has been turned into a museum, and is open to the public. This is where Ismail Kadare was born and spent his childhood. The house will be familiar to everyone who has read his book ‘Chronicle in Stone”, in which Kadare describes every corner of this house. As you visit the house you can imagine Kadare as a little boy, sitting close to the windows and witnessing the terrors of World War II. The house was first built in 1799, and classified as a Cultural Monument in 1991. Recently the building was repaired and rehabilitated under the auspices of UNESCO and Albanian’s Ministry of Culture. The Museum was opened to the public on 28 January 2018, on the occasion of Kadare’s 80th birthday. Kadare House is in the middle of the historical Palorto neighborhood and easy to find. Inside the house are some original objects belonging to the family. The entrance fee is 200 leke.

6. Hadrianopolis

Sofratike, Gjirokaster Albania

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