Berat Old Town

Berat is built up two hillsides on either bank of the Osum, and its old quarters of Mangalem, Gorica and the castle neighbourhood have been lived in for centuries. The white houses with rows of windows give it the nickname of the city of a thousand windows, and the old town is UNESCO-listed.

Walk up from Mangalem to the castle, where people still live inside the walls, then look at the Onufri iconography museum. The old town also holds the Church of St Mary, the King's and Lead mosques and a Helveti lodge, a good reminder of how faiths shared the town. Go early or late in summer, when midday heat on the stone lanes is strong.