MAY 2026

Gjirokaster was high on my list of locations to visit in Albania. It seems like one of the cities where the Ottoman heritage has been preserved best so I was super excited to visit. We visited after Berat, which we absolutely loved. However, when we entered Gjirokaster we were surprised about the crowds. Lots of tourgroups were exploring the bazaar and it didn’t feel authentic. Everywhere on our roadtrip through Albania it had been pretty quiet at the end of april, but this was not the case at Gjirokaster. After getting over this disappointment, we ended up liking Gjirokaster after all. Gjirokaster definitely isn’t a hidden gem anymore, but if you follow my recommendations it certainly isn’t a tourist trap!

Where to stay

In Albania you have the option to do a “homestay”, as many locals are renovating their home into little hotels. I absolutely loved getting to know the culture like this, so we also did this in Gjirokaster. We stayed at House Hasko, which turned out to be our favorite stay in all of Albania. The owners are super kind and the grandma cooks an amazing breakfast. The house is fully renovated into an Ottoman style. The breakfast terrace looks out over Gjirokaster and the castle. It is quite far up in the hills, so you need to be fit to stay here. We loved the walk into town and the climb back up, as this was super good for our digestion 😉

My opinion about the Bazaar

I had seen pictures and videos of the bazaar before we came to Gjirokaster. It featured in a popular Dutch tv show and it seemed like a must visit. However, the bazaar is completely run over by tourgroups and we didn’t find the stores to be original. It is located quite close to the Albanian coast and many tourists take a daytrip. Gjirokaster is sold as the place to buy your souvenirs, but we found most of it overpriced and not original. I initially had to overcome this disappointment. However, there are lots of activities in Gjirokaster which are not crowded, so I suggest you do these instead. These activities will give you a good feel of Gjirokaster. On our second day we went back to the bazaar for lunch. We picked a quieter area for lunch and decided upon Vojsava Restaurant. The location of this terrace is very scenic, the personnel was super kind and the lunch was delicious and affordable. So in the end, we even enjoyed the bazaar.

The best activities in Gjirokaster

Ali Pasha bridge

Hands down our favorite activity in Gjirokaster was our short hike to the Ali Pasha bridge. Ali Pasha was the Albanian ruler around 1800. In Albania there are still some buildings which were initiated by him that you can visit. One of these is the Ali Pasha bridge, just behind Gjirokaster. It used to be part of an aquaduct, but now it is just a stone bridge crossing a valley. There are no rules, you are allowed to climb the bridge. From the viewpoint it takes about 10 minutes to reach the bridge. Beware that it is quite a climb from the old town. We actually had the bridge to ourselves for about 30 minutes, until some other tourists arrived. At the end of April it definitely was quiet and a real hidden gem. Right next to the viewpoint you will find a cute cafe serving tasty coffee!

Gjirokaster Castle

The Gjirokaster castle turned out to be a quite relaxing visit. We didn’t encounter tour groups, like in the historic center. It took us about 1,5 hours to visit everything and to enjoy the views. I think we paid about 600 LEK per person to enter, prices seem to increase yearly. There also is a museum inside, so you can learn even more about the history.

Cold war tunnel

Right next to the historic center, you will find the cold war tunnel. The tunnel is underneath the castle and you can only visit with a guide. Generally a tour starts on the hour until 3PM. Please check the opening hours before visiting. We wandered through the tunnel for about 30 minutes. It was fascinating to see how much was built, as the Albanian government was afraid of an attack by the Sovjets. Even though they were communist at that time theirselves.

Zekate house

In Gjirokaster you can find a few restored Ottoman houses. Zekate house is one of those and the one we decided to visit. I heard that there was a terrace with loads of cats and wouldn’t want to keep this from Hugo 😉 The entrance is only a few euros and we loved seeing how people would have lived during the Ottoman period. A very low-key activity that doesn’t draw crowds.

Mosque

Next to the bazaar is Gjirokasters mosque. You can visit for free but a small donation is expected. It only takes a few minutes to visit and I recommend doing that.

Enjoy the food scene

We generally found restaurants very affordable and scenic. Our favorite restaurant was Taverna Kuka. It is like an oasis just outside of the bazaar. When we visited in april the whole restaurant was covered in wisteria. You can get unlucky if there is a large tour group, but it should be quite easy to find seating away from the groups. From the old town to our hotel we would cross a cute square featuring several restaurants. These restaurants are competing quite heavily, which means that as customer you will be gifted all sorts of tasty treats. We definitely thought this was a fun experience. We tried food at Taverna Tradicionale Kardhashi and Te Kajala. Both serve traditional, tasty and affordable meals.