Gjon Boçari Castle

Built in 1542 under Ottoman rule, the Muradie Mosque is attributed to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s court architect. It stands in the centre of Vlorë, simple and elegant in form, with a plain, naturally lit interior; dress respectfully if you go inside.

The National Museum of Independence is housed in the building where Ismail Qemali’s first Albanian government sat after independence was declared in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Opened in 1936, it displays original documents, flags and patriots’ belongings.

Kaninë Castle crowns a hill south of Vlorë, with views across the bay. Its origins are Illyrian, and it was rebuilt in turn by the Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans; in the 14th century it was the seat of the Principality of Valona until the Ottomans took it in 1417. Its walls and towers can still be explored.

Zvërnec Monastery, dedicated to St Mary, stands among pines on a small island in the Narta Lagoon, reached on foot across a wooden bridge. Its medieval church, usually dated to the 13th–14th century, keeps fragments of frescoes and has been a listed cultural monument since 1963.

Founded in 1962, Vlorë’s History Museum traces the region from antiquity to the present in a distinctive building in the city centre. Displays include finds from the ancient sites of Orikum, Amantia, Mavrovë and Kaninë, plus medieval documents and weapons.

Kisha e Marmiroit (Marmiroi Church), near ancient Orikum, is a medieval Byzantine church with a central dome on a cross-in-square plan, in dressed limestone and brick. Set quietly by the Orikum Lagoon, it is a protected monument still visited by worshippers.