Gjirokastra · Albania

Old town

old townhistorycastleviewpointgoogle verified

moderate

9/10

best: morning, afternoon

dramatic, melancholic, atmospheric

A local would say...

This is the city where Albania's most famous novelist grew up dreaming dramatic stories among cobblestones that remember everything.

A haunting stone city perched on a rocky hillside and shrouded in cloud, with a grim medieval castle watched over by circling black crows. The steep cobbled streets are lined with distinctive Ottoman tower houses built from the same grey stone as the mountains. Birthplace of dictator Enver Hoxha and novelist Ismail Kadare, the city carries a weight of history that is almost theatrical.