Vlora, the city of dozens of monuments and castles, is the most preferred by tourists

The year we left behind marked a historic record in terms of tourism in our country. According to INSTAT, Albania was visited by 10.1 million tourists in 2023, about 34.6% more than a year earlier. In the same vein, 2024 has begun. Since the first months of this year, the figures have shown a continuously increasing interest with visitors mainly from the European region, but tourists from America and Asia have also not been lacking.Unlike previous years when tourist booms were mainly recorded in the summer months, in recent years, Albania has entered the list of destinations with tourism in every season of the year. In addition to the breathtaking nature, tourists are increasingly drawn to the history, culture, and traditions from antiquity to the present day. During 2023, 28 historical and cultural institutions in the country, including museums, castles, and archaeological parks, were visited by more than 1 million domestic and foreign tourists, marking another record that demonstrates that Albania is blessed not only with beautiful nature but also with a rich culture and history that is increasingly attracting interest.

In this specific case, it is enough to mention Vlora, the city between two seas, which many associate with beautiful beaches, but in fact, Vlora and the surrounding area offer much more than that. The city where Skanderbeg was married, where the Independence of Albania was declared, the arena of struggles for Albanian freedom and resistance, Vlora occupies a deserved place in the history of Albania. And this history has led tourists to stop not only at the beaches but also at the museums, castles, or historical and cultural sites of the area.

In the city of Vlora and its surrounding areas, there are over 5 castles and fortresses, all unique and each with extraordinary values. Additionally, the city offers dozens of cultural monuments, churches, monasteries, mosques, and tekkes, as well as lagoons and many objects of cultural heritage that have always attracted attention, registering year after year an increasingly higher number of tourists, both domestic and foreign.

The Marmiroi Church is perhaps one of the most unique religious objects. This church is built with untreated stones taken from the riverbed nearby. For the gates and facades, stones worked from the ruins of ancient Oric, another monument of cultural heritage in the Vlora region founded as early as the 6th century BCE, have been used. The city has been mentioned for its importance in the battles between Macedonia and Rome at the end of the 3rd century BCE, as well as in the civil war between Caesar and Pompey in 48 BCE. Today, these two important objects count thousands of domestic and foreign tourists.

Also, the Independence Museum, one of the most important objects in the centre of Vlora city, recorded 40% more visitors during 2023 compared to a year earlier, mainly from North Macedonia and Kosovo, but visitors from Italy and Greece were not lacking either. The building where the first government of the Albanian state gathered exhibits important documents and information from the period of the Renaissance and Independence, and since its establishment in 1936, it has been fulfilled and consolidated as one of the most important museum objects in the city of Vlora and beyond. More than half of the tourists who visited the coastal city a year earlier also stopped at this museum, which stands as a symbol of the city and carries important historical values.

In addition to the museum, a high number of tourists have also visited Kanina Castle, Porto Palermo Castle, Treporti Castle, as well as many monasteries, churches, mosques, and tekkes, houses, institutions, and alleys that speak not only with beautiful scenery but also with the history and culture they carry.

Seeing the continuously increasing interest of visitors, especially for this city, in recent years, continuous investment has been made both in improving the infrastructure and in realizing projects aimed at developing the economy and towards elite tourism. One of them is Vlora Marina, a mixed urban development that is coming to life in the center of Vlora city, right next to the Independence Monument. Besides being a seaside residence, Vlora Marina offers much more to anyone who decides to invest. Besides the inspiring nature, culture, and history, here you can discover new values every day.