The city of Saranda, also known as the “southern seaport of Albania”, enjoys a favorable position in front of the Greek island of Corfu. Saranda and the surrounding area make up one of Albania’s most important tourist resources. The ancient city of Butrint lies south of Lake Butrint, about 18 km from Saranda. This is the most important archeological point of Albania, which since 1992 is on the UNESCO list. Other attractive objects are the points of cultural and historical heritage, such as the archaeological sites of Foinik (in Finiq), the castle of Lyceurs, (2 km south of Saranda), the ruins of the Monastery of 40 Saints, the Mesopotamian church, of the Blue Eye sources. From Saranda you can take a tour of the city with typical architecture of Gjirokastra, which is also on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2006. In Gjirokastra is Albania’s largest castle. There you can visit the Weapons Museum, located in the fortress, the Ethnographic Museum, located in the home where the communist insurgent Enver Hoxha was born, as well as the new museum in the home of the well-known writer in Europe, Ismail Kadare.
