Durrës

Durrës is Albania's main port city, about half an hour from Tirana, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in Europe, founded by Greek colonists as Epidamnos over 2,600 years ago. That depth of history shows up unevenly: a Roman amphitheater, one of the largest in the Balkans, sits half-excavated right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, still revealing Byzantine chapel remains built into its walls.

Most visitors come for the beach rather than the ruins, though. The city's long sandy shoreline, stretching south toward Golem, is lined with hotels and resorts that draw mostly domestic and regional tourists rather than international crowds, making it busier with Albanians, Kosovars, and North Macedonians in summer than with foreign travelers.

The town center has a small archaeological museum, a Venetian tower, and a scruffy, workaday feel that contrasts with the resort strip. As a working port, Durrës also handles ferries to Bari and Ancona in Italy, so many people pass through without lingering.

It's not a polished destination, but it's an easy, inexpensive coastal stop, especially as a day trip or overnight from Tirana rather than a standalone base.