Gjirokaster
There is an American spy plane in the castle courtyard, forced down in 1957 and kept as a trophy. Below it, five hundred listed tower houses and a Cold War tunnel running under the town.
Gjirokaster in a nutshell
Gjirokaster: what to expect
Every figure here is drawn from 93,000+ stops planned in Albania on Stippl.
Gjirokastër is the Stone City, hundreds of slate-roofed tower houses climbing a hillside under one of the largest castles in the Balkans. The old bazaar is two cobbled streets fanning out below the fortress, paved in interlaced black and white stone. The Zekate house was built in 1811 as a gift from Ali Pasha and still carries its painted ceilings. A one-and-a-half-kilometre Cold War tunnel runs under the town from the main square, and the Blue Eye is forty minutes south.
The longest Albanian itineraries run through Gjirokastër, and so do the most domestic ones. Trips carrying it hold nearly twice the Albanian stops of the national picture, and six in ten of them never leave the country at all. Berat is its strongest partner, measured at the same strength from both directions, and September runs stronger here than at any other Albanian destination: this is the only one where it outranks June.
One night, or two at the most, because nine travellers in ten stop there. The town has the highest one-night share in Albania and it is not a place that stretches. Do the castle, the Zekate and Skenduli houses and the tunnel and you have had it. Wear something you can climb in, because the quarters run steeply up from the bazaar on cobbles the whole way, and give it a miss if stairs are a problem for you.
Who Gjirokaster is for
The Ottoman Balkans
This and Berat are the two surviving examples, and the sources treat them as a pair
History travellers more broadly
for the castle, the tower houses and the Cold War tunnel in one small town
Photographers
for the slate roofs from Palorto and the valley from the ramparts
Budget travellers.
Guesthouses in the lower quarters are cheap even by Albanian standards
Not with mobility limits
the old town is cobbled and steep. The old town is cobbled and steep throughout
Not for a long stay.
Nine in ten of our travellers agree: two nights is enough
When to go to Gjirokaster
Cold and very wet
November–March
139–236 mm a month, freezing nights, unheated stone.
Opening
April–May
green and mild; the first choice from May.
The dry window
June–August
26–44 mm, and the exposed climb to the castle.
The best month
September
17.3% of starts, warm, and wetter than August at 111 mm.
Add your Gjirokaster dates and we'll flag the weather
Stippl shows the season, crowds and prices for every stop on your route.
Describe your trip, get a Gjirokaster itinerary in seconds
Everything in this guide is already in Stippl. Tell the planner how long you have and what you like: it builds the route, the days and the travel times, and you edit whatever you want.
Things to do in Gjirokaster
The castle and its museums.
A 13th-century fortress with a long crenellated rampart over the Drino valley, holding the Museum of Armaments, captured Italian and German artillery, and a Lockheed T-33 forced down in 1957 and kept as a trophy
The Zekate House.
The grandest of the Ottoman tower houses, built 1811–12 for Beqir Zeko as a gift from Ali Pasha, with carved and painted ceilings and defensive shutters intact. Sources rate it above Skenduli
The Skenduli House
the other tower house open as a museum, and usually visited alongside Zekate
The Cold War Tunnel.
A 1.5 km bunker complex built under the town in the 1970s, entered from the main square and seen only with a guide
The Old Bazaar itself
and the interlaced black and white stone paving that is unique to it
The Ali Pasha bridge
a fragment of an 18th-century aqueduct on the town's edge and one of southern Albania's classic short walks
The neighbourhoods of Gjirokaster
Dunavat & Çfaka
budget stays
The lower quarters south of the bazaar, on the walking route to the Ali Pasha bridge. Affordable family guesthouses, a working Bektashi tekke, and taverns where the town actually eats
The start of the walk out to the Ali Pasha bridge, below the bazaar.
Old Bazaar (Pazari i Vjetër)
first visits
The 17th-century commercial heart: two cobbled streets of stone arcades below the castle, paved in interlaced black and white stone, with craft workshops, cafes and taverns. The 1757 Bazaar Mosque, the only one in town to survive the atheism campaign, and the 18th-century Church of St Sotir anchor it
Two cobbled streets of stone arcades below the castle, paved black and white.
Gjirokastër Castle
history, views
The 13th-century fortress on the ridge, one of the largest in the Balkans, holding the Museum of Armaments, captured Italian and German artillery, and an American spy plane forced down in 1957. Hosts the National Folklore Festival
One of the largest castles in the Balkans, with a captured US spy plane inside.
Palorto & Manalat
architecture, photographers
The steep residential quarters climbing toward the castle, holding the densest concentration of slate-roofed tower houses, more than 500 are listed monuments. Zekate and Skenduli both open as museums here
More than 500 listed slate-roofed tower houses, and the view back over them.
See every Gjirokaster neighbourhood on one map
Save the areas you like and Stippl plots your days so you're not crossing the city twice.
Where to stay in Gjirokaster
Restored Ottoman houses run as guesthouses are the distinctive stay, and several of the listed tower houses take guests
Dunavat & Çfaka
The lower quarters south of the bazaar, on the walking route to the Ali Pasha bridge. Affordable family guesthouses, a working Bektashi tekke, and taverns where the town actually eats
Old Bazaar (Pazari i Vjetër)
The 17th-century commercial heart: two cobbled streets of stone arcades below the castle, paved in interlaced black and white stone, with craft workshops, cafes and taverns. The 1757 Bazaar Mosque, the only one in town to survive the atheism campaign, and the 18th-century Church of St Sotir anchor it
Gjirokastër Castle
The 13th-century fortress on the ridge, one of the largest in the Balkans, holding the Museum of Armaments, captured Italian and German artillery, and an American spy plane forced down in 1957. Hosts the National Folklore Festival
Palorto & Manalat
The steep residential quarters climbing toward the castle, holding the densest concentration of slate-roofed tower houses, more than 500 are listed monuments. Zekate and Skenduli both open as museums here
What to eat in Gjirokaster
Fried rice balls with egg, mint and black pepper, a speciality found almost nowhere else
A dedicated breakfast spread one source builds an entire entry around
Discover food spots in Stippl
Find restaurants and markets on the map, save them to your itinerary, works offline too.
Gjirokaster customs and what not to do
Hoxha and Kadare were born here
as the birthplace of both Enver Hoxha and Ismail Kadare
One mosque survived
and is the only mosque in the town that did, which is why it is pointed out
A Bektashi tekke still runs
one of the Sufi orders with deep roots in southern Albania
Daily budget in Gjirokaster
Budget
€40–55
Dorm bed or basic guesthouse, buses and furgons, market food plus a €5–10 restaurant meal, free hikes and beaches
Mid-range
€90–130
Private room or small hotel, a share of a hire car, restaurant meals, paid sunbeds, entry fees and a boat trip
High-end
€200+
Boutique hotel or Riviera resort, private transfers or an automatic hire car, beach clubs, guided treks
Track what you actually spend
Set a daily budget per country and log expenses in any currency while you travel.
Fun facts about Gjirokaster
There is an American spy plane in the castle courtyard, a Lockheed T-33 forced down in 1957 and kept as a trophy of the communist period
The Zekate House was a gift from Ali Pasha of Tepelena, built 1811–12 for one of his generals
More than 500 tower houses are individually listed as cultural monuments in this one small town
The country's ranking undercounted this town by 62.6%: the largest correction in Albania, because it is the only Albanian destination where the non-diacritic spelling is the larger one
Almost every Gjirokastër trip includes Tirana, and that means less than it looks. 89.4% include the capital, the highest raw share in the country, but these are also the longest trips in the country, so corrected for length it is the weakest affinity in the table
Local tips for Gjirokaster
Five morning buses south
Five morning departures run south to Sarandë: 07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00 and midday, which is the timetable of a town people leave in the morning
Three hours from Berat
Berat to Gjirokastër is about three hours and roughly 1,000 LEK; the same route continues to Sarandë
The station is below town
The bus station is below the old town, so arriving means a climb or a taxi
The Blue Eye en route
The Blue Eye is on the road to Sarandë, which makes it a natural stop rather than a separate trip
Safe, petty theft aside
Albania is consistently reported as safe for visitors, petty theft aside
The cobbles are the hazard
The old-town lanes are steep, uneven and slippery when wet, and every source that describes walking here says so
Gjirokaster questions, answered
On the road between Sarande and the north, which is why it works so well. Gjirokaster carries 6.15% of everything planned in Albania on Stippl, and most routes that include it also include Berat, the other Ottoman stone town. Build both into the route in Stippl and take Berat second.
One night, two if you want everything. The Gjirokaster stops planned on Stippl run to 1 night, and it covers the castle, the bazaar and one Ottoman tower house. The second night is what buys you the cold war tunnel and the Ali Pasha bridge.
It gets treated as one more often than it deserves: 11.7% of Gjirokaster stops planned on Stippl are same-day, usually a break on the drive to or from Sarande. The town empties in the evening, and having the stone lanes to yourself is the whole reason to sleep here.
The Zekate house, if you only do one. It is the grander of the two open to visitors, with the painted upper room everybody photographs, and the climb up through the lanes to reach it is part of the experience. Skenduli is the alternative and usually comes second in anyone's ranking.
Yes, but steeply, and on cobbles the whole way. The town climbs the side of a valley with the castle on top, so everything is either an ascent or a descent on rounded stones that turn slippery in rain. Bring shoes with grip and do not plan on wheeling a suitcase anywhere.
More than the ramparts. Along with the view down the valley there is a gallery of captured artillery, a cold war prison wing, and an American reconnaissance aircraft parked on the terrace, which the communist government displayed as a trophy. Allow one to two hours and take a layer, because the vaults are cold.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Plan Gjirokaster
in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the app