Tirana, the Albanian Alps and the Albanian Riviera… Albania has a lot to offer its tourists, but how do you know where to go and what to do?
Author and photographer for the "Lonely Planet" guides, Jean-Bernard Carillet on Tuesday delivers to Europe 1 listeners some tips for discovering the many facets of Albania.
Bordering Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, bordered by the Ionian and Adriatic seas, Albania is full of little-known treasures. In
What if we left?
, Tuesday on Europe 1, Jean-Bernard Carillet, author and photographer for
Lonely Planet
travel guides
, shares with listeners from Europe 1 destinations and activities not to be missed in this Balkan country with its varied landscapes.
Sumptuous and very affordable, Albania is surely one of the best places in Europe.
In high season, it is possible to find return tickets from 210 euros from Paris.
And it is the same on the spot.
Accommodation in the capital, Tirana, will cost you around 60 euros for a room in a very good hotel;
a full meal, around ten euros, and a cocktail, three euros.
This justifies the marketing slogan for the Albanian tourist campaign: "Albania, great treasures at low prices."
But apart from sleeping and eating, what to do in the land of eagles?
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In Tirana, special museums not to be missed
In the capital, two museums are worth a visit. Far from museums of modern or contemporary art, these offer a more unusual experience, in the heart of the memory of the country. Among them, the "Bunk'Art" tells about all the daily deprivations that characterized the communist period. The site then plunges you into this dictatorial past with, in particular, numerous sound installations. A chilling visit to the heart of the terror machine employed by the regime.
In the same vein, the "Maison de Feuilles" is also a must.
This is the former headquarters of the intelligence police, which has become a museum since 2017. There, you cross all the exhibition rooms which present telephone tapping equipment, cameras and miniature microphones. which were used for surveillance.
A real journey to the heart of the political police of the time.
The Albanian Riviera, along the Ionian coast
In the south of Albania, towards Greece, the country reveals its most beautiful beaches.
A succession of small beaches and coves which in some respects recalls the creeks of Marseille and Cassis, but which extend over 120 kilometers.
These beaches are accessible via small winding winding roads along which you can meet shepherds with their flocks of sheep, peasants on donkeys and women dressed in black carrying heavy bundles of wood for the winter.
The landscape of the Ionian coast is fascinating.
It's a great place with a very traditional feel.
Berat, the city of a thousand windows
Inland, the town of Berat is also worth a look.
Called "the city of a thousand windows", Berat is located in a cul-de-sac valley and feels like the end of the world.
The houses are built on the slopes on either side of the valley and form part of the relief.
They are unique in that they are all white and have many windows.
As if you had made a cascade of white houses tumbling down to the river.
And the postcard is not limited to that: to top it off, a citadel dominates this set.
As for the activities, if you go deeper into this landscape of gorges, the vertical walls form a real canyon: it will therefore be possible to practice rafting with a service provider based along the river.
The village of Theth, one of the most remote in Europe
On the border with Montenegro, in the far north of the country, the Albanian Alps offer the most traditional landscapes, and represent the heart of this Albanian soul, sometimes a little dark.
In the mountains, Theth is one of the most remote villages in Europe. To get there, you have to take a small road that crosses forests, passes, to arrive on a dirt track paved with potholes. It's very narrow and the views are amazing. In this village, only about thirty houses adorn the mountainous amphitheater. It looks a bit like the Cirque de Gavarnie, with small natural pools for swimming. For accommodation, there is no shortage of choice, and it will be possible to find a gîte, a guest room or even homestay accommodation to spend two or three days. The disconnection will be total, in the heart of Albania, in an adventurous landscape at the end of the world.