Berat

Berat is called the town of a thousand windows because the white Ottoman houses of the Mangalem quarter climb the hillside so that their windows all seem to look down at the river. Across the water is the Gorica quarter, linked by an old stone bridge over the Osum.

Above the town is Berat Castle, one of the few in Europe still lived in, with lanes, Byzantine churches and an icon museum. Below are Ottoman mosques, among them the Lead Mosque and the Bachelors' Mosque. UNESCO lists Berat together with Gjirokastër as a World Heritage Site.

Berat is about two hours by car from Tirana, so it suits a day trip or a stop on the way to the southern coast. It is loveliest at the end of the day, when the windows light up and people stroll along the river.