Southeast Europe · Europe

Albania

Discover Albania - a land of rugged mountains, pristine beaches, Ottoman-era cities, and ancient Illyrian roots, where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet.

Where Is Albania?

Albania is a country in Southeast Europe. Its capital is Tirana.

Where Albania isSoutheast Europe · Capital Tirana

Capital Tirana
Population 2.35M
Area 28,748 km²

Albania spent most of the 20th century as one of the most isolated countries on Earth - a self-imposed hermit kingdom under one of communism's strangest dictators, Enver Hoxha, who built over 170,000 concrete bunkers across a country the size of Maryland. When the regime finally collapsed in 1991, Albanians discovered they'd been sealed off from a world that had largely forgotten about them.

Fast forward to today and Albania is one of Europe's fastest-growing tourist destinations. The Albanian Riviera along the Ionian coast has beaches that rival anything in Greece or Croatia but at a fraction of the price. Berat and Gjirokaster are UNESCO-listed Ottoman towns stacked with white houses climbing impossibly steep hillsides. The language is its own branch of Indo-European - not Slavic, not Romance, not anything else - just Albanian. It's loud, it's chaotic, it's incredibly hospitable, and it's the kind of place where your waiter will refuse to let you pay for dinner because you're a guest in his country.

At a glance

Language

Albanian

Currency

Albanian Lek (ALL)

Calling Code

+355

Drives On

Right

Internet

.al

Timezone

CET (UTC+1)

Script

Latin

Government

Parliamentary Republic

Independence

1912

By population

Largest cities in Albania

Tirana

The colorful capital, transformed from grey communist city to vibrant metropolis with painted buildings and buzzing cafe culture

556,000

Durres

Albania's main port city with a Roman amphitheater and the country's most popular sandy beach

201,000

Vlore

Coastal city where Albanian independence was declared in 1912, gateway to the Albanian Riviera

130,000

Shkoder

Cultural capital of northern Albania, sitting on Lake Shkoder, the largest lake in Southern Europe

112,000

Elbasan

Central Albanian city built around a 15th-century Ottoman fortress, known for the Summer Day festival

100,000

Berat

The City of a Thousand Windows - a UNESCO World Heritage Ottoman town with white houses stacked on a hillside

60,000

People

Famous people from Albania

Mother Teresa
Other
Nobel Peace Prize laureate born to Albanian parents in Skopje, considered the most famous Albanian in history
Ismail Kadare
Literature
Albania's most celebrated novelist, won the inaugural Man Booker International Prize in 2005
Fan Noli
Politics
Writer, scholar, and briefly Prime Minister who helped create the Albanian Orthodox Church and translated Shakespeare into Albanian
Rita Ora
Music
British-Albanian pop star born in Pristina, one of the best-selling music artists in the UK
Dua Lipa
Music
British-Albanian pop superstar with Albanian heritage, multiple Grammy Award winner
Lorik Cana
Sport
Albania's most famous footballer, captained the national team at their first-ever European Championship in 2016

Food

Traditional cuisine of Albania

Byrek: Flaky filo pastry filled with spinach, cheese, or meat, eaten for breakfast or as a snack across the country
Tave Kosi: Albania's national dish - lamb baked in a yogurt and egg sauce until golden and custard-like
Fergese: Baked dish of peppers, tomatoes, and cottage cheese, sometimes with liver, a Tirana specialty
Qofte: Seasoned meat patties grilled over charcoal, served with fresh bread and salad
Flija: Multi-layered crepe cake cooked under a metal dome with hot coals, a traditional northern Albanian dish that takes hours to prepare
Tavë Dheu: Clay pot casserole with meat and vegetables, slow-cooked in a wood-fired oven

Nature

Nature and landmarks in Albania

Albanian RivieraCoast: Stunning stretch of Ionian coastline from Vlore to Saranda with crystal-clear waters and unspoiled beaches
Theth National ParkNational Park: Remote alpine valley in the Accursed Mountains with waterfalls, traditional stone tower houses, and the Blue Eye spring
Lake OhridLake: One of Europe's oldest and deepest lakes, shared with North Macedonia, a UNESCO World Heritage site
Valbona ValleyCanyon: Dramatic alpine valley in the Albanian Alps, connected to Theth by a spectacular hiking trail
Blue Eye SpringLake: Mesmerizing natural spring near Saranda where water bubbles up from an underground river, creating an impossibly blue pool
Mount TomorrMountain: Sacred mountain in central Albania reaching 2,416 meters, home to the Bektashi religious festival every August

Sport

Sports in Albania

Football: Qualified for their first-ever major tournament at Euro 2016, a historic moment for Albanian sport
Weightlifting: Multiple European and World Championship medals, one of Albania's strongest Olympic sports
Basketball: Growing sport with competitive domestic league and increasing regional presence
Swimming: Klodjana Shala became the first Albanian woman to compete in Olympic swimming

Facts

Did you know?

Albania has over 170,000 concrete bunkers built during the communist era - roughly one for every 11 people at the time
Albanians nod their head to mean 'no' and shake it to mean 'yes' - the opposite of most Western cultures
The country was officially atheist from 1967 to 1991, the only constitutionally atheist state in history
Dua Lipa and Rita Ora, two of the biggest pop stars in the world, both have Albanian heritage
Albania's name in Albanian is 'Shqiperia' meaning 'Land of the Eagles'
The kanun, an ancient code of laws, still influences rural Albanian life, including the concept of besa (sworn oath of honor)
Albania has more Mercedes-Benz per capita than Germany, despite being one of Europe's poorest countries