Gjirokaster Landmarks and Historic Houses

Gjirokaster is a town of stone: tower houses, a bazaar and a castle above them. It joined the UNESCO list in 2005, and the 2008 extension made it part of the Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra. Below, each landmark has its fee, hours and one practical note. Fees are in Albanian lek (ALL), paid in cash.

Gjirokaster Castle (Kalaja e Gjirokastrës)

  • Fee: about 400 ALL at the gate; the armaments museum is commonly a separate extra of about 200 ALL.
  • Hours: shorter in winter, with Monday closure possible, so check locally.
  • Time: 1.5 to 2 hours.
  • Note: the paths are steep, and the kiosk takes no cards or euros. A former prison inside was used in the 20th century, including under communist rule, and it calls for a quiet visit.

Cold War Tunnel (Tuneli i Luftës së Ftohtë)

  • Fee: about 200 ALL, with a guide.
  • Hours: 09:00 to 18:00 from April to October; 08:00 to 14:00 from November to March.
  • Time: 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Note: a shelter dug in the early 1970s, about 800 m long with 59 rooms. The entrance is near the Municipality building, which was once the Party Committee headquarters, close to Çerçiz Topulli Square. Treat it as a museum of a hard period.

Zekate House

  • Fee: 300 ALL or EUR 3.
  • Hours: open daily from 08:00 until late in the evening, according to the official page.
  • Note: built 1811 to 1812 for Beqir Zeko. There is no electric light, so arrive before about 16:00.

Skënduli House

  • Fee: about 200 to 300 ALL.
  • Hours: no fixed hours; pre-book between November and March.
  • Note: dating from 1823, the house is shown by members of the family.

Ethnographic Museum

  • Fee: about 200 to 500 ALL.
  • Hours: about 08:00 to 12:00 and 16:00 to 19:00 daily in summer, and about 08:00 to 16:00 from Wednesday to Sunday in winter.
  • Note: the house in which Enver Hoxha was born in 1908 burned down in 1966. The present building was put up as a model Gjirokastrian tower house from parts of several historic ones. It has no Hoxha displays.

Ismail Kadare House

  • Fee: 500 ALL; 400 ALL for groups of over five; 300 ALL for students; 200 ALL for children and disabled visitors.
  • Hours: daily, 09:00 to 17:00.
  • Note: at Rruga Fato Berberi 16 in Palorto, in a house first built in 1799. The museum opened on 28 January 2018. Kadare, the writer, was born in 1936 and died in 2024.

The bazaar

The bazaar runs along Qafa e Pazarit and is free to walk. Its mosque was completed in 1757 and was named a cultural monument in 1973.

Booking help

Browse guided sightseeing on Viator . The Ismail Kadare House page gives its latest hours and fees.

Read more: walking tours and attraction tours .