City guide Gjirokastër
- Method Generated Researched
- Accommodation Traditional stone houses and guesthouses; Airbnb and Booking.com are primary sources Stone houses and guesthouses in the old town. Kotoni Bed and Breakfast, Rruga Bashkim…
- Annual Events National Folklore Festival (every few years in the Castle) National Folklore Festival in the castle, traditionally every five years since 1968. It…
- Attractive Tax System for Digital Nomads Albania Digital Nomad Visa (Unique Permit) offers potential for 0% tax on foreign-sourced… Remote workers use the unique permit for digital mobile workers under Law 79/2021 article…
- Best Area to Stay for Tourists Qafa e Pazarit (Old Bazaar) for history and proximity to sites The Old Bazaar (Pazari i Vjetër), still the social and commercial centre of the old town…
- Best Hospital Omer Nishani Regional Hospital (Spitali Rajonal Omer Nishani) Spitali Rajonal "Omer Nishani", Rruga Doktor Vasil Jorgji. The health-ministry page still…
- Best Local Dish to Try Qifqi (fried rice balls with mint) at Taverna Kuka Qifqi, a baked dish of rice, egg and seasonings. Kujtim's, in the old town, serves…
- Best Taxi/Ride App No apps; Call Taxi Gjirokastra (+355 69 242 4141). Local fare ~300-500 ALL A taxi from the central roundabout to the bus stop on the national road is about 200 lek…
- Birdwatching Locations Vjose River banks (30 mins drive North) Fir of Hotovë-Dangëlli National Park, whose page lists golden eagle, eagle owl and…
- Budget Accommodation Stone City Center Hostel (approx. 1,500 ALL per night) Hotel Sopoti in the Old Bazaar is listed at 1,000 lek a person, with a note on the same…
- City Gjirokastër, Gjirokastër County, Albania Gjirokastër, seat of Gjirokastër Municipality and Gjirokastër County, Albania.
- Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) Rules Yes, basic rules apply under the Law on Income Tax Yes, for natural persons. Undistributed passive income of a controlled foreign entity is…
- Corporate Tax 0% for small businesses up to 14 million ALL turnover; 15% for larger Headline corporate income tax is 15% of taxable profit. PwC (reviewed 22 July 2026) also…
- Currency & Banking Albanian Lek (ALL). 1 USD ≈ 94 ALL, 1 EUR ≈ 103 ALL. Cash is king. Albanian lek (ALL). This run uses the country-prep exchange rate of 80.73 ALL per US…
- Dividend Withholding Tax 8% 8% on dividends.
- Highest Income Tax Bracket 23% for income over 200,000 ALL/month 23% on annual employment income above 2,040,000 ALL, and 13% up to that amount, from 1…
- Highway Access SH4 Highway connecting North to Tirana and South to the Greek border SH4 runs north to Tepelenë and south through Dropull to the Greek border, about 30 km from…
- Historic Buildings The Zekate House (Twin-towered Ottoman mansion) Zekate House, Rruga Mazllëm Shazivari in the Palorto quarter: three floors over two…
- Historical Sites Skenduli House (Best preserved Ottoman house, entry 200 ALL) Skenduli House, a renovated traditional house in the old town. The Illyrian city of…
- Local Heritage UNESCO World Heritage designation for its 'stone city' architecture UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra (reference 569)…
- Main Train/Transit Hub The regional Bus Terminal (Stacioni i Autobusave) at the entrance of the city No passenger train. Buses and furgons gather at the entrance to town, on the north-west…
- Museums & Art Venues Gjirokastra Ethnographic Museum (site of Enver Hoxha's birth) Ethnographic Museum, 3 Rruga Hysen Hoxha, in the house that was Enver Hoxha's. Entry is…
- Must-See Landmarks Gjirokastër Fortress (Kalaja e Gjirokastrës) - 400 ALL entry Gjirokastër Castle (Kalaja e Gjirokastrës), Rruga Evlia Celebi 1: 400 lek entrance…
- National Parks Nearby Fir of Hotovë-Dangelli National Park (approx. 1.5 hours away) Fir of Hotovë-Dangëlli National Park (Parku Kombëtar Bredhi i Hotovës-Dangëlli), in…
- Nearby Nature Escapes Blue Eye (Syri i Kaltër) - approx. 45 mins drive; entry 50 ALL Syri i Kaltër (the Blue Eye), a karst spring west of Muzinë in Finiq municipality, Vlorë…
- Population Approximately 25,000 23,270 in Gjirokastër Municipality and 16,569 in the Gjirokastër administrative unit, 2023…
- Power 230V, 50Hz, 🔌 Type C/F sockets Officially 220V, 50Hz, Type C (Europlug) and Type F (Schuko). Wikivoyage says power cuts…
- Property Tax Yes, annual tax based on building value (approx. 0.05% for residential) 0.05% of the building value a year for a home, and 0.20% when the building is used…
- Property Transaction Tax Transfer tax of 3% on the sale price Not 3% of the sale price. On a building the local transfer tax is a municipal charge in…
- Public Transport Passes No formal passes; local city bus (Urban) is 40 ALL per ride paid in cash No monthly pass is published. A public bus circuit between the old town and the new town…
- Regional Travel Furgons (minibuses) to Sarandë (400 ALL) or Tirana (1,000 ALL) Buses and furgons to Tirana are 1,000 lek, about hourly from 07:00 until 13:00, then at…
- Religious Sites The Old Bazaar Mosque (Xhamia e Pazarit) and Saint Sotira Church Saint Sotira Church, an 18th-century Orthodox church in the Old Bazaar quarter, and…
- SIM Card Vodafone Albania or One Albania; approx. 1,500 ALL ($16) for 30GB Vodafone, One and ALBtelecom. Vodafone digital Tourist Pack is 3,300 ALL for 1.2 TB, 1,000…
- Scenic Viewpoints The Clock Tower at Gjirokastra Fortress The clock tower inside Gjirokastër Fortress.
- Tap Water Not recommended for drinking; locals use spring water or bottled water (e.g., Lajthiza, 60… Do not drink the tap water. FCDO says it may cause illness and to drink bottled water…
- Tax System Residency-based; 183-day rule applies for tax residency Residents are taxed on worldwide income. A resident has a permanent home in Albania or…
- Top International Airline Wizz Air, Ryanair, Lufthansa (operating via Tirana) Wizz Air was the largest carrier at Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza in 2025, with…
fix pass; Currency & Banking now uses only the shared dated exchange rate; SIM Card reuses the country prep’s digital packs; Tax System adds the shared residence definition; VAT uses the shared standard-rate wording; Attractive Tax System for Digital Nomads records the country prep’s conditional first-year treatment and the tax-profile conflict. Best Hospital street address is explicitly unverified; Accommodation, Budget Accommodation, Must-See Landmarks, Museums & Art Venues, Best Taxi/Ride App, Public Transport Passes and Regional Travel retain guide-backed values with current-price and schedule limitations. Researcher and verification date refreshed (https://www.bankofalbania.org/Markets/Official_exchange_rate/, https://home.vodafone.al/tourist/en, https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/albania/individual/residence, https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/albania/corporate/other-taxes, https://mb.gov.al/procedura-dhe-dokumentacioni-per-pajisjen-me-leje-qendrimi-dhe-leje-unike-residence-unique-permit-al-en/, https://www.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/way/1323023134, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Gjirokast%C3%ABr).