Berat, Albania

Berat is one of Albania's oldest and most beautiful cities, a place where centuries of history are written into the very fabric of its streets. Built on the banks of the Osum River and crowned by a vast hilltop castle, Berat has been continuously inhabited for more than two thousand years — successively an Illyrian stronghold, a Roman outpost, a Byzantine bishopric and a flourishing Ottoman town.

The city's nickname, the City of a Thousand Windows, comes from the rows of white Ottoman houses that climb the hillside below the castle, their countless windows seeming to stare out across the valley. Together with Gjirokaster, Berat's historic centre was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, recognised as a rare, well-preserved example of Ottoman-era town planning in the Balkans.

Berat is really a city of two old quarters. Mangalemsits on the western bank beneath the castle, a cascade of white houses stacked up the slope. Across the Osum, reached by the graceful seven-arch Gorica Bridge, lies the quieter Gorica quarter, with cobbled lanes and traditional homes of its own. Above them both rises the Kala — Berat Castle — a living fortress still inhabited today, enclosing churches, ruins and some of the finest views in Albania.

International visitors come to Berat for its architecture and atmosphere, but they stay for the warmth of its welcome, the strength of its food and wine traditions, and the dramatic landscapes that surround it — from the sacred heights of Mount Tomorr to the limestone walls of Osum Canyon. Staying overnight is worthwhile: the city's steep streets and golden evening light over the castle are best experienced at a slow pace, and the old town takes on a magical, quieter character after the day-trippers leave.