Situated on the Adriatic Sea coast facing Italy and sandwiched between Greece and Kosovo, Albania has long been the hermit of Europe, difficult to visit and inward looking, Albania is slowly opening up to tourism after its long isolation. With a rich history and fascinating culture to offer, as well as a climate that mirrors that of Italy, with long warm summers and mild winters.
Tirana the bustling capital is as much a place of contradiction as anywhere else in the country, where the ornate mosques stand beside the brutal looking 1960's soviet style slab architecture giving the city a thrown together feel.
Away from the urban sprawl of industrial Tirana is a beautiful country of quaint villages untouched by the fruits of the communist era. The green mountains of Albania are scattered with vineyards, and olive groves, and in many ways actually resembles Tuscany.
Increasingly, as Albania opens up as a tourist destination, and more and more people every year travel to the country, and see the vast naturally beautiful areas for them selves, Albania is becoming one of the most surprising of the eastern European countries who have pinned their hoes on tourism.
You can get great deals on flights to Albania throughout the year, and visitors to the country are always surprised at both the low cost of living in the country, and also how cheap the hotels are considering that some of the larger ones are of an excellent standard.
Facts for the Traveller:
Name: Republic of Albania
Capital: Tirana
Area: 28,748 sq km
Population: 3.5 million
Language: Albanian, Greek, Italian
Flight Time: 3 Hours from London
Currency: Leke
