Not to miss

Tirana

Albania's capital since 1920, Tirana is compact and easy to explore. It lies almost exactly midway between Rome and Istanbul, and its architecture has been influenced by both, as well as by Russia. Most visitors to Tirana begin at Skënderberg Square, a great open space in the heart of the city.

The National Museum of History is the largest and finest museum in Albania, and you'll find it next to the 15-storey Tirana International Hotel, the tallest building in the country. A huge mosaic mural entitled Albania covers the facade of the building.

Mt Dajti rises to the east, and the market on that side of town is well worth exploring. Also to the east, the architecturally clunky Palace of Culture has a theatre, restaurant, cafes and art galleries. The entrance to the National Library is on the southern side of the building. Opposite that is the cupola and minaret of the Mosque of Ethem Mey, built in 1793 and one of the city's most distinctive buildings. Tirana's clock tower, built in 1830, stands beside the mosque.

Ionian Coast

The road along the coast is being improved but it still has some rough stretches. At the moment most accommodation is in village houses, but you get the feeling that this area is just about to be discovered. Club Mediteranee is said to be eyeing a beach near Saranda.

Skanderbeg Square

Nothing captures the history of 20th-century Albania quite like Tirana's vast central square. On one side is a horseshoe-shaped ensemble of government buildings built by Mussolini in the 1930s, when fascist Italy practically owned its little neighbour. The former headquarters of Albania's dreaded Communist-era secret police, the Sigurimi, lies just behind them.

In front of the buildings is an equestrian statue of Albania's greatest hero, Gjergj Kastrioti (Skanderbeg), with sword held rigidly upright and beard jutting magnificently. On the other side of the square is the vast Soviet-built National History Museum, complete with an enormous mosaic of Alanian liberators throughout the centuries. A high plinth in front of the museum used to host a golden statue of Albania's Communist dictator, Enver Hoxha. The quaint little Et'Hem Mosque to the side of the square was one of the few religious buildings to survive the 1967 cultural revolution, and is covered in delicate paintings. Skanderbeg Square is Albania is a nutshell - or one big piece of real estate, at least.

Berat Citadel

Berat is Albania's most charming medieval town, and the citadel is its best preserved quarter. Surrounded by ancient stone walls, the citadel protects over a dozen churches and many wonderful old houses. The citadel's biggest church, St Mary's, has been converted into the Onufri Museum, honouring Albania's greatest painter of Christian icons.

Just wandering around the citadel quarter reveals glorious views over the rest of Berat towards holy Mt Tomorri, glimpses into the courtyards of traditional houses and a sense of what Albania might have been like before the stolid hand of Communism fell on it.

Butrint

The ancient ruins of Butrint lie 18km (11mi) south of Saranda and are a real gem if you have a fascination for the ancient world. The remains are from a variety of periods, spanning 2500 years. The poet Virgil claimed that the Trojans settled Butrint, but the site has been pored over by archaeologists and no evidence of this has been found.

Greeks settled Butrint during the 6th century BC, although the area had been settled long before by the Illyrians. Within a century of the Greeks arriving, Butrint had become a fortified trading city with its own acropolis, the ruins of which you can still visit. Just below the acropolis in the forest is the 3rd century BC theatre, also used for performances by the Romans. Nearby are public baths with geometrical mosaics, and deeper into the forest is a wall with Greek inscriptions and a 6th-century baptistry decorated with colourful mosaics of animals and birds. Overlooking the whole site is an acropolis with a fortress erected by warlord Ali Pasha Tepelena early in the 19th century. Butrint is accessibly by road from Saranda, which is linked to Tirana and Vlora by bus and minibus. The ruins are nearly on the country's southern border with Greece, 160km (99mi) south of Tirana.