What to see in Gjirokaster Stone City: Our trip review

Things to do in Gjirokaster

1. Castle of Gjirokastra

The Castle of Gjirokastra is the perfect place to wander through an old castle with fantastic views of the surrounding area. The entrance ticket to Gjirokaster Castle costs 4 EUR.

Some of the highlights of Gjirokaster’s castle are the Gjirokaster Museum, the upper levels of the main building, and the Clock Tower. Plus, there’s an old Cold War airplane, as well as cannons at the part which overlooks the old quarter.

We loved the area around the Clock Tower, which looked out towards the distant mountains, even though it didn’t look as great as it does on a sunny day, as the weather on our visit didn’t cooperate.

To learn more about the history and culture of Gjirokaster, you can also stop by the Ethnographic Museum itself, which is larger and has more exhibits. This ethnographic museum reminds us of the one in Kruje (another historical town in Albania, close to Tirana).

3. Cobblestone streets of the Old Bazaar Quarter

Qafa e Pazarit, also known as the Old Bazaar Quarter, is the heart of Gjirokaster, and the best thing to do there is to enjoy a short stroll around the cobblestone streets lined with old traditional buildings.

The Old Bazaar quarter is also where you can find countless small souvenir shops, as well as many restaurants.

• Must-read: Best of Albania in Two Weeks – plan your perfect itinerary to see the absolute best places and do the most fun activities

Since this area isn’t big at all, essentially just a few streets all meeting at the small square, we didn’t spend that much time there.

4. Traditional Albanian Food

One thing we did do in the Old Bazaar Quarter, however, was to sit down for lunch and enjoy some traditional Albanian food, like stuffed peppers, stuffed eggplants, a spinach casserole with eggs, and a village salad.

We ate at the Vojsava Restaurant right on the side of Rruga Gjin Bue Shpata, the main street connecting the castle with the old quarter. The food was tasty, portions were big enough, and prices were reasonable for the location. It was a perfect spot for a quick lunch, and right in the heart of Gjirokaster.

On the way to Partisan Street, you will pass small residential streets and corners, as well as traditional houses, like the Zekate House we mentioned earlier, which also has a bar with incredible views.

Then, by walking the Partisan Street, you will get some of the best views of Gjirokaster, including views of the castle and the old quarter below. We didn’t plan to go there, and only ended up walking around that area since we wanted to see more of Gjirokaster’s less famous parts. And this was a great find.

6. Cold War Tunnel Museum

Something that’s very common in Albania, which you will definitely see on your visit, is the amount of bunkers and tunnels in both the countryside, as well as all cities.

Gjirokaster is no exception, and underneath the city and castle, there is a Cold War Tunnel, which you can visit (it’s now a museum) to learn more about the life under communist regime.

While this tunnel is of course smaller than the bunkers and tunnels in Tirana (Bunk Art 1 or 2), it’s a good representation of such complexes used in those dark times. As we already saw a lot of these, we decided not to visit.

7. Manalat Quarter and Ali Pasha Bridge

After exploring places within the city, we recommend walking through the Manalat quarter, which has great views of the castle from the other side. Then from the Manalat quarter, continue uphill towards the viewpoint and start of the trail to the Ali Pasha bridge.

The aqueduct bridge of Ali Pasha is located a 30-minute walk outside of Gjirokaster, and the best thing to do there is to walk the trail over the bridge to the other side of the canyon, and get views of Gjirokaster from a different perspective.

We mentioned earlier that we had perfectly enough time to visit Gjirokaster on a day trip, and that’s almost completely true, except for the Ali Pasha bridge, where we’d have loved to have a bit more time.

Since it got dark by the time we got to the Ali Pasha bridge, we didn’t get a chance to get to hike up the other side of the canyon where we imagine we could get a great view of the area and maybe even see the castle from a completely different perspective.

8. Day trip to the Blue Eye, Butrint, and Ksamil

If you’re planning to spend a few days in Gjirokaster, a good day trip opportunity is a visit to the Blue Eye, a water spring with a fascinating blue color, only a 45-minute drive away.

The best way to plan a visit to the Blue Eye from Gjirokaster, is to combine it with a visit to Ksamil, and especially the nearby Butrint National Archaeological Park.

If you start your day early, in just a day trip from Gjirokaster, you can visit the Blue Eye, Butrint, and also go to beaches in Ksamil and Sarande for some swimming or sunbathing.

Best time to visit Gjirokaster

The absolute best time to visit Gjirokaster to experience the city at its prettiest and most fun is during the summer months.

Visiting Gjirokaster in June, July, and August, which are also the busiest months, means you’ll have great weather, long summer days to explore, and above all, warm temperatures for outdoor activities.

Off-season travel to Gjirokaster (spring or fall) means fewer crowds, but less daylight, as the days are much shorter than in the summer. The shorter days really affected our trip to Albania, so we had to extend it by a few more days than we originally planned to see everything we wanted.

Winter in Gjirokaster can be a good time to visit, but mainly for the city attractions, and not so much for the nature around.