Things to do in Albania

Albania packs mountains, an Ottoman interior and a long Adriatic-then-Ionian coast into a country the size of a small US state. Tirana sits roughly in the middle. Everything else is a few hours out, in one direction or another.

Two stone towns, and the coast beyond them

Berat and Gjirokastër carry the country's Ottoman architecture, both on the UNESCO list, Gjirokastër since 2005 and Berat added in 2008. South of them the coast turns properly Mediterranean.

• Berat — the "city of a thousand windows," tiered Ottoman houses stacked above the Osum river, a castle quarter on the hill above.
• Gjirokastër — the stone-roofed hill town, a bazaar and a hilltop castle above it.
• Vlorë, Himarë, Qeparo — the Riviera towns south of Vlorë, beach after beach along the coast road.
• Saranda and Butrint — the far south, closer to Corfu by ferry than to most of Albania by road.

The mountains, and what they hide

The north is a different country again. Shkodër guards a lake shared with Montenegro. Beyond it the Accursed Mountains close around Theth and Valbona, reached by road, on foot, or by the Koman ferry.

Inland fills the gap between coast and peaks. The Osum canyon sits centrally, cut deep enough for rafting trips. Apollonia's ruins lie near Fier, and Korça keeps its own hill towns and cathedral in the south-east.

Practical

• Weather. Tirana reaches around 31C in August and drops to about 11C in January; the coast runs milder, the mountains colder and wetter.
• Currency. The lek; euros are often accepted in tourist areas and along the coast, but change usually comes back in lek.
• Getting around. Tirana to Saranda runs about 270 to 280 kilometres, four to five hours by road on either route.
• Language. Albanian is the everyday language; Italian and English both work well in the tourist towns.
• Best months. April to June and September to October avoid both the summer heat and the coastal crowds that come with it.
• Booking ahead. Coastal hotels and the Koman ferry both fill up through July and August.