• Berat Castle - Visit Berat Castle
  Berat Castle, a fortress landmark in the city of Berat, Albania, lies high above the Osum River. The castle dates back 2,500 years and records of its first conquering were accomplished by the Romans in 200 B.C. After many centuries of stone reinforcement, the exterior (perimeter) was enlarged slowly over time, under Byzantine conquerors, in the 5th, 6th, and 13th centuries. Currently, the castle is in restoration due in part to a UNESCO World Heritage Site acknowledgment. (This is a welcome “gift” for the residents of the castle who have been left underserved as the city below has gotten much attention.)

Inside Berat castle houses many historical elements. A Mosque, “Red Mosque”, which can be identified by its lonely minaret (a staircase inside provides access to the top), more than 20 Christian churches, and a central museum which surrounds one of the largest Orthodox churches with many 16th century paintings, by “Master Onufri”, and a decorative alter inside. (Many churches in Albania were destroyed during the Communist years as an “Atheist State” was declared during Enver Hoxha’s reign.) Other architectural elements are courtyards, a large cistern in the center, and numerous houses of stone in which the residents of the castle still occupy today; this is an absolute specialty in castle heavy Europe as it’s one of the last remaining!

• Mangalem - Visit The Mangalemi quarter, better known as the “City of 1000 Windows”, dates back centuries to the Ottoman ruling period and the architectural elements of each home clearly illustrate this. If one was to compare the ancient construction of the Mangalemi quarter to present day, residential architecture, the differences of highly-placed windows to slow intruder advances, stairwells winding particular directions to allow sword strike advantage for the owner, and animal storage areas would be found

• Bulevardi Republika - Walkthrough the famous pedestrian street of Berat

• National Iconographic Museum Onufri - From 27 February 1986 Onufri National Museum is located in the inner part of “Saint Mary Church” in Berat Castel. The Cathedral is rebuilt during 1797, and it is the most representative monument of post-Byzantine architecture in Berat town. The Museum is called “Onufri”, in honor of the Albanian painting Headmaster of XVI Century.
  The museum collection is constituted with 173 objects chosen from a fund of 1500 objects, belonging to the fund of Albanian Churches and Monasteries as well as to Berat, where you can find 106 Icons and 67 Liturgical objects, created from Albanian Iconographical painters during XIV-XX–th Centuries: Onufri, Onufri’s son, Nikola, Cypriot Onufri, David Selenica, Kostandin Shpataraku and Cetirs (Gjergj, Johan, Nikola, Naum and Gjergj junior) and from a lot of anonymous painters.

• The King Mosque - The 16th-century Sultan’s Mosque is one of the oldest in Albania. The Helveti teqe (a place of worship for those practising the Bektashi branch of Islam) behind the mosque has a beautiful carved ceiling and was specially designed with acoustic holes to improve the quality of sound during meetings. The Helveti, like the Bektashi, are a dervish order, or brotherhood, of Muslim mystics.

• Apollonia Archaeological Park - EXPERIENCE THE GREATNESS OF ANTIQUITY
  If we could choose the one place where you will have your most memorable encounter with history in Albania, it would have to be the ancient city of Apollonia, founded in the sixth century B.C. Situated in southwestern Albania, about 13 miles from the city of Fier, this city was built by Greek colonizers on the lands of the Taulantii Illyrian tribe. It was considered to be one of the most prominent cities at the time, selected from over twenty other cities throughout the Mediterranean, to receive the glorious name of Apollo, the god of music and poetry. Thanks to the monuments and ruins scattered on the hills of the Archaeological Park, the largest in Albania, you will have the opportunity to come in intimate contact with the splendor of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Apollonia Monumental Complex
Imagine what the French archaeologist, Leon Rei, may have experienced when he first discovered the cluster of public buildings that compose the Monumental Complex of Apollonia in 1925! Forgotten by time but most definitely not ruined by it, the ruins and monuments of the city, which at the height of its prosperity boasted about 60,000 residents and which Cicero wrote extensively about, are one of the most important tourist attractions in Albania. The Monumental Complex includes the Buleuterion, one of Agora’s most impressive objects, dating back to the 2nd century B.C., which today is one of the emblems of antiquity in Albania. This building served as the headquarters of the City Council and is also known as the Monument of Agonotet, in honor of the two brothers mentioned in the inscription of the lintel. This monument, along with the ruins of the Arch of Triumph, the Library, the Sanctuary and the surrounding stairs of the Odeon, immediately catapult you into another era. Ready or not!

• Hotel pick-up and drop-off included
• Comfortable travel with in-vehicle air conditioning
• No hidden costs: all fees and taxes included
• Knowledgeable tour guide to enhance your experience

• Lunch
• Personal expenses