Shkoder: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Shkodër has long been the most Catholic city in a mostly Muslim country, with mosques, a Catholic cathedral and an Orthodox one within a short walk. In 1967 the communist regime declared Albania the first atheist state in the world and closed every one of them. This walk goes through the pedestrian centre, where the buildings came back to life after 1990, and through two museums that keep the memory of the town. About three hours on flat ground, best in the morning.

A short history of Shkoder

Shkodër is one of the oldest cities in the Balkans: in the Illyrian period it was called Scodra and was the capital of King Gentius, until the Romans captured it in 168 BC. On the hill above the city stands Rozafa Castle, around which a legend grew of a woman who was walled up inside it. From 1396 it was ruled by Venice, and in 1479, after a long siege, it passed to the Ottomans. In the 18th century it was the seat of the Bushati dynasty, which built the Lead Mosque in 1773. Shkodër was the most important city in Albania until Tirana was chosen as the capital in 1920, and it remained the Catholic and cultural centre of the north.

The ten best sights in Shkoder

1
Ebu Bekr Mosque
The big mosque at the centre; the pedestrian street starts at its door
2
Rozafa Castle
Go up late in the afternoon for the view over three rivers and the lake
3
Lead Mosque
Below the castle, often standing in floodwater in winter
4
Marubi National Photo Museum
Albania in photographs since the 1850s; the best hour in town
5
Site of Witness and Memory
The communist-era interior ministry building and its cells, now a museum
6
St Stephen's Cathedral
The Catholic cathedral; open outside the hours of mass
7
Franciscan Church
Small church on the edge of the pedestrian zone, linked to the poet Gjergj Fishta
8
Orthodox Cathedral
On the pedestrian street, a third faith within a few hundred metres
9
Historical Museum
An old Shkodran house with its courtyard, a short walk west of the centre
10
Migjeni Theatre
The town theatre on Democracy Square; plays are in Albanian

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Tours in Shkoder →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Shkoder:

Free walking tours in Shkoder

Three faiths and a camera

Ebu Bekr Mosque · The large mosque at the head of the pedestrian street was built in the 1990s, after the ban on religion ended. Its two minarets are the landmark you navigate the centre by.
Kolë Idromeno Street · The street is named after Kolë Idromeno, the Shkodër painter and architect whose portrait Motra Tone, Sister Tone, from 1883, is one of the best-known Albanian paintings. Many of the houses along it were restored in their old colours.
Marubi National Photo Museum · Pietro Marubbi, an Italian who settled in Shkodër in the 1850s, opened a photo studio here, and his family kept it going for three generations. Their archive, hundreds of thousands of negatives, is the visual memory of Albania from the Ottoman years to the communist era.
Franciscan Church · Gjergj Fishta, a Franciscan friar of Shkodër, wrote The Highland Lute, the national epic of Albania. The Franciscans ran schools and a printing press here, until the communists shut them down.
Site of Witness and Memory · Under communism this building belonged to the interior ministry, and people were held and interrogated in its cells. The museum keeps the cells as they were and tells the stories of the town's prisoners and those executed.
St Stephen's Cathedral · The Catholic cathedral was built in the 19th century, and under communism it was turned into a sports hall. It was given back to the Church and reconsecrated after 1990, and Pope John Paul II visited it in 1993.

The castle where three rivers meet

South of the centre a rocky hill rises over the meeting of the Drin, the Buna and the Kir, with the largest lake in the Balkans beside it. Whoever held the hill held the trade from the sea to the mountains, from the Illyrians to the Venetians and the Ottomans. This half-day goes up to the castle, down to the river and out along the lake shore to where the road ends. It is a short drive; the castle climb is steep cobbles, so wear proper shoes.

Rozafa Castle · The legend says the walls fell down every night until the builders walled a young mother, Rozafa, into them alive. She asked that one breast be left out to nurse her baby, and women still come to the damp stone by the gate, said to drip her milk.
Castle Museum · In 1478 and 1479 the town held out here against the army of Mehmed II, the sultan who had taken Constantinople. Marin Barleti, a priest from Shkodër, wrote an account of the siege that was printed in 1504.
Lead Mosque · Mehmed Pasha Bushati built the mosque in 1773 and roofed its domes with lead, which gave it its name. It survived the communist years as a monument, but it stands on low ground and the river often floods its courtyard in winter.
Buna Bridge · The Buna drains Lake Shkodër into the Adriatic, about 40 km away, and is the only navigable river in Albania. From the bridge you see the castle above and the water coming out of the lake.
Shiroka · Lake Shkodër is the largest lake in the Balkans, split between Albania and Montenegro. In Shiroka the restaurants stand on the water and serve carp and other fish caught in it.
Zogaj · The lakeside road ends at Zogaj, a fishing village at the foot of the Tarabosh ridge, which runs along the border. From here only walking paths go on.

Up the Drin or down to the sea

A night in Shkodër leaves room for a morning out of town, and there are two directions. East, the road climbs to an Ottoman bridge, a hill castle and the dam where the Lake Koman ferry starts. South, it runs flat to the Adriatic, with a farm restaurant on the way that people drive from Tirana for. Pick one side; doing both is a long day, and the Koman road is narrow and slow.

Mesi Bridge · The bridge was built over the Kir river in the 18th century, when the Bushati pashas ruled from Shkodër. Its high pointed arch is one of the longest Ottoman bridges in Albania, and it is still walked across.
Drisht Castle · Drisht was a medieval town and the seat of a Catholic bishop before the Ottomans took it in the 15th century. Today a handful of houses stand inside the old walls, and the view goes down the Kir valley to the lake.
Koman · Lake Koman is not a natural lake but the reservoir behind a dam on the Drin, finished in the 1980s. The ferry runs through its narrow gorge towards Fierzë and is often called one of the great boat trips in Europe.
Mrizi i Zanave · The farm restaurant is named after a work by Gjergj Fishta, who was born in this village, Fishtë. It grows and makes most of what it serves and became the flagship of the slow-food movement in Albania.
Velipojë Beach · The beach lies by the mouth of the Buna, which forms the border with Montenegro on its last stretch to the sea. The sand is wide and shallow, good for children, and in July and August it is packed.
Viluni Beach · Viluni lies by a lagoon of the same name, east of the main beach, in the protected area of the Buna delta. Herons and other water birds feed in the shallows, and it is quieter than the strip in Velipojë.

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Getting to Shkoder and getting around

Podgorica Airport · The nearest airport, about an hour away across the Montenegrin border
Buses at Democracy Square · No central station: buses to Tirana and Montenegro leave from the streets by the mosque
Bus to Shiroka and Zogaj · The local minibus to the lakeside villages, from Teuta Street

Cheap eats in Shkoder

Albania eats byrek, flaky filo pie with cheese, spinach or meat, from early morning, and in Shkodër it comes hot from bakeries on every corner. The other quick meal is qofte, small grilled meatballs with bread and onion, or a sufllaqe, the Albanian gyros wrapped in pita. Coffee is a ritual: an espresso at a café table costs very little, and people sit over it for an hour. Prices are in lek; small places want cash.

Byrekë on Skënderbeu Boulevard · A slice of byrek and a yogurt drink, about 150-250 lek
Qebap, Wilson Street · Grilled qofte or kebab with bread, about 300-500 lek
Mëngjezore · A breakfast bar, as the name says; pastry and coffee about 150-300 lek
Stolia Coffeehouse & Brunch · Brunch and good coffee by the pedestrian street, about 400-900 lek
C'è pizza Per Te · Pizza by the slice or whole, about 150-700 lek
Bellitalia · Gelato on the pedestrian street, about 100-200 lek a scoop

Museums in Shkoder

Marubi National Photo Museum · The essential museum in town; an hour
Site of Witness and Memory · Cells and stories of the communist years; heavy but important
Historical Museum · Archaeology and a traditional house with its courtyard
Diocesan Museum · Church treasures next to the Catholic cathedral
Castle Museum · Finds from the castle hill, inside the walls
Pashko Vasa Museum · House museum of the Shkodër-born writer of the poem O moj Shqypni

Nature and day trips near Shkoder

Shiroka · Lakeside walk and fish lunch, 10 minutes west
Zogaj · End of the lakeside road; quiet water and walking paths
Mesi Bridge · Ottoman bridge over a clear river; people swim below it in summer
Koman · Gorge and ferry on the Drin, 25 km east
Viluni Beach · Lagoon and birds by the Buna delta, 25 km south

Things to do in Shkoder with kids

Rozafa Castle · Walls to climb and a story to tell on the way up
Lake Shkodra Resort · Beach on the lake with shallow water and a café
Velipojë Beach · Wide sand and shallow sea for a hot afternoon
Kolë Idromeno Street by bike · Shkodër is Albania's cycling town; ride the flat centre
m'Kânda · Ice cream by the mosque after the castle

Where to eat in Shkoder

Oborri Shkodran · Shkodran dishes in a courtyard on the pedestrian street, mains about 700-1,200 lek
Sofra · Traditional Albanian food on Kolë Idromeno, about 600-1,100 lek
Qilari · Grill and local dishes on the pedestrian street, about 600-1,200 lek
Mezzeria · Small plates to share, about 500-1,000 lek
Vila Bekteshi · Dinner in an old family house, about 800-1,500 lek
Mrizi i Zanave · Farm restaurant 35 minutes south; book ahead, set menus about 2,000-3,500 lek

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Frequently asked questions about Shkoder

What is there to see in Shkoder?

The top sights in Shkoder are Ebu Bekr Mosque, Rozafa Castle and Lead Mosque. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Shkoder?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Shkoder without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Shkoder?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Shkoder, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Three faiths and a camera.

How do you get to Shkoder and get around?

The main ways are Podgorica Airport, Buses at Democracy Square and Bus to Shiroka and Zogaj. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Shkoder, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Shkoder that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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