Durrës – Tiranë - Krujë - Durrës
Durrës: is the main port and the second biggest city in the country. Some important archaeological monuments that testify the glorious past of the city during different periods of history are: The ancient city walls, the roman amphitheater and baths, the byzantine forum, the Venetian tower, the ottoman hamam. The city offers to the visitor also a range of interesting buildings and museums such as: the Archeological Museum, The Exhibition of Folk Culture hosted in an very elegant house of ottoman architecture, The museum of History ect. Of interest to be seen are the Italian building constructed in between the WWI and WWII that now hosts the Municipality, the Cultural centre with the Aleksander Moisiu Theater, the main Library, the philharmonic orchestra ect.
Tirana: A cross between Istanbul and Naples with a pinch of Minsk. The capital and the biggest city in Albania offer a wide range of activities, museums and monuments to explore. In the main square of the city, Skanderbeg Square, and along the main “boulevard” named “The Martyrs of the Nations” are located most of the Museums buildings and monuments of Tirana. In the main square are located: The National Historic Museum with its façade decorated by a large mosaic called “Albania”, the huge statue of Skanderbeg, the Et’hem beg mosque with its delicious decorations, the Palace of Culture, where the Theatre of Opera and Ballet and National Library are located, the government buildings that close the square from the south side. Instead along the main “boulevard” and not far from it can be seen: The Catholic church of St. Paul completed in 2001, The Orthodox Cathedral, The late medieval bridge of Tabakeve, the remains of the old fortress of Tirana, different houses in ottoman style. The building of the Parliament, the academy of Sciences building, the Gallery of Figurative Arts, The International Cultural Centre, constructed in 1988 to be the Museum of the ex communist dictator Enver Hoxha and commonly called by the people “The pyramid” according to the strange and curious pyramidal shape of the building, the Palace of the Congresses and the Presidential Residence. The monument of Mother Albania, 12 meters high, was inaugurated in the “Heroes of the Nation” cemetery in 1971.
Kruja: Having survived for thousands of years, nearly disappeared at the beginning of the 20th Century and been brought back to life during the last 50 years, Kruja is a tourist attraction alongside a panoramic mountainside location. “Kruja is a strange town, all clustered around its bazaar.” Some of the main points of interests include the restored Castle and Citadel that it is tied to the legend of the hero who fought against the Turks for about 25 years. The Skanderbeg Museum located inside the castle and erected in memory of the Albanian national hero. Skanderbeg was in fact from these parts and Kruja was a strategic point in the anti-Ottoman resistance. The Old Restored Bazaar has a truly oriental look, multi-colored and overflowing with goods of every description. The citadel includes the restored house of the Pasha of Kruja, dating from the ottoman period, which hosts the Ethnographic Museum.
